Mikael Mani Asmundsson
will perform a solo guitar concert at the jazz festival on August 28th. The music is Mikael’s way of combing together his two favorite but vastly different music genres; singer-songwriter music and instrumental jazz. From jazz he uses elements of improvisation and rich harmonies, and despite all the songs being instrumental, the strongest connection is with lyric driven singer-songwriter music. Mikael will also play some of his favorite songs, and you might hear songs by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Megas. Being influenced by vocalists, the style of the songs is lyrical and melodic. Each song contains its own stories that Mikael created around them, and the forms are visual, evoking narratives. He is reminiscent of guitarists like Bill Frisell and Julian Lage.

He recorded this repertoire consisting of original songs in Amsterdam in November, where he is based, and wanted to take the opportunity while in Iceland to perform it for his country.

Mikael Máni released his first album, Bobby, in 2018, where he was accompanied by Skúli Sverrisson and Magnús Trygvason Elíassen. (“Concept” album about the controversial chess master Bobby Fischer’s life). The album received airplay on BBC 3 & 6 and its songs have been streamed over 1,000,000 times. His latest album, Nostalgia Machine, delved deeper into Mikael’s musical language. The album received recognition from Cerys Matthews, was chosen as the jazz album of the year by Morgunblaðið, and was nominated for the Kraumur Music Awards. Mikael has two albums coming out in 2023 his solo guitar album “What Once Was” and the other with his Quintet “Innermost”.