On Monday the album Ern er vor sál will be released, with songs by sportsman and composer Ernst Fridolf Backman, who is approaching his nineties. His grandson, Thorbjörn Björnsson performs the songs on the album with assistance from his friends from the Berlin music scene.
Respected pianist Jan Czajkowski orchestrated the album’s 27 tracks for piano, violin, clarinet and song. The album, which was recorded in Berlin, contains melodic old-fashioned dance music with lyrics by Ómar Ragnarsson, Gísli á Uppsölum and Kristleifur Jónsson, among others.
Backman was born and raised in Reykjavík. In his youth he learned how to play the piano and accordion and has often performed at gatherings. He worked as a coach, teacher and safety guard at the swimming pool Sundhöll Reykjavíkur and laid the basis for water gymnastics among senior citizens.
The album is distributed by 12 Tónar in Iceland.
Me, The Slumbering Napoleon (MSN) released its first studio album The Bloody Core of It on Friday.
The band’s members are Brynjar Helgason, Brynjólfur Gauti Jónsson and Rúnar Örn Marinósson, who have caught attention lately for their powerful concerts and energetic singles, states a Kimi Records press release.
The album is an ode to the borderline rock of the 1990s, where jumps from one beat to another, unconventional song construction and feedback were practiced. The songs are inspired by bands like The Jesus Lizard and Shellac, yet MSN maintain their own style.
The second solo album of Icelandic singer-songwriter Elíza Geirsdóttir Newman, the former front lady of the band Bellatrix, was released on November 10 by Smekkleysa.
The album, which is entitled Pie in the Sky, contains Icelandic summer hits like “Ukulele song for you” and “Hopeless case.”
On the album, Newman plays ukulele, violin, piano, keyboard and guitar in addition to singing. All ten songs were written by her.
In other music related news, Icelandic musician Ólafur Arnalds has been signed by international record label Nettwerk, as announced on visir.is this week, while Lay Low ended her contract with the label and made a copyright agreement with Songs Publishing instead.
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