Bassist Skúli Sverrisson has been a favorite of mine for well over 20 years. In this reissue, he teams with tenor saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson in a quiet, minimal, yet somehow lush release of interplay between the two masters. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “After Silence (Eftir þögn) was recorded in Continue Reading
Iceland
Cathrine Legardh, Sigurdur Flosason – Stilhed & Storm
Nordic jazz tends to be very warm in my experience. This collection of original tunes by Danish singer Cathrine Legardh and her sparring partner on this album, alto saxophonist Sigurður Flosason, make an album with songs of love, live and even dogs. It’s a mellow listen, something hotter than cool Continue Reading
Ragnar Ólafsson – Urðarþráður
I had the pleasure of meeting multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Ólafsson in Bulgaria when he was performing with the Icelandic post-rock group Árstíðir many years ago. Every now and again, I see his name pop up and I came across this gorgeously-sung single track he released in May of this year. From Continue Reading
Valgeir Sigurðsson – Kvika
Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson is a classical composer who has developed into the country’s leading light in terms of modern classical music. From his Bandcamp site: “Valgeir has become a master of sound to get lost in. Through his layering of his collaborators’ instrumental and vocal parts and a nuanced Continue Reading
Jóhann Jóhannsson – Drone Mass
Though it’s been four years, the loss of Jóhann Jóhannsson due to an overdose has left a massive hole in contemporary classical music, drone, experimental music, post-rock and so many other genres his work touched on. This opus, performed by the legendary Paul Hillier and backed my ACME, is as Continue Reading
Atli Örvarsson – Wolka
Iceland is one of those countries who seem to produce musicians at an incredible rate in comparison to the size of its population. Atli Örvarsson is one of a handful of gifted soundtrack composers to hail from the island nation, and is the first one I can think of who Continue Reading
Reptilicus & The Hafler Trio – Designer Time
Continuing on the Industrial (and post-Industrial) theme, this album was sent as a promo album to me while I was a buyer for Aron’s Records, the best record shop in Los Angeles before Amoeba steamrolled the competition (and are now, apparently, either no more or barely hanging on in L.A.). Continue Reading