Late Night Synths And Strings

Samaris single Viltu Vitrast released on 7th October 2013.


‘Elegant and unusual, this is a gem’ NME 8/10 
‘Imagine The xx and Little Dragon eloping to that magical forest in Lord of The Rings and you might be getting close to this record’s wonderfully paranormal aesthetic’ The Line of Best Fit 8/10 
‘Samaris specialise in gorgeous, haunting nocturnes’ Drowned In Sound
‘Samaris is superb. It’s fantastic. It’s amazing.’ The 405
‘This is an effortlessly atmospheric album that has all the arty sophistication of any great Icelandic act’ The Fly 4/5
‘An excellent forward thinking record from three talented musicians, not yet out of their teens’ Loud&Quiet  8/10
‘Mesmerisingly breathy groove from the young Icelandic combo, which should lure you to the delicious confections of their self-titled album’ Metro 

Icelandic teenage wunderkind Samaris’ first UK release comes in the shape of an eponymously-titled album on 29th July. Samaris compiles their two Icelandic-released EPs, Hljóma Þú (2011) and Stofnar falla (recorded at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio with Gunnar Tynes of múm, 2012.

Combining disparate elements of electronics (Þórður Kári Steinþórsson), clarinet (Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir) and Jófríður Ákadóttir’s haunting voice, Samaris mix glacial electronica and bold, percussive beats with haunting chant-like vocals - the lyrics culled from nineteenth century Icelandic poems. Viltu Vitrast for example retells an Icelandic folk tale about villages who ask for help from a supernal being, but worry it will choose not to manifest its power on Earth. The effect is simultaneously ancient and modern – an ethereal sound filled with dark spaces and alien atmosphere. 

Formed in 2011 in Reykjavik, within months Samaris had won both the Icelandic Músíktilraunir (past winners include the likes of Of Monsters and Men) and Kraumur Award. The band’s show at Iceland Airwaves in 2012, attracted the attention of Line Of Best Fit, Drowned In Sound and NPR amongst many others. Singer Jófríður also performs with her sister Ásthildur in the more folk-inclined Pascal Pinion.
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iTunes: smarturl.it/Samaris-Silkidrangar
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Samaris - Viltu Vitrast

Lund Quartet - Tulipan

A.D. 2025

Simple

Le Brasier De Tristesse

Nothing Changes Under The Sun

Your Girl

New Moon

Electro Blues

Hymn to the Immortal Wind

Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn (Remastered)

From the forthcoming Sinkane record "Mars"

Jeeper Creeper

Album out October 27th 2017
www.martinhayes.com

The Boy in the Gap

Trip-Hop Anthology

Alif Tree – I Feel Blue

A Humdrum Star

Bardo

Originally conceived as a Royal Ballet-commissioned collaboration between composer Max Richter, choreographer Wayne McGregor and artist Julian Opie, Max Richter’s gorgeous score to ‘infra’ is deservedly given life of its own in this album-length release from FatCat’s instrumental/orchestral imprint 130701 Records.

The initial setting for ‘infra’ was as a ballet - written in autumn 2008 and premiered in November of the same year at The Royal Opera House in London – although here Richter’s score is given the full scope of a standalone new album. Expanded and extended from the original piece, ‘infra’ comprises music written for piano, electronics and string quintet, including the full performance score as well as material that has subsequently developed from the construction of the album – more a continued reference to the ballet than as a “studio album” in the strictest sense. The composition resonates with Max’s characteristic musical voice – majestic, involved textures; fluent and sweeping melodies; an enigmatic and inherently intellectual understanding of harmonic complexities that compels and mesmerizes.

Richter’s work on the ballet came initially from McGregor’s invitiation, a request for 25 minutes of music for his piece, inspired by T.S. Elliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ and named after the Latin term for ‘below’. This eventually became more collaborative as the project developed – Wayne would ask for Max to extend or alter certain passages of music in accordance with his own amendments to his choreography and concept, whilst logging the whole process for a BBC documentary (broadcast, along with the ballet in full, on BBC2 in November 2008). The dance performance was backed with digital images created by Julian Opie – observational scenes of street life, haunting and curiously balletic despite being of the everyday – and Max’s score is an appropriately close reference to the traveling theme:

“I started thinking about making a piece on the theme of journeys. Like a road movie. Or a traveler’s notebook. Or like the second unit in a film - when the scene has been played, and the image cuts away to the landscape going by. This started me thinking about Schubert's devastating and haunting "Winterreise" (Winter Journey), so I used some melodic material from Schubert as a found object in parts of my new piece.“

The recording of ‘infra’ took place in one day at London’s AIR Studios – recorded onto 2” tape, engineered by Nick Wollage and overseen by Max - before a return to the mixing studio (Max’s StudioKino and Trixx in Berlin) for Max’s typically intricate and lengthy process of crafting completed pieces from the recordings.

Infra

Infra 3

From the album Gentle Spirit by Jonathan Wilson.  Released on Bella Union 2011.

Desert Raven

The Debut Album "Nothing Is Still", out now on Ninja Tune.
Buy / Stream: https://leonvynehall.lnk.to/nisYo

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Nothing Is Still

Movements (Chapter III)

Another Late Night

Truth & Rights \ Zero 7

The Boy in the Gap

Martin Hayes Quartet

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