Musicians that come out of Iceland are as connected to the glorious nature around them the way their feet are connected to the ground. It is something that is attached to them at all times. From Bjork to Sigur Ros, Of Monsters & Men, and now, Asgeir, nature plays a central theme in their music. The Icelandic singer / songwriter, Asgeir, has been a staple back home. As one of his countries biggest young talents, he is setting his sights now on America. Backed by a four-piece band, he brought his music to a sold-out Mercury Lounge for an early show on Thursday night.
Asgeir released the English language version of his debut, In the Silence, last year. Now, he has been in the States touring this past Spring to bring attention to what he is doing. Selling out one of New York's most iconic clubs is not a bad way to start. Asgeir split his set up between half-English and half-Icelandic lyrics. The music is a bit interesting, combining folk over dub tracks and tape loops as Moog synthesizers and a live drummer playing both a regular kit and an e-kit play on. The music is very atmospheric as well as nurturing to the audience on a blistering hot evening in New York. At points, the songs sounded like audio waves coming at you from the stage and you had to surf them with your ears to navigate the various sounds emulating from what the musicians were doing. While he was on stage for about an hour and didn't say much to the crowd, Asgeir displayed his raw talents and showed New York what the fuss about his is back home. Now, let's see if the same happens across the country.
