popwreckoning

Alternative Press posted a new video from Moving Mountains today. The video is for “Cascade” off their newest release Waves and was filmed over a three-week period in Iceland.

To view the video and read more, click below:

http://www.altpress.com/aptv/video/moving_mountains_the_cascade_video

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the second show of Jónsi‘s this week in Washington. The first on Monday sold out quickly, so I figured the people present for Tuesday’s show would be the kind of folks who did not jump on tickets when this Jónsi solo tour was announced – like obsessed Sigur Ros fans. After chatting with some people in line outside the 9:30, it was clear many people who had seen the first show had been so enthralled by the performance, they immediately bought tickets to the second afterward. Hardcore. Once inside, I ran into one of my friends who informed me, “he was amazing last night. This show is going to be terrible, because he used up all his energy last night. He must be exhausted.” However, during the 1 hour-plus show, I detected no signs that Jónsi‘s energy was flagging. Quite the opposite: as the set wore on, he seemed to gain power from the love that was pouring in his direction from the audience.

The opening act were three women collectively known as Mountain Man. (I chuckled to myself when I realized there wasn’t going to be a man at all onstage during their performance.) Interestingly, they’re signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in the UK, the same label that also has American bands like Beach House and Fleet Foxes on their roster. The band “stars” the ethereal voices of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Amelia Randall Meath and an acoustic guitar used very sparingly. It sure made a refreshing change to see an indie folk band that didn’t have everything but the kitchen sink onstage to play on (which was essentially what you saw when Jónsi and his band had their turn). When you have nothing but your voices to rely on, you’ve got to have the harmonies just right. I wonder how much they practice, but wow, the merging of those three female voices sound amazing. Have a listen to their track “Soft Skin” on their MySpace and you’ll see what I mean.

Jónsi first appeared with acoustic guitar, playing “Stars in Still Water.” I was more focused on what he was wearing – it looked like something a Scottish hobo might wear, a red themed number with bits of plaid fabric sewn together and lots of feathers, with scraps of fabric hanging down it. The rest of his band came in during the second number, and I noticed they all had similar outfits but in more muted colors. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of instruments onstage for Jónsi‘s set, including piano, synths, xylophone (which fascinatingly was played with bows at one point), glockenspiel, guitars, ukulele, and drums. Suitcases that presumably held all this stuff were used themselves as percussion (manual kick drums) and chairs. It all lent a very free spirited air to the proceedings. You can love or hate Jónsi‘s falsetto but there’s no question that his voice is something almost inhuman, as evidenced by the way he can hold the last note of a song for a very, very long time.

Usually you don’t get a cinematic experience at the 9:30 Club and to be honest, the only other shows I’ve ever seen there that had any sort of visual element running the entire length of the gig were Doves in 2009 and Broken Bells earlier this year. Jónsi‘s set-up was interesting such that depending on which song was being played, you could feel like you were running with antelope, flying with butterflies or owls, or drowning in a room rapidly filling up with water. You could call it a total sensory experience.

Throughout the set, guys and girls of all ages were going all verklempt behind me, sighing “oh my god” after each song. While I myself was not as emotionally transported like these people were, I can appreciate Jónsi‘s artistry. Just on the basis of the amazing crown of feathers he wore for the encore, you could definitely say he is one of a kind.

Jónsi Set List
Stars in Still Water
Hengilas
Icicle Sleeves
Kolnidur
Tornado
Sinking Friendships
Saint Naive
Go Do
Boy Lilikoi
Piano Des
Animal Arithmetic
New Piano Song (exactly as shown on the set list!)
Around Us
//
Stick and Stones
Grow Till Tall

Jónsi: website | myspace
Mountain Man: myspace

You already know him from Sigur rós and now Jónsi is coming all the way from Iceland so you can hear his musical landscapes in the flesh.

PopWreckoning has been given a grand opportunity, thanks to Velocity Media, to give our fans the chance to see the Jónsi for free. The show will take place at Liberty Hall (Lawrence, Kan.) on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m.

PopWreckoning will be giving away 2 pairs (4 total) tickets to the show.

This contest will end at 5 p.m. the day of show. Winners’ tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I cannot get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1. Comment in this article the answer to the following question: As Jónsi tours in support of Go, why do you deserve to “Go” to his show? PopWreckoning staff will read your opinions and choose the best four day of show.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool. Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.

Though she’s known for her collaborations with acts such as múm, the Iceland native Ólöf Arnalds songbird like voice and multi-instrumental talents showcase that she is just as spectacular as a solo artist, if not more so.

Between working on her sophomore record, preparing for SXSW and celebrating her first record’s U.S. debut, Arnalds still found the time to talk to PopWreckoinng about her musical history and her future endeavors.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: Why did you want to be a musician?
Ólöf Arnalds: I’ve never really thought that much about whether I wanted to be a musician or not. I’ve been learning or working with music since I was a child. It’s a very big part of who I am and I’m really thankful to have the opportunity to focus on music and make a living from it.

PW: How important do you think music education/training is for a musician and a songwriter?
ÓA: I think that’s very individual from one to another. People can train and learn music in so many different ways and musicians and songwriters just have to approach or develop whichever tool or technique they think is the most helpful for what they want to express.

PW: When working on your senior project, Eins og sagt er, how did you come up with the idea for the project? You came to New York. Why New York? Though you’re done with school, would you ever try to do a project like that again?
ÓA: I had done another multi-frame music performance piece before with fewer and simpler musical themes and I wanted to find a way to expand the idea. My interest in the rhythm and pitch in spoken language became a focus point for the musical composition. I traveled to New York for a month in the Summer of 2005 to collect texts from people because I knew I could find people of all nationalities there. I was also very drawn to the city for other reasons and thought this would be a good way to spend some time there. Although music is my main field I’m really interested in continuing to work with other media too either through collaborations or individual projects.

PW: Though Við og Við came out in 2007, it just recently was released in United States. How has the reaction been? Is it strange for this to be “new” music to so many people when you are on the dawn of releasing the follow-up album? Any plans for touring in the States soon?
ÓA: I’m really humbled by how Við og við has been received in the U.S with all the good press and interest people have shown in the record. Of course, I’ve come a long way since I made Við og við and and have even made a whole new record so I feel bit detached from it. Við og við feels to me like a thing that has it’s own life and is independent of me now so I´m happy it´s doing well. I have a short tour coming up around SXSW with shows also in Boston and New York. A full list of dates and venues is up at my MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/olofarnalds.

PW: How is your sophomore album coming along? Name and release date confirmed? What can fans expect (lyrical subject matter, instruments used on it)?
ÓA: We’ve just finished mastering it. The working title was Ókídókí, but then I decided to change the name of the album to Innundir skinni, after one of the songs. The Ókídókí title came about when the ideas were more all over the place and I hadn’t put the editing knife on the album as a whole. Now when I’ve killed the darlings and focused the sound of the record, Ókídókí feels a bit too careless a title particularly considering all the work that my collaborators and I have put in. Innundir skinni means “within skin” that in the song refers to carrying a child. But “skin” can be many things – for example a CD can be the skin of the music and within skin could be about your feelings inside. So to me, Innundir skinni as an album title means that I’m letting the listener into my world. The release date hasn’t been confirmed yet. Innundir skinni is a bit more diverse in sound and feel than Við og við: it has more colour, more elaborate instrumentation and three of the lyrics are in English. It also has one co-written lyric and two guest singing performances. On Við og við, most of the songs were to my family members. On Innundir skinni, I’m singing about my friends, being a woman, creativity and then of course everyone’s favorite subject – love.

PW: Do you ever have a hard time balancing your solo work and your work with múm?
ÓA: I haven’t played or collaborated with múm since my first solo album came out in 2007. múm now have a very solid setup of great musicians that works really well and my time is occupied with my own music so I probably won’t return to the touring group. It makes me a bit sad since they are all dear friends, and I miss playing and hanging out. I still do have plans to collaborate with members of múm in the future whether on my music, theirs or even a separate creative project.

PW: You already play multiple instruments. What is one instrument that you currently don’t know how to play, but wish you could learn it and why?
ÓA: I would love to be able to play piano with a good theoretical understanding of harmony. I can only play it by ear now and have no grip on theory. Although my understanding of chord progression is there, it’s all based on ear and my own internal language of music that I find hard to break out of. I’m working on my understanding of theory with a guitar teacher now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to apply some of that to the piano. I would also love to learn how to operate some electronic devices, like a sampler or a programming thing with an idiot proof interface. I really admire people that have patience for computers and electronic gear and are able to make something organic with it.