Interview: Seabear
If you haven’t had a chance to hear Seabear, drop everything and go purchase their new LP. Aptly titled We Built A Fire, it’s the perfect album to keep you warm on a chilly night. With its lush arrangements and soothing vocals, you can’t help but be whisked away to “Seabearia” on a wave of trumpets, strings, and pianos.
Sindri Már Sigfússon is the creative force behind the Icelandic band’s beautiful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. He took some time out from mixing the new album for his solo project, Sin Fang Bous, to answer some questions for us. Continue reading…
Lay Low – ‘By And By’ (Video)
Welcome to Iceland Appreciation Day at Owl&Bear—or “Owl och Björn” in Swedish, which we assume sounds pretty close to Icelandic—where we spotlight up-and-coming musicians from the subpolar island country. Incidentally, Iceland boasts a population of 320,000 and its popular dishes include liver sausage and cured ram scrotum. You heard me.
Okay, it’s not actually Iceland Appreciation Day, but we did just run a story on Seabear, so I figured I’d roll with it. Our next artist to be featured from the land of the great Strokkur geyser is Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, better known as Lay Low.
The Patsy Cline-inspired singer/songwriter has already developed an immense following in her homeland, claiming the country’s top-selling original album last year with her debut, Please Don’t Hate Me. Lay Low will be turning her sights on the US with the release of her new album, Farewell Good Night’s Sleep, on March 9th, to be followed by an extensive tour. (more…)
Seabear Tour, Unveil New Tracks (Stream)
In Iceland, Seabear are famous for crafting gorgeously melodic indie-folk, wrestling away the monopoly on lush atmosphere and gentle acoustics normally held by fellow countrymen Sigur Rós and Björk. The band is currently gearing up for the release of their new album, We Built A Fire, available stateside in early March through Morr Music. They’re also set to play a slew of live dates in Europe, followed by a breakneck five-shows-in-five-days stint at this year’s SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. And, lest we forget our small percentage of non-European, non-Texan readers, here are two new tracks from the aforementioned album. Tour dates after the jump. (more…)
