Soul vinyl

The story of Sophie Zelmani is one of those reassuring yarns which makes you think that, despite the heavily formalised and industrialised world-cum-nightmare we have built for ourselves, it's still possible just to do things and get somewhere without the trappings of education, contacts, and clout. The Swedish singer-songwriter grew up in Stockholm, was bought a guitar by her father at the late-ish age of 14, and despite having zero musical training, she began strumming, later booking studio time. Demos were recorded, and soon she had a record deal with Sony Music. 1995's self-titled debut catapulted her name into European, if not global repute, and here we are, almost 30 years on, still being lulled by her incredible six-string and vocal talent. Soul was actually released back in 2011, and is her ninth full-length album. It's spellbinding stuff to say the least, the kind of tracks that seem to soak you in their tender beauty, lyrical delivery saturated in sophisticated sensuality.