Ásgeir… The Iceman up-and-cometh

Showcase: Ásgeir

Published on September 9th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

We dug Icelandic singer/songwriter Ásgeir’s new single “King and Cross” in a recent singles round-up – think Kings of Convenience meets Passion Pit and you’d be somewhere close – so we fired him over some questions to find out more about him…

How would you describe your music, if pushed?

I would describe it as a melodic mixture of folk music and electronics.

Where are you based, and what do you use to record with?

I’m based in Reykjavík, and I record in a legendary studio called Hljóðriti, but with demo recordings at home I just use GarageBand or whatever’s available.

Are you signed to a label? If so, how did you come to their attention?

I’m signed to One Little Indian. Not quite sure how I came to their attention but I have been told that someone in Iceland sent a YouTube link to Derek Birkett who ended up sending me a message through Facebook. We returned the message and here we are!

Is there a full album in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it? (Feel free to be as abstract as you like…)

Yes there is an album on the way. We have been working on an English version of an album that we released in Iceland last year, the English title of the album is In the Silence and it will be released in late October.

Where can we hear your music online?

Go to www.asgeirmusic.com and it will lead the way.

Which have been your most exciting gigs and/or overall moments so far?

A lot has happened during this year that has passed since I released my debut album in Iceland. Our first time on a big stage in front of a big crowd was during Iceland Airwaves last November. That was nerve-racking but also exciting.

I can also remember when I heard one of my own songs for the first time on the radio. That was pretty huge. I was both honoured and proud to receive four awards at the Iceland Music Awards last February and our first tour abroad was very exciting.

We did a mini-tour of the US and Canada where we played gigs in Boston, New York, LA and San Francisco and did showcases at SXSW in Austin and Canadian Music Week in Toronto. It was just so great to hear that people outside of Iceland were actually interested in what we were doing.

Got any more coming up? (Gigs, that is…)

Yes! Berlin on September 23rd, Reeperbahn, three headline gigs in Denmark October 2nd – 4th, the first ever headline gig in the UK at The Miller in London on October 30th, Iceland Airwaves in November and then we have a whole release tour ahead of us in UK/EU in November and December.

Are there any obscure and/or up-and-coming acts that you’d like to recommend or give a shout-out to?

Check out a house band called Sísý Ey from Iceland

Finally, if you were forced to spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement, but were allowed to bring the entire works of five different artists along to tide you over, whose would you choose?

Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel

Ásgeir’s new single “Torrent” will be released on October 28th.

Asgeir’s first headline show in London is confirmed to be at The Miller on Wednesday October 30th.

Artists: asgeir

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.