Escapist Fantasies: Inside Avant-folk Band Emma’s Debut

Emma’s phantasmagoric debut Halidome embraces opposites

Avant-folk collective Emma talks about their journey from Músíktilraunir to the sterling debut album Halidome.

Paraphrasing Brian Eno’s philosophy, the best songs are made when the creator is short on money and time. In early 2023, siblings Sindri Snær and Breki Hrafn pondered over their plans for the future. It was a few hours before the application deadline for Músíktilraunir, a contest for Icelandic artists under 25.

“I realised it was my last chance age-wise,” says Sindri, now 27. “So we wrote a song a couple of hours before the submission.” Based on the lyrics penned by Sindri in 2018, “Stranger Now” gave life to the siblings’ project Emma.

Shortly after, the track “Dream On” was composed by Breki. A video fragment from the band’s performance of the song during the semi-finals of Músiktilraunir at Harpa captures them getting to grips with their sound. Breki’s semi-acoustic guitar punctuates the heart-throbbing rhythm of the composition resonating with Sindri’s sonorous vocals and lyrics addressing immortality.

Member Óðal Hjarn’s keyboards add intensity to the transparent texture, bringing it to the cinematic and psychedelic prog territory — the ethereal sound of English late 60s trio Bobak, Jons, and Malone comes to mind. That year, Óðal was awarded best electronic musician by the jury.

Universally speaking

Although not meant as an explicit reference, Bon Iver’s debut album For Emma Forever Ago was at the back of their minds when both brainstormed the names. “It kinda just came from wanting it not to be explicitly either Icelandic or non-Icelandic, it can be both. It’s a very universal name,” explains Sindri.  “And we also thought it might be a good name for a baby,” says Breki. “Now the band is our baby,” Sindri replies.

Searching for more band members, the pair enlisted musicians Ásgeir “Ási” Kjartansson and Óðal Hjarn whom they met during their time at Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð secondary school.

“Ási came to the band as a drummer but he also plays a bunch of other instruments like electric guitar and cello,” says Breki. “On the album, he also wanted to play the trumpet. He couldn’t play it at all, he just wanted to try it. He did and it was great.”

Striking the balance

The transformation from a duo to a four-piece unit provided capacity for experiments, culminating in the introduction to their future producer, Ægir Sindri Bjarnason. “Ægir is first in many respects,” Sindri describes. “He was our first sound engineer outside of Músíktilranir and his mix at Gaukurinn became the core for the recorded version of “Hide”. He also designed a poster for our show at Kex Hostel. We loved it and asked him to design a cover for Halidome.”

An intriguing collage of images, the artwork brings to mind the phantasmagoria of Hieronymus Bosch where contrasting worlds collide. Recorded at a shed not far from Reykjavík and Ægir’s studio, the album strikes a balance between the humming city and natural ambience of the countryside, such as rain murmur on “Dream On”.

“We believe in music.”

Armed with a grant from Iceland Music, Emma got an opportunity to invest more energy and resources into the album. Ægir stepped in as a producer, and the work on Halidome accelerated from January 2025. Different recording techniques and ideas were tested. “It gave a sense of space and atmosphere,” says Breki.

What might seem like an escapist record, Halidome is a reflection on real experiences. It is also about accepting the duality of life. “Every home I’ve had has influenced that album,” says Breki. “Like living with my grandparents while they were sick — our grandma had Alzheimer’s. Before that, I felt like home was always safe. But it also has darker moments,” they admit.

“When our grandparents passed away, we moved to an apartment near Hallgrímskirkja. It was a nice experience of renovating your apartment but there was also mould and we were sick from it. It was like, ‘I love this place but I’m very excited to move elsewhere, it’s hard to live here with all these memories.’”

Music, however, has given Emma a sense of safety. “We believe in music,” admits Sindri. “Our motivation is just that we want our stuff to be out there. We want to build on this, we want to write more music and continue with this,” he ends.

Emma’s debut album Halidome is out now on Bandcamp and available streaming services.