Hooray for our award winning artists
We’ve said it before and say it again, we’re thrilled to work with our family of talented musicians. What makes us even more thrilled is when they get nominations or win awards like they did last Friday night. The Iceland Music Award ceremony was held on March 4th and our very own Agent Fresco and Of Monsters and Men left the ceremony with two awards each.
Their success at the ceremony clarifies what we believe and know, our artists make outstanding music and they make us proud. Agent Fresco and Of Monsters got 10 nominations in total and Júníus Meyvant came after them with two nominations.
Our artists’ awards this year are:
Rock Album of the Year
Agent Fresco – Destrier
Song of the Year - Pop
Of Monsters and Men – Crystals
Singer of the Year - Male
Arnór Dan Arnarson (Agent Fresco)
Live Performer of the Year
Of Monsters and Men
Other Nominations:
Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin (Album of the Year - Pop)
Agent Fresco – See Hell (Song of the Year - Rock)
Júníus Meyvant – Hailslide (Song of the Year - Pop)
Júníus Meyvant (Singer of the Year - Male)
Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir (Singer of the Year - Female)
Agent Fresco (Live Performer of the Year)
Event of the Year (Agent Fresco’s Album Release Show in Harpa)
Record Producer of the Year (Styrmir Hauksson and Agent Fresco)
Agent Fresco release new single + album info!
One of Iceland’s most escalating rock bands of this century Agent Fresco has released their second single from their sophomore album. Their complex and aggressive yet tender and passionate music compound has earned them quite some following in their native land and their international following is burgeoning. Agent Fresco have been working hard like bees in a nest to make their forthcoming album complete and now they have the reward insight. The new single is entitled “See Hell” and it’s their second one since the release of the stunning “Dark Water”.
A new video has been made by production company Tjarnargatan in Reykjavík that you can watch below.
“See Hell” is also one of the twelve songs featured on our newest edition of This Is Icelandic Indie Music.
Agent Fresco’s anticipated sophomore album, entitled Destrier, will see the light of day on August 7th and we’re so proud be a part of spreading the message of this great band in Iceland. They’ve signed with German label Long Branch Records who’ll take care of them internationally.
The artwork of Destrier is made by one Dóri Andrésson.
Agent Fresco are playing like madmen this year and coming up are gigs at Secret Solstice Festival, Eistnaflug, UK Tech Fest, Iceland Airwaves and a European tour is coming up.
Destrier track list:
1. Let Them See Us
2. Dark Water
3. Pyre
4. Destrier
5. Wait For Me
6. Howls
7. The Autumn Red
8. Citadel
9. See Hell
10. Let Fall The Curtain
11. Bemoan
12. Angst
13. Death Rattle
14. Mono No Aware
Vök release new EP
Today is the release date of Vök's 2nd EP, Circles.
Click here to buy in our shop!
Vök are Margrét Rán (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Andri Enoksson (saxophone, synths) and Ólafur Alexander (guitar, bass). Named after the Icelandic word for ‘hole in the ice’, the trio hail from Hafnarfjörður, a town famous for allegedly being home to a large, hidden elvish settlement. This mysticism and magic which surrounds their hometown reflects in the dreaminess of Vök melodies and the celestial, otherworldliness of their vocals.
Vök came into consciousness in 2013 when the band played and won Iceland’s prestigious Músíktilraunir (‘Music Experiments’), a battle of the bands where the likes of Mammút, Of Monsters And Men and Samaris previously triumphed. Shortly after, the band recorded and released their EP ‘Tension’ through Icelandic indie label Record Records -- later released via Musebox in the US -- to a slew of positive reviews. The New York Times commented that “Vök shares the xx’s slow tempos, whispery female vocals, sparse but echoey bass lines and melancholy questions”, whilst Drowned in Sound exclaimed “the trio have hit upon their own uniquely atmospheric and emotional sound”.
2014 saw Vök performing an explosive set at several major festivals, including Eurosonic and Iceland Airwaves. About the latter, The Line of Best Fit proclaimed the band the “standout of 2014's Airwaves, packing out the vast Gamla Bio venue with queues down the street.”
Of Monsters and Men release the first single of their upcoming album!
OF MONSTERS AND MEN have announced June 8, 2015 as the Icelandic release date for their long awaited second full-length album, Beneath The Skin (Released on Record Records in Iceland). The critically acclaimed multiplatinum Icelandic quintet has also debuted the first single “Crystals”. The songs official lyric video has also been released on VEVO. The band returns with another powerfully beautiful anthem, expanding the signature sound countless fans fell in love with.
The group spent the past year (2015) working on Beneath The Skin with co-producer Rich Costey (Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, Foster The People, Interpol) between studios in Iceland and Los Angeles.
OF MONSTERS AND MEN have come a long way from their native Iceland. They quickly became a phenomenon in 2011 with the quadruple-platinum “Little Talks” and their chart-topping debut, My Head Is An Animal, which has since moved 2 million copies worldwide. Since then, the group have delivered rapturous performances at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Newport Folk Festival, Osheaga, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Pukkelpop, and Splendour in the Grass as well as at countless sold out headline shows the world over. They have charmed TV audiences with appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (twice), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Graham Norton Show, and Saturday Night Live. In the midst of it all, they lent the single “Dirty Paws” to a trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the iPhone 5 introduction video, while “Silhouettes” was featured on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.
Record Records signs AmabAdamA and releases their debut this fall
We're so happy and chockfull of optimism to announce that we've just signed the vivacious reggae outfit AmabAdamA.
This Reykjavík based outfit has been at it for few years in various forms and their current set up has remained the same since the spring of 2013. AmabAdamA is a ten piece that consists of three singers, a guitar player, a bass player, a drummer, a saxophonist, a trumpet player, a keyboardist and a percussionist. They have been creating their name as one of the most glowing live acts in the ever blooming Reykjavík music scene. Alongside musical projects like Hjálmar, Ojba Rasta and RVK Soundsystem AmabAdamA stand strong at the forefront of the growing reggae scene in Iceland.
AmabAdamA consists of Gnúsi Yones, Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Salka Sól Eyfeld, Ellert Björgvin Schram, Hannes Arason, Hjálmar Óli Hjálmarsson, Björgvin Ragnar Hjálmarsson, Ingólfur Arason, Elías Bjartur Einarsson og Páll Sólmundur Eydal.
This Is Icelandic Indie Music reaches gold sale in Iceland
It is with utter gratitude and joy that we announce that the first installment of This Is Icelandic Indie Music has reached the gold selling limit here in Iceland. This Is Icelandic Indie Music was released in the spring of 2013 and it’s the first compilation ever to be released on Record Records. This is not our first gold selling album but it always makes us downright happy and delighted when that happens. It’s not too long ago when Mammút reached gold with their second album, Karkari, and we’ve also seen the same great thing happening with Of Monsters and Men’s My Head Is an Animal and Retro Stefson’s third and self-titled album. Let us tell you what, they all have their songs included on This Is Icelandic Indie Music!
The second chapter in the series arrived in the spring of 2014 and it has also been well received. This Is Icelandic Indie Music gave a good insight into what was happening in the Icelandic music scene in and around 2013 and it includes twelve exclusive tracks by twelve individual artists released by Record Records. You can get your copy of by clicking right here.
This Is Icelandic Indie Music Vol. II is out now!
This Is Icelandic Indie Music Vol. 2 is out now!
The second installment in Record Records’ compilation series This Is Icelandic Indie Music is out now. The first one came out in the spring of 2013 and it was the biggest selling compilation that was released in Iceland that year.
This Is Icelandic Indie Music Vol. 2 features thirteen tracks by thirteen Record Records artists, including four previously unreleased. The compilation is available on CD, vinyl and digitally. The physical copies are available in record stores in Iceland and online via the Record Records store and the digital version is available worldwide in all main digital download services.
The last few months have been great for indie rock band Mammút. Their third full length album Komdu til mín svarta systir was the most praised album released in Iceland last year. It was chosen the album of the year by Morgunblaðið, Fréttablaðið, Fréttatíminn and The Reykjavík Grapevine and it also received prizes at the Icelandic Music Awards and Kraumur Short List. Reggae band Ojba Rasta followed up their magnificent 2012 self-titled debut with Friður last year and it includes popular radio hits such as “Einhvernvegin svona” and “Ég veit, ég vona”. The Record Records newcomers FM Belfast have released their third album that’s entitled Brighter Days. One of the most anticipated releases of 2014 is the sophomore album by jazz infused math rockers Agent Fresco. 2014 marks the return of alternative rock band Benny Crespo’s Gang who will follow up their brilliant debut album from 2007, “Birthmarks” is their first release since the brilliant 2010 single “Night Time”. See You In The Afterglow is the most vibrant album by pristine guitar rock outfit Leaves, “Ocean” is the second and recalls 60s pop sensibility of artists such as The Walker Brothers and Phil Spector. Pixies touring buddies and KEXP-lauded pop outfit Mono Town released their long awaited debut album in the spring of 2014. In The Eye Of The Storm features the haunting Iceland radio hit “Peacemaker” which is just a topping of a great album. The newest Record Records signee is a young singer songwriter from the Vestmann Islands (a small archipelago based south of Iceland) called Júníus Meyvant. We expect nothing but great things from this utterly talented musician. The substantial female singer songwriter Lay Low released her fourth self-produced studio album Talking About The Weather in late 2013. It’s an outstanding album and a great add-on to her rich catalog of albums. The distinguished indie pop band Tilbury released their solid sophomore album in the fall of 2013. Northern Comfort is a delicate and sometimes chilly album with synth drenched songs about love and the hunt for love. Vök, the winners of Iceland’s Music Experiments, created a fair amount of buzz with their highly confident debut EP, Tension. Hymns, the sweet and heartwarming debut of neo-folk outfit Hymnalaya made them some fans in the lines of Of Monsters and Men and Seattle’s radio station KEXP. Snorri Helgason’s richest and possibly his delicate album to date is also the debut album for Snorri Helgason the band. Autumn Skies is performed by Snorri himself and also his band that features people from múm, Amiina, Moses Hightower, Hjaltalín and other stalwarts of Iceland’s blossoming music scene.
The track list of This Is Icelandic Indie Music Vol. 2
1. Mammút - Blóðberg (from their 2013 album Komdu til mín svarta systir)
2. Ojba Rasta - Ég veit ég vona (from 2013 album Friður)
3. FM Belfast - Brighter Days (from 2014 album Brighter Days)
4. Agent Fresco - Dark Water (from forthcoming 2014 album)
5. Benny Crespo’s Gang - Birthmarks (from forthcoming 2014 album)
6. Leaves - Ocean (af plötunni See You In The Afterglow, 2013)
7. Mono Town - Peacemaker (af plötunni In The Eye Of The Storm, 2014)
8. Júníus Meyvant - Color Decay (af væntanlegri plötu, 2015)
9. Lay Low - Gently (af plötunni Talking About The Weather, 2013)
10. Tilbury - Turbulence (af plötunni Northern Comfort, 2013)
11. Vök - Before (af stuttskífunni Tension, 2013)
12. Hymnalaya - In My Early Years (af plötunni Hymns, 2013)
13. Snorri Helgason - Kveðja (af plötunni Autumn Skies, 2013)
New Agent Fresco single out now!
The debut single of Agent Fresco's forthcoming album is out today!
Check it out, we'll show you the video in a few days!
Do you want to own it on a CD or Vinyl? Then click here to buy This Is Icelandic Indie Music Vol. 2
Of Monsters and Men release a 7 inch single on Record Store Day
The annual Record Store Day will be celebrated for the eighth time on April 19, 2014. This great day was originally conceived by independent record store owners and employees in 2007 with the ultimate goal to celebrate the unique culture that surrounds independently run stores around the globe.
Of Monsters and Men are one of many proud participants of Record Store Day 2014 and they are releasing something truly beautiful on Record Records. The Record Store 7” is a limited seven inch that features alternative versions of two of their biggest hits “King and Lionheart” and “Little Talks”. The pair of songs was recorded live in Stúdíó Sýrland, a studio based close to Iceland’s biggest export pier. The single is limited to only 500 copies and it will only be available in record stores in Iceland.
This soon-to-be collector’s item comes in the form of a spectacularly gorgeous splattered vinyl that makes our jaws drop every time we look at it.
The record is only available in record stores in Iceland and in our online shop.
FM Belfast‘s third album arrives on April 22, 2014
The third album by electro pop band FM Belfast arrives on April 22nd and it is entitled Brighter Days. The album is released by Record Records in Iceland and it will be available on presale through our web store, www.recordrecords.com. The album will be released by the band outside of Iceland on their label World Champion Records and it will be distributed internationally by Morr Music in Berlin. World Champion Records also released their debut album, How To Make Friends, in 2008.
FM Belfast has been one of Iceland’s most entertaining live acts in most recent years and they continuously succeed to deliver their burlesque entertainment on plastic and their ever witty music videos. Brighter Days’ third single is out this week and it’s available in virtually every single music service and download stores out there. Previous singles are “We Are Faster Than You” and “Delorean”.
The members of FM Belfast are the same as before and they are Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir, Árni Vilhjálmsson and Örvar Smárason.