ÆGIR — LOOK AT PRETTY THINGS

---

To hear something from Iceland that isn’t solely gently electronic or obviously introspective is a huge gulp of fresh air. ‘Look At Pretty Things’ begins with a mesmeric fumble through tracts of bubbling synth, an oscillating hot tub of thick relaxation, but this serves to lull your ears into a state of malleability.

For Icelandic musicmaker Ægir, clearly this is the ideal ground on which plant his bumper crop of barrelling breakbeats. These come into earshot like a mob of metallic beetles — the snarling snap of snares slapping the air while the kick drum thunders and quakes.

Ægir’s background as a hardcore drummer gives the percussion a living-and-breathing feel; the sense of direction in the beat, despite its speed, is expertly crafted. Overall, ‘Look At Pretty Things’ is a cross between an alien abduction and a sweaty basement gig: weird, but 100% worth it.

---

• 🔔 This track is taken from Ægir’s album The Earth Grew Uncertain, released back in June on Reykjavik’s very own Why not? Plötuútgáfa! Records. Stream, purchase it on Bandcamp. There's also a video for 'Look At Pretty Things'.

---

📠
☟ Ægir Internet Presence ☟
bandcamp ⚘ twitter ⚘ instagram

---

🐣 EINARINDRA — SWEET HONEY FLOWS

This track is a proper little journey, a progressive electronic symphony that twists through darkness with snaking smoke twisting curling caught in angular spotlights that make cones of the thick whitegrey clouds, pulsing and strobing in time with the offbeat percussion that booms clicks and ticks for the duration. Fittingly it's called 'Sweet Honey Flows', the words which Reykjavík-based artist einarIndra sings in the choruses of this dark minimalist electronic pop song, accented with undeniable kinetic energy – but slow, aching – from its offbeat trip-hop foundation.

Synth plays a big part, fizzing and softly soothing at times, a great backdrop for the crooning vocals, both of which float into the voidsomeness going on here, the emptiness that sloshes all around and that ebbs and flows on all sides of the islets and crags of sound, a tide of dim spaciness that gives this track a moody somewhat sultry atmosphere—reminiscent of James Blake, for instance. The simple intricacy of the beat is something to get latched onto as well, with interesting rhythms between the alternating sharp sheen of the hi-hats and the full-bodied smash of snares and the thudding kicks playing in rubato triplets. It rises up later, progressing as it does into a tract of fairly intense synth buzzing and striking soulful strings, but it is restrained, maintaining its neo-noir cool, its nowhere romantic despairing flavour.

---

• 🔔 This wonderful track is taken from einarIndra's Unravel EP, released at the beginning of August by champions of electronic music in Iceland, Möller Records. You can purchase the EP for €5.16 or more from Bandcamp.

---

---

📠
☟ einarIndra Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ official site ⚘ twitter ⚘ youtube ⚘ instagram ⚘ itunes ⚘ myspace

---

---