Photo: Press/Justine Trickett
Ásgeir Trausti finds himself in a rather curious situation. There's a buzz around him as a 'new artist', but he released in his home country of Iceland in September 2012. He's destined for huge things next year and a fair whack of touring ahead, but all from a different version of the same record.
A lot of buzz comes from simply being Icelandic. It's the country that's brought us wave after wave of eccentrics acts with a very otherworldly and irreplaceable approach to art and music. But that's just the thing. From The Sugarcubes to Sigur Ros and múm to Of Monsters and Men - they're all inimitable, and have little in common apart from their nationality and stubborn dedication to stand alone.
However, Asgeir says he has no quarrels with comparisons to his Icelandic peers.
"I welcome them, because I can see what they're talking about, in a way," he admits. "There's a unique sound from Iceland, maybe. Musicians from Iceland are not trying to copy anyone or go in any kind of direction to go mainstream or get hype. In Iceland you can just be a musician, because we're such a small country. However popular you are, people just make music for themselves - no matter what people think of them."
It's that tight-knit community which enables Icelandic musicians to be so supportive of one another in the wider world. Asgeir continues: "Bjork was a very early supporter, and I saw Sigur Ros at Roskilde. We went backstage and had fun.Just because you are Icelandic and want to go and see an Icelandic band, it just makes it easy to meet them and get along."
"There's a unique sound from Iceland. Musicians are not trying to copy anyone or go in any kind of direction to go mainstream or get hype. In Iceland you can just be a musician. People just make music for themselves"
The album in question is an absolutely breathtakingly tender yet ambitious blend of folk and electronica. Asgeir truly is the rarest of talents - made all the more obvious by his show at London's Bush Hall this week. You'd struggle to find a more fitting venue for Asgeir's sound than here at Bush Hall. Grand and palatial yet humble and intimate, it makes for the perfect marriage with his soaring, ambitious sonics and charmingly human approach. The venue was packed, and you can easily see why.
There's something about those mystical associations that come with Icelandic music that some people just fall for. Which is why it's hardly surprising that his debut album, Dýrð í dauðaþögn, has won so many hearts around the world - despite being recorded in his native tongue.
In The Silence, the English tranlsation of the record, was made available online back in October. It comes out in the UK next month, but that record has also found a fanbase of its own (even though it's basically the same).
"Maybe the Icelandic version just touches more people," muses Asgeir. "Really early on in the process we decided to make an English version of the album to be released worldwide. Some people prefer the English version, but most people that have come to see our shows now are the people that know and love the Icelandic version - they tend to just love the magical sounds of the language. It blends with the music so differently in comparison to the English version.
"I'm still of the opinion that the English version will reach out to more people."
"Most people that have come to see our shows now are the people that know and love the Icelandic version - they tend to just love the magical sounds of the language"
Photo by Justine Trickett
So, come next year Asgeir will be out on the road singing a translated version of lyrics largely written by his father ("He's been writing songs since he was 10-years-old, that's his passion in life ande writes lyrics for other bands in Iceland and all of his lyrics just seem to work," he says) and then put into English by no less than singer-songwriter and all-round awesome chap, John Grant.
After meeting him while playing in Iceland, Grant agreed to translate the album to help it reach a much wider audience - he does speak both languages after all. But now the question on every music-lover's mind: Do they have any plans to make music together in future?
Asgeir responds: "That would be interesting! We toured with him in Britain and he was in one of our videos, and also he lives in Iceland so we see him often. We recently filmed Other Voices with him in Ireland and we're always meeting up, so we'll probably do something in the future. Make an album together? We haven't talked about it. We're both touring a lot so we don't really have the time to think about that stuff, but that would just be great."
He adds: "It was really easy and nice to translate the album with him, so I'd hope to make some music with him."
"John Grant is really easy to work with - I hope I can make an album with him"
So, after years of consideration on two versions of one of the finest albums you'll hear in quite some time, what are Asgeir's thoughts on the future?
"At the beginning of this year, we started touring Iceland and the world," says Asgeir. "For me, I don't really like writing on tour. I just want to be alone by the fire place, but when we get the time to go home for a few days, we can work on some ideas."
We can't wait. No matter what language it's in, it's going to be magnificent. 2014 belongs to Asgeir.
In The Silence by Aesgir will be released on 27 January, 2014, before he plays at headline show at London's Union Chapel on 8 April 2014. Do everything you can to ensure that you experience both.
Below: Exclusive photos of Asgeir's breathtaking show at London's Bush Hall
