Straumur: Disco And Not Disco

Earlier this summer we introduced you to the debut album from Andi, who makes delightful retro-sounding instrumental synth pop with nods to synth maestros of the past like Cerrone and Yellow Magic Orchestra. He just released a new song titled “Eltingaleikur” (“Chase,” possibly a reference to the Giorgio Moroder song that bears the same title?). It has a pulsating gritty bass and a bright lead synth line that sprinkles with the euphoric joy of Italo disco in its early days. It works equal wonders on a pair of headphones and on a packed dance floor—believe us, we already took it for a test drive at Húrra.

https://soundcloud.com/andri-eyjolfsson/eltingaleikur

The disco band Boogie Trouble, who put out their marvelous debut album earlier this year, have recently been remixed by the lo-fi weirdo pop act Just Another Snake Cult, who reworked one of their singles, “Diskósnjór” (“Disco Snow,” a not-too-subtle cocaine reference if there ever was one). Like in the aforementioned Andi song, there are a lot of Moroder antics in the bassline and synth arpeggios, though a bit more subdued and leftfield here. The remix treats the vocals with a great deal of irreverence, piling on effects and panning them from speaker to speaker, and also brings another woozy dimension to the strings and guitar solo.

The Reykjavík indie rock band Knife Fights just released a brand new EP called ‘I Am Neither A Whole Or A Half Man’. Sigurður Angantýsson (singer, guitar, synths and bass) and drummer Helgi Pétur Hannesson combine great songwriting with a colourful soundscape.

The critically acclaimed singer songwriter Þórir Georg has a new song out called “Meet Me,” a lo-fi gem with lyrics on subjects including life, death and the government. The song will be on Þórir’s next album, coming this winter.