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Release Info :
Reviews : Icelandic post-rock maven Stafraenn Hakon seems to have been churning out excellent material at a solid rate for years now, but with this latest offering it seems like he could well have hit paydirt. Gummi broadens Hakon's formula considerably, taking on board a greatly expanded sound palette, including hammered dulcimers, harps, glockenspiels, elements of electronic intervention and of course, that staple of Icelandic music, the whacking great string section. Clearly Stafraenn's flying directly into Sigur Ros-governed airspace with that sort of stuff, but so long as he keeps pulling it off with as much panache as he does here, that's just fine and dandy. In fact, Gummi's probably the ideal album for anyone who felt Sigur Ros have got a bit too epic for their own good. Hakon fills his productions with layers of delay-drenched guitars and crackling electronic beats, delivering vocal intermittently - in English no less. There's an awful lot to recommend this album: it's beautifully produced, the songs are extremely well-written and Hakon has retained the kind of distinctive guitar playing traits that characterised his earlier releases. He deserves some real crossover success with this one. Boomkat.com Part of Iceland's blossoming music scene, Ólafur Josephsson transcends his previous instrumental style on fourth album "Gummi", incorporating his varied vocal style for the first time. Again released under his Stafrćnn Hákon moniker, Josephsson calls on fellow Scandinavians Efterklang and Ampop to add their magical touch to the rich instrumentation throughout the album. Featuring some unique and diverse instruments (Earth Bell, Pump Organ, Dulcimer Harp) "Gummi" mixes glitch programming, lo-fi electronics, post-rock dynamics and those vocals to mesmerising effect. With nine tracks clocking in at over an hour's worth of music, everything about this release smacks of ambition. However, it will remain a mystery why it has taken so long for Josephsson to adopt his own vocals into his shimmering synthscapes, as it helps move the Stafrćnn Hákon sound from the early lo-fi style recordings and into the epic, atmospheric ambient rock realm. His whsipered vocals on "P-Rofi" recall Coldplay's Chris Martin, while on "Kvef" he delivers a performance worthy of Thom Yorke in tone, style and melody. The vocals seem to transport his songs onto a different plain. The music seems more expansive, on "Gummi", than previous outings like "Ventill/Poki", as Josephsson appears to be entering the stratospheres currently patrolled by Sigur Rós. "Járn", one of the few instrumentals, is a lavish album opener, featuring resplendent harpsichord arrangements and swelling organ sounds. It seems attention to detail during the recording process has paid off for Josephsson and his collective. A beautiful start, "Járn" will appeal to fans of the bittersweet sounds of The Album Leaf. But it is album closer, "Veggur", that provides the spine-tingling moment that seems to be building from the first few seconds of this disc. Hook-laden vocal harmonies tower above majestic instrumentation around the half-way mark and can only be described as glorious and a fitting end to a striking album. A definite career high, "Gummi" is a grandiose statement from an immensely talented musician. Rich in instrumentation and choc full of gorgeous, chiming melodies, Stafrćnn Hákon have created an album that has timeless written all over it. AngryApe.com Reykjavik-based electronic producer / multi-instrumentalist Olafur Josephsson first conceived his Stafraenn Hakon (Icelandic for ‘digital Hakon’) project back in 1999 when he found himself continuing to experiment with the 4-track recorder in his basement, following the break-up of his former college indie rock band Sullaveiki Bandormurinn. Recorded on 4-track using only guitar, bass, melodica, drum machines and tape hiss as the fifth ‘instrument’, Josephsson’s 2001 debut album as Stafraenn Hakon Eignast Jeppa attracted considerable critical acclaim upon its release through US label Secret Eye, with much of this attention focusing on its comparatively DIY origins. Ensuing albums Skvetter edik a ref and Ventill/Poki (both released through the UK-based Resonant label during 2004 have seen Josephsson discard the lo-fi trappings of his debut, in favour of building vast, cinematic landscapes that he self-describes as ‘a mix of post-rock, lo-fi, ambient guitar and electronica.’ With the latter album being Stafraenn Hakon’s most well-received to date and accompanied by an extensive UK tour, there’s sure to be considerable levels of anticipation surrounding this fifth album in total, Gummi. Without resorting to cliché, I often find myself wondering exactly what it is about the Icelandic surroundings that leads artists from that particular country to produce such gorgeously enveloping and emotionally sweeping music – indeed, upon first listening to Gummi’s nine tracks, I found myself immediately tracing aesthetic comparisons to recent works by both fellow Icelandic acts Valgeir Sigurdsson and Mum. Like those aforementioned artists, Gummi certainly sees Josephsson creating his own cohesive ‘sound world’, aided by an extended cast of vocalists and instrumental players, resulting in a one hour long collection that uses subtle electronics as the icing on its post-rock / classical-infused core. Eight minute long opening track ‘Jarn’ gives good indication as to the sorts of lush downbeat landscapes that dominate proceedings here, with vast rolling drums tracing an epic path beneath synthesised drones, twinkling harp plucks and xylophone trills before guitars start to rise up in the mix amidst widescreen orchestration, the entire track slowly building to an emotive post-rock climax that sits somewhere between the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and The Seven Mile Journey. By comparison, Birgir Hilmarsson’s yearning vocal performance on the skittering, glitch-laden ‘Svetn’ calls to mind Radiohead / Thom Yorke’s forays into electronics-laced widescreen rock, with contorted synthetic rhythms giving way to a majestic guitars and drums rock-out that manages to carry plenty of delightfully erratic tics beneath its muscular exterior, while Stafraenn’s collaboration with Danish post-rock / electronic band Efterklang on ‘P-Rofi’ proves to be something of a match made in heaven, as well as one of the most exquisitely multi-textured highlights on offer here. Just as things threaten to float right off into strings-laced reverie however (perhaps, in itself no bad thing), ‘Purr Purr’ sees the electronics rising once more to the foreground, as fractured downbeat electro rhythms trace a spidery path around weary-sounding guitars, delicate piano keys and Daniel Lovegrove’s beautifully understated indie-rock vocals – think the likes of Stateless given a considerably more interesting slant. A stunningly gorgeous fifth album from Josephsson under his Stafraenn Hakon persona that’s easily his most fully-realised collection to date. Cyclicdefrost.com You know that dream
where you're flying? The one in which you're miles above the ground, yet
you are at peace. I actually don't know that dream personally. I've
never had a dream in which I fly. I've had plenty that have found me
falling, waking suddenly and feeling as if I had just been levitating
above the bed, but never actual flying. I wonder why that is. Maybe it's
just that I don't ever remember my dreams. Friends over the years have
always notified me of their dream life. I've heard plenty of stories
about dreams in which friends' teeth fall out or acquaintances and
places are sharply back in focus after years of absence. One friend of
mine had a recurring dream in which he was lying on a beach when an
alligator swam out of the water and began to slowly eat him from the
feet up. Upon hearing this, that night another friend had a dream with
the same alligator, except that he began eating my friend from the head
down. Rather than be horrified, he simply began to calmly tell the
alligator that he was going about this all wrong. I've definitely had
the dream where I'm not prepared for the final exam plenty of times (and
I've been out of school for thirteen years), but never in memory have I
flown.
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