Journeys in Sound & Music
If you are reading this blog, chances are you’re an avid music lover and the kind of person who is just as likely to discover a film or television show after hearing the soundtrack as the other way around. Or, perhaps, you even enjoy certain soundtracks as complete listening experiences on their own without ever…
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In a genre that is virtually defined by its sober nature and weighty themes, a little whimsy and humor can be a breath of fresh air, especially when it is as artfully conceived as Plïnkï Plønki, an Icelandic music project that describes itself as “a 50 piece ensemble that doesn’t exist”. That droll description, the…
Read MoreAfter two full-length albums and a trio of EPs under the moniker of Row Boat, musician/composer Mark Wardale is about to release his first work under his own name. There is an amusing bit of self-deprecating cheek when he cites irreconcilable differences with himself in reference to the change, but when it comes to creating…
Read MoreSnorri Hallgrímsson is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Reykjavík, Iceland. Originally starting out as a classical guitarist, he fell in love with film music during his teen years and, having secured a degrees in composition from both the Iceland Academy of the Arts and Berklee College of Music, his name is associated with a…
Read MoreWhen Chris Bartels chose the name for his Elskavon project he formed a neologism from a pair of Icelandic words – elska meaning “love” and von meaning “hope”). It was not only a message he would weave into his compositions, but a nod in the direction of Sigur Ros, one of his key influences when…
Read MoreNearly two years after Tölt, the debut release of Montreal composer Jade Beregron’s solo project Flying Hórses, she returns in stunning form with an eleven-plus minute epic single called Sorg Sea. It is not that she has not been busy in the interim. Bergeron was invited to play Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in 2015 as well as…
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Iceland’s dramatic landscape belies the island country’s relatively small footprint on the globe. Its breathtaking and mysterious beauty is inextricably woven into the music and literature of its people and draws travelers and artists from around the world like a siren call. But that is not the perspective of this magnificent place that Ólafur Arnalds seeks…
Read MoreFounded in 2009 by Steve Lowenthal, Vin Du Select Qualitite (VDSQ) is a specialized imprint with a keen focus on the acoustic guitar. As the name suggests, each album is like a choice wine of a lesser known variety that offer sublime pleasures to the open-minded listener. The label offers elegance without pretense and embraces its underground roots by fostering experimentation rather than…
Read MoreThe Ring Road is route 1 through a wonderland, an 828 mile long circuit around the country of Iceland. It is also the setting and inspiration for a new album called Remnants by the ambient drone trio Hotel Neon, quite a contrast from the origins of their eponymous debut which was conceived and recorded in…
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Stationary Travels 