Featured Listener | MSEA

Have a listen! Here is a playlist by vocalist, producer and composer MSEA! Right on time for summer! Some of the albums are also available to borrow, have a look at our selection at the bottom of this page!

"This is not a normal moody MSEA playlist. It is MSEA on a sunny day - a non-linear journey through music that has left a beautiful smudge on the mirror of my life. Included are many from Canada and Iceland but also from around the world!"

MSEA, also known as Maria-Carmela, is a Reykjavík based producer, vocalist and composer. Her music has been described as nightmare pop, genre-bending, ethereal and moody. Combining rich textures with whispered melodies, she explores the boundaries between beauty and discomfort. Her voice is an ever changing instrument, floating in the midst of soundscape and noise. Sometimes unsettling or melancholic, sometimes full of joy, this solo project shifts and grows with the freedom of zero expectations and many colours. Her latest album 'I turned into a familiar shape' was released with the new Icelandic label MYRKFÆLNI in October 2020.

MSEA's highlight from the playlist:

"Julius Pollux’s album ‘Vestur í bláinn’ began an experimental music project that combines the voices of immigrants and refugees in Iceland with his own musical take on the subject. It later developed into audio-visual art project with the help of multidisciplinary artist Claire Paugam and spread across Reykjavík. The exhibition took place in ten public locations in Reykjavík from September 3rd to September 30th 2020. 

I was lucky enough to be a part of the live performance of the album, so I know the songs inside and out and really believe everyone should give this album a listen. The themes of immigration and emigration and the notion of ‘foreignness’ are extremely important topics. They open up a much needed conversation and can help break the ideas of us vs them."