LIVE REVIEW: Ásgeir, Store Vega, 21.03.2014.

When a guy at Roskilde once told me he had his biggest life epiphany whilst watching Sigur Ros off his face on shrooms, I was in no way sceptical. It sounds like the perfect recipe for sudden realisations. Unfortunately, due to Bon Iver’s long time hibernation (and my lack of penchant for psychedelic drugs), I’ve had little to fill my greater height of consciousness quota. But last night’s gig suggests another majestic Icelander may be able to help me out.
Because Ásgeir Trausti is, quite simply, glorious. His music is uplifting even in its quietest moments, and as the Icelander’s bewitching vocals rise around the dark venue, it hits that perfect musical sweet spot. Suddenly plunging Store Vega into darkness, his brother and long time band mate performs an a cappella folk song in his native tongue to start the set. As the lights increase, the frontman and the other instrumentalists reveal themselves, moving into a quietly building melody. Before long, we’re stuck in a rich, multi-layered soundscape, that maintains itself unto the end of the set, only pausing to accept the loud applause the Danish audience are ready to offer between tracks.
At 5’1”, I am no match for the statuesque Scandinavians surrounding me. As a result, my view of the stage is limited to the occasional tip toe look at Ásgeir bent over his keyboard in a pool of spotlight. But this is not a bad thing. In soaring vocals over instrumentation that is at times hauntingly dark and at others anthemic, listening to Ásgeir live is a transportation, whether it be covering Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’, or lifting himself into a falsetto for ‘King and Cross’. There’s a rumbling reverb under your feet as he closes the set with ‘Torrent’, that is impossible to resist.
Ásgeir Trausti is soft and powerful. He’s got strength and back up enough to not be fragile, but the music is heartfelt, warm and simple. Store Vega’s high ceilings may be architecturally glamorous enough for the attention and respect this singer demands, but it’s no match for the live show’s content.
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Asgeir | Store Vega, Copenhagen, 21.03.2014

VIDEO: Asgeir – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)

Sessions of the year 2013
Asgeir | Store Vega, Copenhagen, 21.03.2014

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LIVE REVIEW: Ásgeir, Store Vega, 21.03.2014.

VIDEO: Asgeir – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)

Sessions of the year 2013
VIDEO: Asgeir – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)

Asgeir has shared a video of “Heart-Shaped Box” from Nirvana’s classic album In Utero. Asgeir released the English version of his Icelandic award winning album In The Silence in January on One Little Indian Records, he’s currently on the road promoting In The Silence and will stop by Store Vega, Copenhagen tomorrow (March 21st) before heading to Train, Aarhus the day after (March 22nd).
Watch the video for “Heart-Shaped Box” below:
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VIDEO PREMIERE: RA – Prism (Trentemøller remix)

AUDIO PREMIERE: RA – ‘PRISM’ (TRENTEMØLLER REMIX)

VIDEO: The Wands – “War”
Sessions of the year 2013

The Luyas
Watch the entire session HERE
Reptile Youth
Watch the entire session HERE
Cody
Watch the entire session HERE
Shiny Darkly
Watch the entire session HERE
Schultz and Forever
Watch the entire session HERE
Jacob Bellens
Watch the entire session HERE
Egyptian Hip Hop
Adam Green and Binki Shapiro
Watch the entire session HERE
Shout Out Louds
Watch the entire session HERE
Widowspeak
Watch the entire session HERE
Ice Cream Cathedral
Watch the entire session HERE
The Woken Trees
Watch the entire session HERE
Broke
Watch the entire session HERE
Ghost Venue
Watch the entire session HERE
Ásgeir
Watch the entire session HERE
Kool A.D.
Watch the entire session HERE
Taragana Pyjarama
Watch the entire session HERE
The Felines
Watch the entire session HERE
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PLAYLIST: Sónar Copenhagen

Albums of the year 2014
Video: Ásgeir – “Torrents”

Ásgeir Trusti has shared a new video for his single “Torrents”. Ásgeir is set to release his debut international album In The Silence on January 27th on One Little Indian Records, an English version of his Icelandic award winning album Dýrð í dauðaþögn.
Watch the video for “Torrents” below:
Watch “Going Home” from our session with him below:
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VIDEO PREMIERE: RA – Prism (Trentemøller remix)

AUDIO PREMIERE: RA – ‘PRISM’ (TRENTEMØLLER REMIX)

VIDEO: The Wands – “War”
Spotlight On: Iceland Airwaves 2013

Since 1999, the Iceland Airwaves festival has been early Christmas for every music enthusiast in Iceland. We may not have the muddy campsite or 60,000 people jumping up and down in front of the Orange Stage, but what we do have is more stages, more bands, and more to drink. To be accurate, 221 bands will perform this year on 13 different stages downtown in Reykjavík at Iceland Airwaves. The number of stages isn’t a problem because the next show you want to see is never more than two songs away.
When Iceland Airwaves approaches every Icelandic musician gets goosebumps just thinking about the festival. It’s the time of the year when Icelandic music goes all in. For domestic bands the festival is a springboard to the world. Many music agents and reporters come to the festival hoping to find something new to show their bosses, and bands hope to make the headlines.
A band doesn’t need to have a radio hit on their résumé to get a gig at Airwaves; if the band can play and someone will show up they are good to go.
In the last few years many Icelandic artists have had great success. The gap between selling a few copies of rare albums at a local store in Reykjavík and playing at a festival for 50,000 is getting smaller. Of Monsters and Men is probably a good example of that. For that reason, more foreign people are starting to show an interest in visiting the festival. It’s frustrating for Icelanders that it can be hard to get one of those 7,000 tickets. But for those who were too late or too broke to buy a ticket there is an off-venue schedule with many big artists who play for free.
Iceland Airwaves is not all about the natives. Artists from all over the world visit the festival. Many great bands have made their appearances at the festival, for example: TV On the Radio, Fatboy Slim, Hot Chip, Florence and the Machine, Bloc Party, and Flaming Lips. This year 64 foreign artists will perform, most of them from USA, Canada, England, and Sweden. The biggest act, no doubt, is Kraftwerk in 3D, however you have to buy an extra ticket to see their show. Other exiting artists playing this year are the long living Yo La Tengo, Jagwar Ma, Mac Demarco, Gold Panda, Fucked Up and AlunaGeorge.
It is not just the bands that make Iceland Airwaves such a good gathering; the atmosphere is one of a kind. Even though you are freezing in a long queue, the show has started, and you lost one shoe, you’re still in a good mood. Let’s take a look at what the fuss is all about.
FM Belfast
The Iceland Airwaves festival in 2006 marked a breaking point in FM Belfast’s orbit. The couple Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir and Árni Hlöðversson were in need of more people for their performance at the festival and were joined by Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (founding member of múm), Árni Vilhjálmsson and part time member Björn Kristjánsson (also known as Borko). Together they have made two albums; How To Make Friends (2008) and Don’t Want Sleep (2011). Their main ingredient is hyper electronic pop music that is almost impossible not to dance to. If you intend to see FM Belfast live you should not make any plans afterwards that involve using a lot of energy. These kids will show you no mercy: They will suck all the energy out of you, and make sure that your toes will get stepped on.
Retro Stefson
If you are used to saying to the bartender, “just bring me something funky, fresh and exotic,” Retro Stefson is definitely your type of cocktail. They mix together various music genres and the outcome is universal summertime dance music with lyrics in Icelandic, English, Portuguese and French. Retro Stefson was formed in 2006 by frontman Unnsteinn Manuel and his brother Logi Pedro. The setup is completed with five former schoolmates. The band’s first album, Montana, was released in 2009, in 2010 Kimbabwe made the spotlight, and last year their self-titled album came out. All of these albums have included many singles which have gained them unstoppable airplay and uncountable number-one hits in Iceland. In spite of their young age, Retro Stefson has gained a large fan base in Iceland and they have started to get noticed outside the country. They have played in every Iceland Airwaves festival since 2006 and 2013 will be no exception.
In 2009 Icelandic reggae gave birth to its second offspring named Ojba Rasta. There had been no tradition for reggae music in Iceland before Hjálmar made their appearance in 2004, so Ojba Rasta was very welcome in the club. All their songs are in Icelandic except for their biggest hit, “Jolly Good”. They released their self titled debut album in 2012, and this month their second album Friður hit stores. Ojba Rasta has eleven band members including a dub-master, organist, guitarist, bassist and several wind instrument players. This mingling of instruments brings their live shows to a higher level, and audiences float in the groovy atmosphere that they create on stage.
Sóley
Originally performing around the world with the indie band Seaber, she has now discovered that she can just do it by herself. Sóley is more popular than her band ever was and she is gaining a lot of fans in Europe. Her debut EP, Theater Island, was released in 2010, and was followed the year after with the studio album We Sink. Sóley is a multi-instrumentalist supported by a drummer and a guitarist/keyboardist. Her songs contain distant simple beats, beautiful piano strokes, and Sóley’s seductive voice which should be able to calm all the stressful nerves in your body.
Ásgeir
He made a huge appearance in the Icelandic music scene last year, topping the charts on every radio station in Iceland. He appeared out of nowhere with the singles “Sumargestur” and “Leyndarmál”. Suddenly he made the album Dýrð í Dauðaþögn and won four awards at the Icelandic Music Awards. It is safe to say that he is the most popular artist in Iceland these days. The music is melodic folk, singing in a high pitch, sounding a lot like Bon Iver and making it hard to sing along. Ásgeir used his father’s poems as lyrics for his album. In spite of his young age and the popularity he has gained (especially from young girls), he has kept unobtrusive and says that this popularity has surprised him and that he just goes with the flow, not trying to impress anyone. Still he got John Grant to translate his lyrics to English to adjust a bigger market. His English version of Dýrð í Dauðaþögn will be released in January next year.
múm
Active since 1997, múm have released seven records. Their debut, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today is OK, came out in 2000, and their latest, Smilewound, was released last month (with a bonus track featuring Kyle Minogue). Bringing together electronic beats and melodies from founding members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (FM Belfast), they are supported with classical tones and instruments played by their fellow band members (including Ólöf Arnalds). Following up their album, the band has been playing gigs and festivals both in Asia and Europe. múms’ live shows is always a great experience. The loudness can be surprising compared to how comfortable and quiet their music sounds in the speakers at home. They are often accompanied by a dozen of people who help them put together the show which can be fun and energetic and sometimes feels like a jam session rather than a concert.
Ólafur Arnalds
He might not be the first artist who comes to mind when think of a music festival, but the gig he’ll be performing will be something special and different from all the other acts on Iceland Airwaves this year. Backed by The Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Ólafur will perform a special show which you will need to buy an extra ticket to see. He will be performing the best from his career, which includes three studio albums: The first one, Eulogy for Evolution, was released in 2007 when Ólafur was only 20 years old. His latest, For Now I Am Winter, came out earlier this year. Ólafur is known for mixing classical music with ambient/electronic pop and the combination is mature experimental beauty.
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Listen to new track from Ásgeir – “Torrent”

Ásgeir has released new track “Torrents” via his Soundcloud. The song will feature on his debut album In The Silence which is a take on his award winning Icelandic debut album, only translated into English with help from his good friend John Grant. In The Silence is set to be released worldwide October 28th.
Listen to the track below:
Watch “Going Home” from our session with Ásgeir below:
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LIVE REVIEW: Ásgeir, Store Vega, 21.03.2014.

Asgeir | Store Vega, Copenhagen, 21.03.2014

VIDEO: Asgeir – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)
Video: New video from Ásgeir – “King and Cross”

Ásgeir has released a new video for his current single “King and Cross” set to feature on his English version of last years critically acclaimed debut Dýrð í dauðaþögn which won 4 awards at the 2012 Icelandic Music Awards in Reykjavik. Last week we released our very own session with Ásgeir where he performed two tracks from Dýrð í dauðaþögn, “Going Home” and “Lupin Intrigue” which can be viewed HERE
View the video for “King and Cross” below:
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LIVE REVIEW: Ásgeir, Store Vega, 21.03.2014.

Asgeir | Store Vega, Copenhagen, 21.03.2014

VIDEO: Asgeir – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)
SESSION: Ásgeir

Classically trained Ásgeir Trausti mixes the raw powerful sound of his tender vocals, acoustic guitar and piano with modern electronic features on his debut album Dýrð í dauðaþögn. The Icelandic singer/song writer released his debut album to critical acclaim in Iceland taking home 4 awards at the Iceland Music Awards including, Best Album and Best Newcomer. He’s currently in the process of rewriting Dýrð í dauðaþögn into English with a helping hand from John Grant. Ásgeir and his band took time out during Roskilde Festival to come perform Going Home and Lupin Intrigue.
CREDITS
Production: Here Today
Sound engineer: Peter Emil Skielboe Sloth
Audio mix/master: Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson
Location: Tapf Studio
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LIVE REVIEW: Ásgeir, Store Vega, 21.03.2014.

Asgeir | Store Vega, Copenhagen, 21.03.2014
