Union Chapel show sells out as Ásgeir announces two new singles:
‘Going Home’ b/w ‘Dreaming’ (7th April) +
‘Here It Comes’ b/w ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ (Record Store Day 7”, 19th April)
Great Escape Show @ St. Mary’s Church, Thursday 8th May.
‘In The Silence’ has a presence that marks the young Icelander out as a significant talent. A natural wonder’
****The Independent ‘Album of the Week’
‘As powerful as the Ark Of The Covenant… a rare jewel of an album.’ 8.5/10 The Line of Best Fit
‘Like Sigur Rós, Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson has hit upon a rare, profound beauty.’ ****eMusic
‘These songs possess an airy, glacial beauty that’s easy to love’ 8/10 Clash
‘Effortlessly emotive and expressive’ ****MusicOMH
‘…leaves a lasting impression’ 8/10 Drowned In Sound
‘Polar pop excellence’ ****Daily Mirror
‘Enchanting’ ****The Skinny
‘Spellbinding’ 7/10 NME
Live in the UK & Ireland in April & May
Tuesday 8th April – London, Union Chapel (sold out)
Wednesday 9th April – Liverpool, East Village Arts Club
Friday 11th April – Dublin, Sugar Club
Saturday 12th April – Galway, Roisin Dubh
Sunday 13th April Manchester, Deaf Institute
Thursday 8th May – Great Escape @St. Mary’s Church
For a list of full international dates see asgeirmusic.com/
Following the release of his UK Top 40 debut, ‘In The Silence’, Icelandic sensation Ásgeir has announced the release of not one, but two new singles.
Meanwhile, ‘In The Silence’ has it’s US release via Columbia Records today, 4th March.
‘Going Home’ - taken from the album and backed with a new song ‘Dreaming’ - will be released by One Little Indian as a single on 7th April, while another new song ‘Here It Comes’ will be made available as an exclusive 7” picture disc forRecord Store Day on April 19th. Played out live in recent months, ‘Here It Comes’ (‘his strongest yet’ – Sunday Times) sees Ásgeir’s song writing explore a more complex and layered ideas - and comes backed with his version of Nirvana’s ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ - originally performed in session for Dermot O’Leary’s Radio2 show last November.
The past year has seen Ásgeir’s extraordinary domestic popularity translate far beyond Iceland’s shores. During that time serious inroads were made through Northern Europe, where by the end of last year he was comfortably selling out 1,500 capacity venues (the original Dyrd í dauðathogn album having been released in the Nordic countries back in February). More recently that success has been reflected in the UK and across the rest of Europe where anticipation for the release of the English-language version, ‘In The Silence’ built steadily, culminating in lead features in international titles such as The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Die Spiegel and Le Monde.
Ásgeir’s first UK headline tour last December included a sold out show at the Bush Hall and the subsequent announcement of a Union Chapel show on April 8th – which has now also sold out.
Born and raised in the hamlet of Laugarbakki (population, 48†) in the wilds of Iceland, Ásgeir comes from a large family of musicians. In 2012, at just 20 years of age, the release of Dyrd í dauðathogn made him an overnight sensation in Iceland breaking all records to become Iceland’s fastest and biggest selling debut album by a home grown artist - outselling even (label mate) Björk and Sigur Rós’ debuts. Staggeringly, one in ten of the Icelandic population now own the album.
Produced by Gudmundur Kristinn Jonsson, in Iceland the unusual poetry of Dyrd í dauðathogn has attracted almost as much attention as the music itself. Combining both electronic and organic elements with gossamer r’n’b production touches, the songs are light and vibrant, inset with his distinctively melancholic voice.