Edward Hancox's Blog, page 16

Music Review – Emilíana Torrini – Tookah

You know what a Tookah is, don’t you? You don’t? Don’t worry. No one does, Emilíana Torrini has made it up. For no apparent reason.

The album of the same name is Emilíana’s sixth solo album, and follows the successful Me and Arminisome five years ago. Emilíana has been part of the Icelandic collective GusGus (who hasn’t?), found global success with her Fisherman’s Woman album in 2005, wrote a song with Kylie Minogue that went huge, featured on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and lent a song to Iceland’s tourism marketing campaign in 2012. Tourists were turning up at Keflavík expecting to hear ‘Jungle Drums’ playing.

Tookah though, seems oddly tepid. It’s Emilíana, all right, but it’s just going through the motions. The first three tracks are uninspiring, including the eponymous ‘Tookah’, and the lukewarm ‘Autumn Sun.’

It’s not all bad though. ‘Animal Games’ is delightful electro pop, as is first single ‘Speed of Dark’ which sounds like it could be covered by Kylie Minogue and be a worldwide smash tomorrow—it’s that good. It evens shows traces of her GusGus heritage; ‘Blood Red’ is dark and foreboding.

The conclusion of Tookah is the wholly unnecessary ‘Fever Breaks’. I suspect it’s meant to sound feverish, but it’s ill thought out, and adds nothing.

Emilíana has stated that Tookah is “the core of you, the you when you were born before life decorated you like a Christmas Tree with all your baggage.” Perhaps Emilíana needs to stop making up words and start producing stronger albums.

Originally published on Iceland Review Online.

Iceland, Defrosted announcement on London Underground!

Music Review: Eliza Newman – Heimþrá

Eliza Newman is also known as Eliza Geirsdóttir, now solo, she had a former life as part of the Icelandic band Bellatrix, who were also known as Kolrassa krókríðandi. Bellatrix once toured with a little known band called Coldplay. Confused? You don’t need to be.

Eliza has a knack for writing neat little pop songs that Chris Martin would give his right arm for. This is the case with her latest album Heimþrá, which means ‘homesick,’ released last year.

It’s no surprise that Heimþrá, given its subject matter, is sung entirely in Icelandic. I think it is even more endearing as a result. By the way, Eliza found (another) brief window of fame after becoming the poster-girl for pronouncing Eyjafjallajökull on TV for the English speaking press on the days after the eruption.

I’ve seen Eliza live before, and she can be spellbinding with just a ukulele to accompany her. The arrangements here are a little more lush, but do not distract.

The strongest tracks here are ‘Stjörnuryk’ (“Stardust”) which bounces along and in a similar vein ‘Hver vill ást?’ The title track is a yearning, soft lullaby with gentle strings and piano. It’s lovely.

Being homesick never sounded so good. Somewhere, Chris Martin is banging his head on a piano, wishing he could be homesick too.

Originally published on Iceland Review.

Amiina

Amiina is one of those Icelandic bands that never seem to disappoint. Always able to produce sublime, beautiful music at the drop of a hat, I never miss an opportunity to see them live.

I once saw them play a concert in a record store in Reykjavík on a damp, unseasonably warm day in January. The tiny room was packed to the rafters, as the band played a wide variety of instruments, including the lesser-known saw, to produce the most beguiling harmonies and melodies. I left that little shop with a handful of CDs, a head full of tunes and a sincere appreciation of the magic of Amiina live.

They’ve managed to capture the essence of their live shows inThe Lighthouse Project, released this summer. I don’t know how I managed to miss Amiina performing in a lighthouse, during Icelandic summer, whilst arctic terns wheel outside, and oystercatchers pace the grass. Damn. I would love to have been there, for one of those special performances. Never mind, The Lighthouse Project is the perfect souvenir to remind me just what I missed.

Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir from the band managed to spare a few minutes to tell me about the lighthouses, puppetry and the use of a saw.

For the new listener, how would you describe your music?



It’s always difficult to describe one’s own work… but I guess I would describe it as instrumental music colored by the instruments we use and from methods from the string quartet, jazz, electronic music, among others…

What is The Lighthouse Project all about?



Back in 2009 we went on a trip around Iceland playing lighthouses and other intimate and unusual places. We had tailored a few songs to fit small spaces and small audiences, and basically packed a van and drove around the country to some pretty remote areas. We documented the journey and concerts, by photographing, filming and recording regularly along the way. After we came back the project sort of got lost in a drawer, not resurfacing until late 2012, when we decided to re-record the songs in a live setting, and collecting the material from the original journey into a release.

I would say that the project could have only worked in Iceland, and that Iceland is a key character throughout. Would you agree?

Well, I think we could easily have done a similar journey from one lighthouse to another in a different country. Of course it wouldn’t have been the same, but in my mind it’s the lighthouse and what it stands for that is a main theme in the project. I think lighthouses have a sort of gravity that pulls in a similar way wherever they are located. They are fascinating structures.

Which was your favorite lighthouse?



I think I would have to say Dalatangaviti. The journey there through Mjóifjörður is breathtaking.

Are there any plans to take the project out on tour?

No, we kind of did this one backwards—first touring it and then a few years later releasing it!

I really like Amiina branching out into the world of theatre and puppetry. I caught the Latitude show where you soundtracked a silhouette piece. How does this sort of collaboration come about? Do you enjoy them?

We’ve been doing more projects like that lately. For example just a couple of weeks back we were in Paris for a film project, where we composed and performed a live score to one of theFantomas films that are celebrating their 100th year anniversary this year. It’s something we enjoyed very much and will hopefully do more of in the future.

Are Amiina gradually shaking off the Sigur Rós string section tag? Or do you not mind this?



We don’t work with Sigur Rós anymore, so people will probably associate us less and less with the band. But it will always be a part of our past and we don’t feel a need to hide that!

Is there any saw playing on the new project? I don’t think the saw is used enough as an instrument.



Yes, the saw has such a great voice! We’ve been using it quite a lot lately.

What is next for Amiina?



This year has been very productive for amiina, and all of us individually in the band as well, so we have lots of new material to work with. A new album just might happen next year!

 

Original article published on Iceland Review.

Leaves: See You in the Afterglow

Leaves, for those that don’t know, are an Icelandic five piece from Reykjavík that have been around since 2000. They have released several albums and received critical acclaim for their debut, Breathe, which was particularly well received in the U.K. where the band was held in the same esteem as Doves, Elbow, Feeder and even The Verve.

Breathe was a long time ago though, and you could argue that the Leaves star has faded over the past few years. Band members, as is the Icelandic way, have been involved in other projects and a lot has changed, even since their last album in 2009.

It may be appropriate then, that their new album is called See You In The Afterglow, implying that the band are aware that their days of popularity are behind them. No matter, See You in the Afterglow is a solid, dependable album. Still reminiscent of the British indie scene post Britpop, Leaves sound reassuringly familiar. There is nothing new, or jarring here.

It opens with ‘The Sensualist,’ which is a good indicator of what is to come. ‘Parade’ is perfectly acceptable and ‘Sleepy Waters’ a welcome change in pace. The highlight of the album for me is ‘Lovesick,’ which fairly bounces along.

Interestingly, See You In The Afterglow doesn’t sound in the slightest bit Icelandic. There is no hint of accent, or any link to the current Icelandic music scene. The only thing Icelandic here is the mossy scene on the cover.

This may well be a case of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’. There is certainly nothing extraordinary here, but there is nothing wrong with that. Leaves seem to be aware of this and seem happy to accept their lot.

Original review posted on Iceland Review online.

and the winners are…….

Back in the summer, I asked if you wouldn’t mind sending me photographs of Iceland, Defrosted from around the world. The response was amazing, with myriad photos being sent from across the globe. Above is just a small selection.

It was the devils own job to pick out the best. Here are my top ten. They include Buckingham Palace, a beach in Spain, a baseball game in Toronto, British Columbia, Niagara Falls, Djúpavík, Jökulsárlón, with a McGruffalo at Loch Ness and with a cool half pint in North Wales.

If one of your photos is in the top ten, expect a little gift in the mail as a token of thanks.

Thanks to everyone that sent one – I had a lot of fun collecting them, and it helped spread the word of my little book.

I’m no expert!

In the latest issue of Wanderlust, I was asked to give some advice to a chap looking for culture in Reykjavik. Whilst I am really not an expert – no, really! – I was more than happy to oblige in return for a bit of book promotion!

Ironically, it appears a few pages in from the ‘How to find the Northern Lights’ feature.

Review in Lögberg-Heimskringla

Iceland, Defrosted has received a wonderful, glowing review from Lögberg-Heimskringla, the Canadian-Icelandic publication. A huge thanks to Julie Summers for her kind words.

‘Hancox has discovered a plethora of Iceland’s gifts, and his ability to effortlessly, humorously, and sincerely share those discoveries will make any reader warm to Iceland, Defrosted’.

Live Twitter Chat With Bublish!

Robert The Roommate

Although formed in 2010, you may not have heard of Robert The Roommate, one of the many bands to play off-venue at Iceland Airwaves this year. They produce folk-pop, that is definitely more folk than pop. They have a very organic sound, with an emphasis on melody and good old fashioned song writing. They once won a competition to find the best John Lennon cover in Iceland. They also have the daftest name for a band in Iceland. They are Robert the Roommate.

They have released their debut album earlier this year, and have continued to play gigs since then, slowly building a following. It was the same following that crowd funded their latest music video, to accompany ‘I Will Catch You When You Fall’, which was filmed in a Swedish forest, to great effect.

Percussionist Jón Óskar tells me a bit more about Robert the Roommate, including where that got that name.

Where on earth does the band’s name come from?

It’s actually kinda silly. It’s just a twist on Bob Dylan’s real name, Robert Zimmerman. Zimmer = German for room. Like I said…very silly!

Who are your influences?

They are so many. Leonard Cohen, Led Zeppelin, Fleet Foxes, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young… and many more. Of course, each member of the band has his or her own influences and that also shapes the sound of the band. This band was actually formed because Rósa wanted to do stripped down covers of Leonard Cohen songs. But that soon changed and we started to cover various songs from the 60’s and 70’s, as well as few newer songs. After about a year of that we started writing our own songs.

Can you introduce me to your band mates?

Rósa Guðrún Sveinsdóttir is our lead singer, she has also been known to pick up the flute occasionally. On guitar is Daníel Helgason. Þórdís Gerður Jónsdóttir plays the cello and on percussion is myself. Daníel, Þórdís and I also sing backing vocals.

You were raising funds on Karolina Fund. What’s that for?

We were trying to fund a music video for our first single called, ‘I Will Catch You When You Fall.’ And we’ve actually managed to reach our goal. So thanks to all the people who supported us on the Karolina Fund.

What’s next for the band?

We are going to play some gigs, promote our music and maybe write a new song or two.

Originally published on Iceland Review Online.