Words by

The Reykjavík Grapevine

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Supplied

Electronica artist gugusar is a production powerhouse

Five years since gugusar’s critically acclaimed debut album was released, the young artist has used this time well. Honing her craft, gugusar has turned herself into a one-woman production powerhouse, writing, producing, and mixing her music all by herself. Behind the latest fruit of her labours QUACK lie simple themes of personal relationships weaved into complex and catchy beats. 

NÆR
Nær is a song with a super-long intro. Almost just a one-note vocal chop intro. So I knew I wanted to have that as the intro of the album. I really like how it’s a mix of EDM/pop and techno. 

REYKJAVÍKURKVÖLD
This song is the poppiest song I have ever made. It has so many lyrics for me it’s kind of crazy. I made this song two weeks before it got released, and this song is actually made in Silkeborg, Denmark and not Reykjavík. 

HVENÆR
This is one of my favourite songs on this album. I’m really proud of this production. It’s about being super confused in a relationship, and I feel like the production tells that story as well as the lyrics. 

ÚPS
“Úps” is a fun song to listen to but the lyrics are kind of embarrassing and a little dark. It’s about when you can’t get over a guy because you can’t stop seeing him. It’s not something I would recommend but the song is a bop!

CRAZY
This song is the oldest one on the album. Crazy is the only song that I did not make this summer, but it’s maybe two years old. It’s an instrumental song, and I think it shows that I’m not just a singer. I produced, mixed and mastered every song on the album, and I’m very proud of how it turned out. 

DAÐRA
Daðra is a great song if you ever feel like you don’t want to talk with any boys, you just wanna dance in the rain with your friends. I love how this one came out. It’s veeery dancy! And I absolutely love the synths in this song. 

HVAÐ VILTU

Hvað viltu means “what do you want” and that’s basically the song. When you are getting really frustrated because you don’t know what a guy wants. This one is a little more chill than the rest of the album, but I really like the vibe in this song. Also, I did some scratches. 

ÁSTIN
This one is just a simple love song. I have never made a song that’s a happy love song. My songs are mostly depressing lol. So even though it felt cringe I still love having a happy love song. The lyrics are pretty basic, but I love the production. It’s a party song!

MINN
This is the only song that made me cry a little bit when I listened to the demo. That happens rarely. It’s my favourite one, and I’m super proud of it. If I were a song, this would be it. It’s a drum and bass song with the most beautiful synth and vocal chops. I made it in one evening. Everything just worked out for me when I made it and just like that it was finished!