original music

In 2012, Michele Solberg’s exploration of tarot inspired her to create an album featuring eleven songs that follow the Fool’s Journey, a central narrative in tarot. The album opens with “Harvest Time,” which references both the Fool and the rebirth of Dionysus, who is depicted as the Fool in Aleister Crowley’s tarot deck. Each song on the album is either directly or loosely inspired by the imagery and symbolism of the Crowley tarot deck.

For example, in the song “Dust of the Moon,” Michele references a specific visual from the Crowley deck, describing “the sun’s in the beetle’s pincers, moving through the night.” Other songs, such as “Dogs Are on the Loose,” explore the themes of unrealized potential or the card in an upside-down (reversed) position. In “Between the Threads,” Michele makes a broader reference to the entire 78-card tarot deck, with the line, “there are 78 cries in a mockingbird’s song.”

These songs were brought to life in a collaborative recording process with Rob Halverson at Tree World Recording, blending Michele’s artistic vision with Halverson’s production expertise.

In 1999, Michele Solberg moved to the small Danish island of Samsø for a year and a half, accompanied by music producer and engineer Mike Stewart. While living there, she wrote and recorded the songs for her album Beyond the Bluein the attic of an old farmhouse. The album incorporates sounds from the island itself, capturing the essence of the place. For example, it opens with the sound of Danish church bells from a church that dates back to the 1400s. The album also features contributions from Danish musicians, including Søren Jacobsen and Anders Haarh. Additionally, Michele’s friend Malene Eggers provides Danish-language intros to many of the tracks, adding to the album’s unique atmosphere.