Asgeir performs two new songs at Iceland Airwaves
by Mark Wheat
November 09, 2018
Ásgeir is an Icelandic electronic-folk artist who is well known to The Current's listeners; he performed in our studio in 2014, and at last year's Iceland Airwaves festival, Ásgeir joined us for a live session at the Götubarinn pub in Akureyri. As such, it is a great honor to start off our 2018 broadcast from the Iceland Airwaves festival by welcoming Ásgeir for a live session at the Skúli Craft Bar in Reykjavik.
Afterglow, released in 2017, is Ásgeir's most recent album, but during his visit to Skúli Craft Bar, Ásgeir played two new songs from his forthcoming album, expected in early 2019. As part of this year's Iceland Airwaves, Ásgeir will perform the album in its entirety at an acoustic set at the Fríkirkjan (Free Church) in Reykjavik; we were delighted that he played a couple of the songs for us.
Known for writing songs in both English and in Icelandic, the two new songs Ásgeir played for us are in his native tongue, so he gave us a quick explanation of what each song is about:
• Besta Gjöfin: "It's a love song; it's a man singing to his girlfriend, a man that's traveling around the world and he's trying to find something good enough, like jewelry or something, to give to her when he comes back."
• Bernskan: "This song is about youth — it's actually going to be called 'Youth' in English — and it's about memories from when you're younger."
Listen to the complete interview with Ásgeir using the audio player above, which includes discussion about how Ásgeir and his friends are hosting a series of recording sessions at his studio in Hafnarfjorður, about 10 minutes outside central Reykjavik, where each session is cut straight to vinyl and the resulting record given to one lucky attendee.
Songs Performed
"Besta Gjöfin"
"Bernskan"
Both songs are from Ásgeir's forthcoming album, expected in early 2019.
Hosted by Mark Wheat
Produced by Lindsay Kimball
Engineered by Erik Stromstad
Web feature by Luke Taylor
External Links
Ásgeir - official site
Iceland Airwaves - official site
