Words by

John Rogers, Hannah Jane Cohen and Valur Grettisson

Like eight glorious sea eagles swooping majestically into your living room, we present to you the essential Icelandic tracks of the previous fortnight, including scorching electronica that will hurt and please your brain, a ghostly theremin anthem, and Kristín Anna setting shit on fire in the desert.

ASTVALDUR – Abundance
This scorching track features a sparse sound palette that manages to sound both surgically cold and tinnitus-inducingly maxed-out the same time. The drop, when it comes, is an insistent arrhythmia that sounds much like a motherboard having a nervous breakdown whilst lost in the club. The album, ‘CORRELATION ATTEMPTS,’ is out now. JR

Omotrack – Way Home
“Way Home” is about the diaspora the brothers of Omotarck—Markús and Birkir—feel about their homeland. Born in the small town of Omorate, Ethiopia, the two boys explore the feelings of being caught in between the two lands in this upbeat melodic track that still projects a lovely feeling of wistfulness. HJC

Hekla – Muddle
The beguiling theremin experiments of Hekla continue to catch the ear of experimental music lovers, at home and abroad. Her latest single, “Muddle,” has breathy vocals floating inside an ambient, bassy cloud. An album, ‘Á,’ will follow on August on the UK-based Phantom Limb label. JR

Kristín Anna – Forever Love
Holding the torch for the gossamer-delicate, precious and precocious sound of Icelandic indie music is sometime múm-member and solo artist Kristín Anna, nee Kría Brekkan. “Forever Love” is a galloping piano-and-strings ballad; the lush video bears the fiery fingerprints of collaborator Ragnar Kjartansson. A promising harbinger for her album, ‘I Must Be the Devil.’ JR

MAMMÚT – Kinder Version (Official video)
The video for MAMMÚT’s “Kinder Version” is a work of art in itself. It’s provocative and avant-garde—probably too much so for most mainstream markets in the world, because of all the disinhibited nakedness. The song itself reminds of one of Trent Reznor’s better compositions, with a Björk-ish flair. VG

Andi – Á döfinni
This sparkling Italo disco track has several constantly evolving and intertwining synth melodies skating over its bass groove foundation. It’ll make you think a little of electronic music staples like Kraftwerk and Hermigervill, and leave you hungry to hear the rest of his forthcoming second album ‘Allt í einu.’ JR

Mosi – On Fire ft. Tinna Katrín
Mosi is the Icelandic word for moss, and “mossy” is probably the best adjective to describe his new song, “On Fire.” It’s smooth, soft electro-pop with a strong bassline. Tinna Katrín sings silkily on the latter part of the song, and all of this is packed together into a beautiful video with a teenage girl wandering around the city. Simple but effective. VG

Teitur & dj. flugvél og geimskip – Lífsspeki (Gunnar Jónsson Collider Remix)
Gunnar Jónsson Collider strips the vocals from this light, summery pop duet and implants them into the heart of a lush, languid anthem. The extra layers add warm depths, and give it a magic-hour atmosphere that might even make you forget about our challenging non-summer for a moment. JR