Sodl

Anja Sodnikar's songs move between emancipatory outcry and mystical transfiguration with self-assured stylistic confidence. The Austrian transforms the act of using supposed opposites, dichotomies of our Western-centric culture into a clever dialogue that makes you sit up and take notice lyrically and musically. When only eight, she realised while performing with her accordion that she was meant for the stage. She learnt to play the guitar, emulated her idols Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and was discovered by FM4 presenter Martin Blumenau in 2020. Throughout this time, she also wrote the songs for her debut album ‘Sheepman’ (2025), on which the self-taught multi-instrumentalist used not only years of work, but also a variety of influences for her idiosyncratic songwriting. Laid-back indie and bossa nova, grunge and elements of the folk giants of the 70s or even jazz come together to create a warm and organic basic sound full of captivating energy. She sings about female sexuality and the absurdity of patriarchy, about mental health and rethinking social gender conventions. But Sodl isn't aiming towards a specific goal with her music. Her interest is much more in a combination of subtle poetry and musical surprise, in the unexpected as an enrichment.