Straumur: Hassle, Techno & Balkan Metal!

There’s a brand, brand new musical project out there, and it sounds mighty good. Wesen (“Hassle”) consists of Loji Höskuldsson, formerly of Sudden Weather Change, and Júlía Hermannsdóttir, of the shoegaze band Oyama. They just released their début single, “The Low Road,” an atmospheric trip-hop jam with ethereal breathy vocals by Júlía and a chorus that brings to mind Goldfrapp and Morcheeba. The beat is lo-fi, but the soundscape on top of it is laced with piles of tasteful synth noodlings. The song will feature on an upcoming LP from the band, ‘Wall of Pain’ (interestingly enough, Júlía and Loji competed at Músíktilraunir in 2005 as We Painted The Walls), which the pair is working on with producer Árni Hlöðversson of FM Belfast. We were lucky enough to witness the band in concert at Kex Hostel a few weeks back, and can bear witness to their live skills—you can witness ‘em for yourself in November, when they’re set to play (along with a shrillion other bands) at Iceland Airwaves.

Techno duo TRPTYCH is yet another new band on the horizon. So far, they’ve released a single song on Soundcloud, “Hér,” which packs a hell of a punch to the stomach and brain. It’s a midtempo techno number with glitchy drum programming, sub-bass as deep as the Pacific Ocean and hard industrial edges all around. It sounds great on a pair of headphones, but seems to be best suited for a dark basement club early on a Sunday morning. Currently working on a début LP, the pair will perform its first ever live show at Iceland Airwaves.

Long time Reykjavík tunesmith, guitarist and singer Gímaldin just released the first single from his forthcoming album ‘Blóðlegur fróðleikur’ (“Bloody Lore”). He describes the song, “Roska,” as a mix of metal and folk music: “I was making an album based on Metallica’s ‘St. Anger’, and the outcome was folky metal album.” Margrét Arnardóttir’s brilliant harmonica playing gives the song a Balkan-esque vibe. The lyrics, name-dropping Padmé and Anakin Skywalker, are about love and adventures. The force is with you, Gímaldin!

—

Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach document the local music scene and help people discover new music at www.straum.is. It is associated with the radio show Straumur on X977, which airs every Monday evening at 23:00.