Bass And Guitar +1: Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi And Hróðmar Sigurðsson Release Their First Collaborative Album

The Reykjavík Grapevine has diligently followed the career of Icelandic bassist and composer Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi. The latest release featuring Ingibjörg is her most intimate. Titled +1, the record celebrates the creative partnership with her husband, Hróðmar Sigurðsson, who also played on her previous albums, Meliae and Stropha. Ingibjörg, in return, contributed to Hróðmar’s eponymous solo album released in 2021. Both Ingibjörg and Hróðmar have had creative paths of their own, which are nevertheless intertwined.

A baby +1

Although not explicitly, +1 documents the development of the couple’s relationship, including the birth of their children. “It could be just another album, plus one album,” Hróðmar explains the meaning behind the enigmatic title. “But when we were recording, we just had our son, so our family had one new member. Now we have another one, so we have one more.” This writer talks to both before the album release party at Reykjavík Record Shop, also the label that puts out +1 on vinyl.

The arithmetic progression also applies to external collaborators — a new guest player on the album, Elvar Bragi Kristjónsson, who plays the flugelhorn on “Balance”. The track is perhaps emblematic of a long-time collaboration and partnership. Starting with a murky, reversed version of the track, “Balance” conjures up a sailboat navigating across the unpredictable waters of life. The wavelike guitar and bass patterns hold the vessel, moved by the forceful wind of the flugelhorn. Minimalist as it is, the music on +1 is strangely evocative. It’s impressive that just the two instruments, with occasional additions, elicit striking imagery, mostly associated with a journey. Landscape paintings, such as On the Sailing Boat by Caspar David Friedrich, come to mind.

Augmented compositions

The metaphor of a journey also applies to the production process, which began in 2022 and took nearly two years. Having started at Örn Eldjárn’s studio in Grandi, the two later proceeded with experiments at their space in Hafnarhaus. “Two songs from the album were actually taken straight from a live concert that we did at an open house in Hafnarhaus,” says Hróðmar. “They are just improvisation pieces that happened at that concert and went straight onto the record.” While Ívar Ragnarsson was in charge of mixing, the artists were in close collaboration with him. “We had quite a bit of feedback so we went back and forth with him [Ívar], sometimes we would overdub stuff after he had mixed something,” Hróðmar continues. “We tried to find the right sound for this, it’s much harder with fewer instruments, especially when it’s not fully acoustic.” “When it’s fully acoustic, it’s less complex — you know what kind of sound you will get in the end,” says Ingibjörg. “But in this case, we were trying to find our way around the electric bass and electric guitar. Ívar mixed both of my albums, I really like his approach in mixing, I think this translates my ideas really well.”

“Minimalist as it is, the music on +1 is strangely evocative.”

“We meant to find the sound we really wanted,” she adds. “That’s why it was a long process which is also very different to how I have recorded my albums, for example, going to the studio, swiftly recording with a band and so on and so forth.”

Although meant as an LP (the record features eight compositions), +1 is similar to a sonic scaffolding, a work in progress where additional elements and contributions are welcome. “It all depends on the context,” says Ingibjörg. “Sometimes, when we play these pieces live, drums and other instruments are added. We like augmenting the compositions, sometimes it’s just two of us, sometimes we play with session musicians. It’s not set in stone.” Such a format suggests +1 can be played live before different kinds of audience. The duo’s music seems to fit the programme for very different events  — from the Reykjavík Jazz Festival to Extreme Chill.

“We compose music very differently”

The cover artwork, designed by Kristín Karólína Helgadóttir and Gréta Þorkelsdóttir, sums up the playful vibe where any item, whether it’s a cork or an orange, could be used for a creative purpose. Translated to the language of sound, this idea benefits from opposing approaches by two talented artists who, despite their differences, enjoy the company of one another. “We compose music very differently,” admits Ingibjörg. “I really like how Hróðmar composes songs. I could not compose songs like he does.” “It comes from jamming and working with ideas, now or later, I usually record them with my phone,” Hróðmar responds.

“I really like working with Ingibjörg,” he says. “She has this sensitivity to music, she is a thinker, she keeps her time really well, which is especially important for a bass player. She has this no-bullshit approach, this stop-talking-and-play thing, which is great.”

+1 is currently only available via Reykjavík Record Shop but will be available digitally from August 22. Two singles from +1, “Balance” and “Sunray,” are available on Spotify.