Erased Tapes (photo by Gerald Schnaidt) Icelandic avant-experimentalist Olafur Arnalds just released "Erla's Waltz," the first in his Found Songs experiment, in which Arnalds will write, record, and distribute a song within 24 hours of its inception. Arnalds sound project will last through the week. This being a "fun" sort of project, Arnalds will be posting the mp3's daily on the 'Found Songs' (Erased Tape) site, as well as tweeting the sessions and answering questions at @olafurarnalds.
A wondrous evening in a majestic theater with one of the most magical bands on the planet. Viking mystics, if there ever were such a thing.
Setlist: Svefn G Englar/ Glosoli/ Ny Batteri/ Fljotavik/ Vid Spilum Endalaust/ Hoppipolla/ Med Blodnasir/ Svo Hljott/ Heysatan/ Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa/ Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur/ Saeglopur/ Hafsol/ Gobbledigook
Pixie Dust Todd P sent out an email yesterday that read:
2NITE -> a special beautiful night of quieter sounds w/ Múm alums Kría Brekkan -&- Ólöf Arnalds (both from Iceland) -&- Sam Amidon @ LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH
Immediately, I knew I was in. Even more so after my delirious eyes realized the Lutheran Church of the Messiah is a few measly steps from my front door. The basement of the Greenpoint church was dark and dank, quite the contrast from the cool evening outside, which seemed to usher in autumn. We arrived at 9 just in time for Kría Brekkan's set of tape looped, piano driven, whimsical dream cycles that flutter in and around your head like specs of gold dust after you've run into a brick wall. Quite refreshing, and entrancing too. Kría wanted the room dark and finagled with the lone flood light that lite the stage. She pushed a table in front of it so its ominous glow was more of a shadow than a spotlight. Her live show was much like I envisioned after hearing the Wildering 7"; gorgeously quiet, as if her music was seeping out from 5,000 years of frozen dreams. Kría often stopped songs claiming she was messing up, or didn't know the words, but she is so beautiful and charming on stage that none of that mattered, as if it should. Music to dream to, most definitely. Even reminded me to get back into William S. Burroughs My Education: A Book of Dreams.
Her former múm partner Ólöf Arnalds set was similar, albeit totally different than Kría's more experimental set. Leaning closer to traditional Icelandic folk than Lau Nau-ish experimentalism, Ólöf stunned the crowd with her voice, which sang like you wish your mother would've sung you to sleep. Of course, Ólöf is a new mom and her son was in the audience, arguably making more noise than the dudes running down the stairs, popping beer bottles and shuttering lenses. All good though, he was just hungry and when Mommy called him on stage for some food, and an acapella lullaby, he seemed to relax. Ólöf ended the evening by bringing VT bred ambient folkie Sam Amidon, whose set we regrettably missed, and Kría back on stage for a string of collaborations that carried me off into a purgatorial state, which I may still be in while writing this. Absolutely beautiful evening from some of Iceland's most provocative, most enchanting songstresses.
Next up, Sigur Ros tonight. Iceland's really taking over.
If you've got 90 minutes to kill I highly recommend taking an audio-visual trip to Iceland. Not possible? Well, thanks to the symphonic genius of those guys in Sigur Ros, it is not only possible, but expected that you get up out of your desk chair and leap through the computer screen and experience the wonder that is Sigur Ros in their homeland. Here's what they have to say about Heima:
heima' is sigur rós's first ever film, filmed over two weeks during the summer of 2006 when the band undertook a series of free, unannounced concerts in iceland. they hauled 40-plus people round 15 locations to the furthest flung corners of their homeland for their debut venture into live film, to create something, well, inspirational.
on their way they went to ghost towns, outsider art shrines, national parks, small community halls and the absolute middle-of-nowhere-ness of the highland wilderness, as well as playing the largest gig of their career (and in icelandic history) at their homecoming reykjavik show.
'heima' (icelandic for "at home" or "homeland"), truly, shows sigur rós as never before. whereas seeing the group live is normally a large-scale and sometimes overwhelming experience, making full use of lights and mesmeric visuals, 'heima' was always intended to reveal more of what was actually going on on stage. it does this via long-held close-ups and a rare intimate proximity, without ever once breaking the spell.
loosely based on a documentary format - and including personal reflections from the band - 'heima' also serves as an alternative primer for iceland the country, which is revealed as less stag destination-du-jour and more desolate, magical place where human beings have little right to trespass.
So far Sigur Ros has one American date lined up for the summer, 6/14 at Bonnaroo, hopefully they'll be adding a few more, like maybe one at the Good Shephard Faith Church?? (Pllllease) You can buy the Heima DVD HERE.
all songs are posted because we love them and think they make the world a better place. they are for sampling purposes only (duh). if you like what you hear, buy the record or see the concert!!! if you own the copyright to anything that appears on this site, contact us.
(photo by Gerald Schnaidt)
