Track by Track: gugusar, ‘12:48’

Guðlaug Sóley Höskuldsdóttir, better known to our readers as gugusar, has just released a new album, ‘12:48.’ The young singer-songwriter has been making a great impression on the local music scene and wowed crowds at Airwaves, so we wanted to get the inside story behind every song on her latest release. Here’s what she had to say:

Ekki séns

This is the intro to the album. I recorded myself playing an old piano on my phone and immediately knew this would be the intro.

Annar séns

“Annars séns” is the most danceable song on the album in my opinion. I had such a good time producing this track and it’s definitely one of my favourite to perform live.

Glerdúkkan

This song always reminds me of my mom because she would ask me constantly to play it for her before it came out because she liked it so much. I remember her singing and dancing with me while listening to the demo.

Leið á þessu

“Leið á þessu” and “Gaddavír” were actually just one song at first but I decided to split them and make them two because the first and second half were so completely different. I knew some people would enjoy one half better than the other so I decided to split them at the end. If you listen to them back to back you can hear how they glide smoothly together and kind of makes them a one whole experience.

Gaddavír

“Gaddavír” is the second half of “Leið á þessu.” I made these songs when I was sixteen years old and so these are some of the oldest songs on the album.

Þurfum að batna

This is definitely my favourite song on the album. Not only because I like the final song but mostly because this was definitely the hardest song I’ve ever created. I have so many versions and demos of this song it’s crazy. I couldn’t get this song as I wanted for so long. At one point I was going to remove it from the album and never release it. I had to take a break from working on it for some months because I was so frustrated that I couldn’t get it exactly as I wanted but eventually I got there and I’m very thankful and proud to have finished it.

Komdu

This song I started as a little exercise really. I just got into my studio and asked myself if I was capable of making a song in a genre that I’ve never tried before. So this is the first drum-and-bass song I’ve made and I absolutely loved the whole experience. I’ve made many D&B tracks since and I’m very excited to keep them going

Röddin í klettunum

This is the oldest song on the album. I was around sixteen when I started working on it and it is one of my favourite songs to perform.

Aleinn

This is the most emotional and sad song I’d say. The lyrics are very much the deepest lyrics in a song that I’ve released. It’s very emotional for me because I really put myself out there lyrically and I’m starting to have so much more interest in lyrics than before.

12:48

This is the final track and closing track to the album. I really enjoyed making this one. I just love how it came out exactly how I envisioned it in my head. I also really like driving and listening to this song for some reason.