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Bassist Skúli Sverrisson has been a favorite of mine for well over 20 years. In this reissue, he teams with tenor saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson in a quiet, minimal, yet somehow lush release of interplay between the two masters. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “After Silence (Eftir þögn) was recorded in 2001 and marks the beginning of the Skúli Sverrisson & Óskar Guðjónsson duo. Their…
Ragnar Ólafsson – Urðarþráður
I had the pleasure of meeting multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Ólafsson in Bulgaria when he was performing with the Icelandic post-rock group Árstíðir many years ago. Every now and again, I see his name pop up and I came across this gorgeously-sung single track he released in May of this year. From his Bandcamp site: Urðarþráður means “the thread of Urður. The name refers to one of the three primary…
Valgeir Sigurðsson – Kvika
Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson is a classical composer who has developed into the country’s leading light in terms of modern classical music. From his Bandcamp site: “Valgeir has become a master of sound to get lost in. Through his layering of his collaborators’ instrumental and vocal parts and a nuanced balance of electronic and organic sound, KVIKA is a perfect collection of moments that…
Jóhann Jóhannsson – Drone Mass
Though it’s been four years, the loss of Jóhann Jóhannsson due to an overdose has left a massive hole in contemporary classical music, drone, experimental music, post-rock and so many other genres his work touched on. This opus, performed by the legendary Paul Hillier and backed my ACME, is as close to heaven as some of us might ever get. The vocals are haunting, mournful, but sound totally in…
Atli Örvarsson – Wolka
Iceland is one of those countries who seem to produce musicians at an incredible rate in comparison to the size of its population. Atli Örvarsson is one of a handful of gifted soundtrack composers to hail from the island nation, and is the first one I can think of who doesn’t originally come from the capital, Reykjavik. He is now a Los Angelino pursuing a career in composition, and is becoming…
Reptilicus & The Hafler Trio – Designer Time
Continuing on the Industrial (and post-Industrial) theme, this album was sent as a promo album to me while I was a buyer for Aron’s Records, the best record shop in Los Angeles before Amoeba steamrolled the competition (and are now, apparently, either no more or barely hanging on in L.A.). I had known a bit about the Hafler Trio because I was selling some of Andrew MacKenzie’s cassettes and…
Label: Moderna Release: Chasing The Present Release Date: February 21st, 2020 Bandcamp Tidal Spotify chasingthepresent.com Today I am running with an exclusive premiere of a piece by Snorri Hallgrímsson from an upcoming release by the same title on Moderna. “Chasing the Present” is the title track from the soundtrack for the award-winning documentary by Mark…
via Snorri Hallgrímsson – Chasing…
[Music] Lárus Sigurðsson – The Beauty Of An Ending Lárus Sigurðsson is a new name for me. The pianist and multi-instrumentalist hails from Iceland, and he already has a catalog which is a few records deep.
The Passepartout Duo are pianist and keyboardist Nicoletta Favari and drummer/percussionist Christopher Salvito. For such a minimal setup, they manage to put together a sound that is cinematic in scope. There are elements of contemporary classical music, but a bit of jazz slides in there as well. Quite a profound release from them.
As an aside, the artwork was made by a Chinese company, as the
[Music] Júníus Meyvant – Color Decay (Live on KEXP) Yet another amazing talent from Iceland. The water supply must be loaded with good minerals...
As if Iceland didn’t have a wealth of great and well-known bands, here’s yet another to add to the collection. Dúkkulísur (Paper Dolls) were/are (?) a new wave band who seem to still be around. This track was from 1984. For a bit more info, read on or look at the video over at Youtube:
From their self-titled 1984 EP.
Grapevine:
D…
[Video] Ólafur Arnalds -Epilogue Ólafur Arnalds produces the sort of gorgeous music Iceland seems to be noted for. He comes from an electronic/techno background, but his understanding of composition shows in his delicate compositions.
[Video] Thor’s Hammer – Show Me You Like Me Thor's Hammer don't particularly strike one as worthy of their name. However, these guys were about 20 years ahead of really cheesy heavy metal bands who might have better fit the part. Musically, however, they were incredibly good at producing a fuzzy, garage-y freakbeat.
[Video] Valgeir Sigurðsson – Between Monuments/Guardian at the Door Good heavens, this is an absolutely schizophrenic piece of music. It ranges from a sumptuous minimalist to an edgy post-rock before sliding into something more appropriate in an electroacoustic work.
The best way to describe Árstíðir, at least in this gorgeous tune, is something like what a Varangian choir might have sounded like in 13th-Century Byzantium, singing in the Hagia Sophia.
As it turns out, the tune is from the 13th Century, written by Kolbeinn Tumason. No, Wuppertal isn’t quite Byzantium, especially inside of the…
[Video] Kjartan Sveinsson – Credo A gorgeous piece of minimalism with choir by former Sigur Rós multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson, who is off working on a couple of new projects of his own.
[Video] Ellý Vilhjálmsdóttir – Sveitin Milli Sanda Long before Iceland gave the world Björk, they brought us Ellý Vilhjálmsdóttir. This haunting, wordless ditty was a massive hit for her in 1966.
