Muna

Marketa Irglova returns with her second studio album. Entitled MUNA ("remember" in Icelandic, a recurring theme throughout the eleven songs), the collection was written and recorded in Iceland, the Czech singer/songwriter's new base of operations. "I had been to Iceland for the first time about four years ago to play a show with the Swell Season," she recalls. "When a friend of mine recommended a studio in Iceland for recording my second album, I didn't hesitate. I am inspired by the open space, the wilderness of the nature here, the strong energy coming from the land, and I am comforted by the people who seem so at one with it." MUNA is an album that takes the Oscar-winning singer's music further into the realm of the ethereal. If her debut ANAR explored the dynamic of intimate personal relationships, the new record is a document of spiritual searching. Written over the course of a year, and recorded in six months with producer/engineer Sturla Mio Thorisson, it utilizes full choral, string and percussion sections, plus guests Rob Bochnik (The Frames), Iranian daf player and vocalist Aida Shahghasemi, and Marketa's own sister Zuzi on backing vocals.