Amiina: Leather and Lace (Lee Hazlewood Cover)

Listen/Download:
"Leather and Lace"
Myspace
Wiki

Sigur Ros: Hljomalind (Myspace Rip)

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
[Watch the band's recent Electric Proms performance with Amiina]

"Heima" Trailer:

Amiina: Lóri

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
[Read my interview]
[Read my live review]

New Amiina Song

From aminamusic.com:

amiina played a new song in Brussells the other night.

!linus (who recorded it) says:

at the start it features maria on guitar, solrun at the organ, hildur bowing a saw and edda hitting another saw with a mallet (like what hildur does in ammælis) they change instruments midsong of course, not sure what edda does after the saw but hildur plays on the weird guitar like thing used during hilli

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Read my interview with Amiina]

The Grab Bag

Time to clear out my backlog of links at one fell swoop:

Jim Derogatis interviews Amiina: [Chicago Sun-Times]
NY Times reviews Amiina: [New York Times]

Pete Doherty begins acoustic tour: [NME]

Patti Smith Covers "Gimme Shelter":

[Download the MP3 at Salon]

Thom Yorke, Julian Casablancas, and others run down their desert island jukebox picks on [Sound Opinions]:

[Download the MP3]

Peabs Has a Doppelganger [Whatevs]

"The Riches" is pretty great. Watch the pilot: [VEOH]
On a related note, watch pretty much everything else: [Alluc.org]

Amiina: Live in NYC (MP3)

Tracklist:
01 Intro
02 Boga
03 Hemipode
04 Lúppa
05 Kolapot
06 (Flaut)/Sexfaldur
07 Hilli
08 Glámur
09 Ugla
10 Fjarskanistan
11 Seoul
Encore:
12 Saga

[MP3 Link]
[Lossless Link]
[Info from Amiina News]
[Order Amiina's debut, "Kurr"]

Listen to "Hilli" (Live):

Thoughts On:Amiina Live in Chicago 3.23.07

There's definitely a different pace to an Amiina show, one that has more in common with a classical performance than a rock one. Although the group's show at Chicago's Lakeshore Theater revealed countless moments of beauty, there's not the same sense of instant gratification you get from a rock band. This is probably the reason why some Sigur Ros fans have an impression of Amiina as being "boring". For this reviewer, that's an unfair criticism of a band whose pacing and ambitions lie somewhere far afield from mainstream music, and even apart from Sigur Ros.

Throughout the show, there was the sort of giddy excitement one might expect with kids getting lose in the room where the school band keeps its instruments. The group switched between keyboards, strings, xylophones, a "glassophone", and harps, often within the space of one song. Digital looping pedals were used to organically craft layers of texture. There was an iBook on stage as well, but it seemed only to be utilized for scattered bits of percussion and atmospheric noise, like on the song "Hemipode" from the group's debut EP "AnimaminA".


The group's debut LP "Kurr" was also represented faithfully. The album's closing track "Boga" was actually the opener on this night, featuring Hildur playing some sort of instrument that required two bows. The ominous strains of this bizarre instrument carried through the song to the final fade out. Tracks that include the quartet's angelic harmonies, such as "Kolapot", "(R)ugla", and especially "Hilli", sounded stellar live and documented a musical progression from instrumental sketches to full-bodied pieces of work. Unfortunately, one of the the highlights of "Kurr", a track called "Lori", was not played. Being a change of pace for the band, it will probably take them a bit to put it together for the live setting.

Of course, one can't review an Amiina concert without mentioning the musical saw. It was there, as always, on the single "Seoul". As a special treat, the band returned for an encore and played a sort of 'saw symphony', with all four of them manipulating saws that reflected the venue's spotlights in every conceivable direction. As a bit of musical weirdness and beauty, it was the perfect summation of a charming evening.

[Read the Dead Flowers Interview with Amiina]
[Pre-order Amiina's Debut Record, "Kurr"]
[Amiina on Myspace]
[Official Amiina Website]
[Aminamusic.com Fansite]

Tour Dates:
march 28 Montreal (Le National) tickets
march 30 Philly (World Café Live) tickets
march 31 Boston (The Remis at Museum of Fine Arts) tickets
april 1 DC (9:30 Club) tickets
april 2 NYC (The Wordless Music Series) tickets
april 6 Cincinnati (Cincinnati Now Festival) tickets
april 9 Seattle (Triple Door) tickets
april 10 Portland (Doug Fir Lounge) tickets
april 12 San Francisco (Swedish American Hall) tickets
april 13 Los Angeles (Silent Movie Theatre) tickets
april 14 San Diego (House of Blues-5th Avenue Stage) tickets

Dead Flowers Interviews Amiina

Maria Huld Markan, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir, Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, and Hildur Ársælsdóttir, together known as Amiina, are a group from Iceland. Their debut LP "Kurr" will be released on March 21st. Many initially got to know the group as Sigur Ros' string section, and they share that band's adventurous approach to music and instrumentation. Listeners who enjoyed the more contemplative sections of "Takk" will find Amiina's music a welcome addition to their library. I spoke to Hildur from the group, who you might have seen playing the saw, among other instruments.

Thanks to Greg at http://aminamusic.com for general assistance and question help. Thanks as well go to the band's manager, Edna Pletchetero, for making the interview possible.

Dead Flowers: You started as a string quartet rather than as a rock band. How has that affected your approach to music?

Hildur: I'd say to some extent, the way we think is very influenced by our classical upbringing. the importance of instrumentation and nuances for instance. and also the fact that we don't depend on one main melody. it's more about layers and weaving independent melodies together. but this isn't classical music we are making, the cords and the structure of alot of the songs are more pop orientated.

DF: Your songs create a very specific mood. Do you set out to evoke certain emotions with your music?

H: Not really. but we seem to be an endless source of melancholy.

Listen to "Blaskjar":

DF: Now, an existential question: Why Amiina? What do you feel you can do in the context of the group that you can't do with Sigur Ros?

H: We have worked with Sigur Rós for a very long time, and had creative input, but we are not in the band. with amiina the process of starting a song from scratch is ours, the direction and the mood of each song is solely in our hands. when we were doing creative work with Sigur Rós it mostly consisted of adding our work to their world of sounds. it's actually two very different things. Although both very enjoyable.

DF: What is your favorite instrument to work with? When on tour, are you constantly on the look out for new instruments?

H: Haha, that's a good question to ask a band with 30 instruments on stage! it probably depends alot on which member you ask, and also on periods. we had a period where we could not make a new song without using our table harps in it, and we ended up traveling with 4 of them everywhere we go. but now everyone is tired of tuning them, so for some reason no one mentions the harps when we are writing new material! the metalophone seems to end up used in every song, and we are all in love with the celest, but that's a rare and expensive instrument, so only when we are lucky enough to borrow one. i think the best answer to the question would probably be that which ever instrument is the newest at any time is the most popular one. today it's probably the nord-compact we just bought to replace the beautiful fragile harmonium on tour.

On tour we don't really have that much time to look out for new instruments. but of course if we get free time and there is a place with interesting stuff nearby, we're very likely to be seen there yes.

Icelandic TV Appearance:

DF: Your songs move at a slower pace than most pop/rock music today; new layers are revealed gradually over the course of each song. Was this approach intentional, or is that just the most natural tempo for you?

H: I guess it's what comes natural for us. usually we don't start out saying:
"ok, let's make a really slow song with many layers". on the contrary, even
if we start out wanting to do a simple, cheerful song, this is what comes
out. we can't help it.

DF: The "Seoul" b-side "Ugla" has vocals on it, while your earlier work was instrumental. How did you decide to incorporate your voices?

H: There are 4 of us on stage, and a lot of the time we are in desperate need of
more hands. because when we are writing and recording, we tend to add more
layers than is physically possible for us to perform with 8 hands. here the
voices come in handy, four layers that don't take away any of the already
working hands. this is at least one of the reasons why we are incorporating
our voices more and more into our songs. but for now, we like to use them
more as additional instruments, rather than a lead melody.

Listen to "Ugla":

DF: You have what one could describe as a 'symbiotic relationship' with Sigur Ros. Some tracks on "Takk" sound very similar to Amiina's music. What do you think the group has learned from you? What have you learned from them?

H: Hmm. i don't know. we have spent a lot of time together, playing together and as friends. and certainly you are influenced by your surroundings to some extent, but i really can't speak on their behalf. And I'm sure they are a big influence on us without us necessarily noticing it, it's eight years since we played the first concert with them. i think working with them and spending so much time in this environment has made us feel certain that you don't have to make music the same way everyone else does. so maybe that played a part in us wanting to start making our own music, i don't know. but then again if they had been the "traditional" pop/rock band we would probably not have lasted this long together.

[Pre-order Amiina's Debut Record, "Kurr"]
[Amiina on Myspace]
[Official Amiina Website]
[Aminamusic.com Fansite]

Tour Dates:
march 21 Madison (Café Montmartre ) tickets
march 22 Minneapolis (The Varsity Theatre) tickets
march 23 Chicago (Lakeshore Theater) tickets
march 25 Cleveland (Cambridge Room, House of Blues) tickets
march 26 Detroit (Magic Bag) tickets
march 27 Toronto (The Music Gallery ) tickets
march 28 Montreal (Le National) tickets
march 30 Philly (World Café Live) tickets
march 31 Boston (The Remis at Museum of Fine Arts) tickets
april 1 DC (9:30 Club) tickets
april 2 NYC (The Wordless Music Series) tickets
april 6 Cincinnati (Cincinnati Now Festival) tickets
april 9 Seattle (Triple Door) tickets
april 10 Portland (Doug Fir Lounge) tickets
april 12 San Francisco (Swedish American Hall) tickets
april 13 Los Angeles (Silent Movie Theatre) tickets
april 14 San Diego (House of Blues-5th Avenue Stage) tickets

Amiina Ready New Album

From their official site:

Dear all,

Finally our debut album, Kurr, will be allowed to wander off into the big world. It will happen on March the 21st, but pre-orders have already started. We do hope it brings you joy!

This first run is a little bit special, as it is released by our own Bláskjár Records. For now the album will only be available at our shows and in our webstore. But we're talking to some people who want to make it more widely available, so by this summer it will hopefully have travelled to most decent record stores around the world. We'll give you news on all that later.

But if you can't wait that long, come to our shows, or purchase it online (there are also some other new nice things there to buy)!

Amiina w/ Sigur Ros on Jools Holland:


Tour Dates:
march 21 Madison (Café Montmartre ) tickets
march 22 Minneapolis (The Varsity Theatre) tickets
march 23 Chicago (Lakeshore Theater) tickets
march 25 Cleveland (Cambridge Room, House of Blues) tickets
march 26 Detroit (Magic Bag) tickets
march 27 Toronto (The Music Gallery ) tickets
march 28 Montreal (Le National) tickets
march 30 Philly (World Café Live) tickets
march 31 Boston (The Remis at Museum of Fine Arts) tickets
april 1 DC (9:30 Club) tickets
april 2 NYC (The Wordless Music Series) tickets
april 6 Cincinnati (Cincinnati Now Festival) tickets
april 9 Seattle (Triple Door) tickets
april 10 Portland (Doug Fir Lounge) tickets
april 12 San Francisco (Swedish American Hall) tickets
april 13 Los Angeles (Silent Movie Theatre) tickets
april 14 San Diego (House of Blues-5th Avenue Stage) tickets

Amiina: KEXP (Podcast)

Amiina Music and the Sigur Ros official site are hosting Amiina's KEXP session. Download it [here]

The tracklisting is:

01 [Radio Intro]
02 Hemipode
03 Glámur
04 [Interview]
05 Ugla
06 Ammælis
07 [Radio Outro]

In other news, the "Seoul" single is now available on ITunes US. Click on the link below to pick it up for $2.97:

Amina: Boga (New Song)

[Download the Mp3 at Amiina Music]

Amiina: New EP

From Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise:

long time sigur rós collaborators, amiina, have released their second single. it has three tracks: “seoul”, “ugla” and “ammaelis” and can be purchased here right now. stocks are limited. (note that this is the european version of the single, with an american/canadian version on sale now through the workers institute label.)



Previous EP: