-About the album-

This complete artistic interpretation of Mikael Máni is an inspiring mental chess game that brings a fresh air to the jazz scene. A new voice, instrumentalist that loves lyrics and jazz, and combines the intellectuality of a composer and the honesty of a singer-songwriter.  He is a young jazz guitarist that found inspiration reading Bobby Fisher‘s biography, and basis his debut album on a fictional interpretation of Bobby‘s life in self-written songs that each captures an element of human nature. The trio consists of 3 Icelandic musicians all of a different generation. Skúli Sverisson plays on bass and Magnús Trygvason Elíassen plays on drums and vibraphone.

Born and raised in Iceland around a lot of music and spending years abroad in the Netherlands studying all took part in creating his artistic vision.

Mikael: “An artist always takes something from his life as well in these songs, even though they are about Bobby Fisher, they all remind me of a situation or personality trait of someone I personally know.“ 

You can choose how you listen and how you decide to understand the songs. The songs can be stimulating intellectually. With a unique sound to Mikael, harmonies combine impressionism with jazz. You can also enjoy them as a feeling without drowning in the intellectual pool, for there is are also influences from many other generas like post rock and film music, a little bit like if Bill Evans would have listened to Sigur Rós. The melodies are groovy and memorable and takes after chamber jazz in the way that the forms are lineal but not a round form. 

In the booklet there is a short text about each songs that explains a bit the thought behind every song and it‘s relation to Bobby. The great photographer Spessi captured some pictures that are an artwork in itself. The setting is the bookstore in Reykjavik where Bobby used to hang and play chess when he settled in Reykjavik as a refugee from his homeland America.  



-Press Photos-