Tag: Iceland

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Daði Freyr – How Daði Stole Christmas (2024)

Samlist
Buy: 7Digital (FLAC/MP3) | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3

I miss a lot of releases. The world is large, I am small, and my capacity is limited. However, at the very least, I would think I would see releases from artists I follow… but the algorithm lords do not deem it so! I believe I follow Icelandic alternative pop superstar (in my book for sure!) Daði Freyr on every possible platform, yet somehow I did not see his new Christmas EP, How Daði Stole Christmas until Alex Rawls (of the great Twelve Songs of Christmas podcast) told me about it! The EP compiles most of his previous Christmas singles (it is missing the Icelandic language version of “Every Moment is Christmas with You“) and adds four new Christmas covers, all of which are made better by Daði’s wonderful voice. Of particular interest to my Christmas blogging friends is a cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” This version rounds out what may be a banner year for “Last Christmas” covers, as Daði’s comes alive during the second verse (“A crowded room / friends with tired eyes…”), his voice bouncing through the verse in a mesmerizing dance that only Daði can do.

My second favorite (new) song off the EP may be the Icelandic language “Komdu Um Jólin,” which is listed as a Raf and Umberto Tozzi/Gunnar Ólason cover. I loved the electropop production Daði throws on the track. It makes you want to dance! Click that link above and check out the original… the song is wholly transformed, more than any other track on the record.

I initially didn’t find (or look for) the EP collection on Spotify/Tidal/Soundcloud/etc, only watching the fantastic performance videos that Daði had put up on Youtube and believing they were just that… simply videos he was sharing for fun at Christmas. The slow, trickling release of the videos had me on the edge of my seat, as I embraced each new video and waited for the perfect time to write about this neverending series of holiday covers. Well, every good thing has to end, and my dream of an infinite source of Daði Freyr Christmas songs has blown away… but damn there are some winners here. Enjoy.

Bottom Line: Daði Freyr is such a unique voice… I could listen to him sing the phone book… which he’d probably put a sick beat under!

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Arny Margret “Happy New Year” (2024)

One Little Independent Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

I’ve had my eye on this one for a while. After coming across Icelandic singer/songwriter Arny Margret through her wonderful 2022 holiday duet with Asgeir, “Part of Me,” she was fully on my radar. So when I got the Bandcamp notification for a new record, I am going to check it out. I Miss You, I Do comes out in March, so you can imagine my distress when I saw the closer was called “Happy New Year,” and it wasn’t the first preview track for the record. I simply assumed that I was going to have to circle back in the spring and stash a track for next year. But no! Arny dropped a second preview track with plenty of time for Christmas mix consideration. “Happy New Year” has that blanket of melancholy that, if you read this blog, you know I’m a sucker for. However… the turn at the end is so satisfying and hopeful, as the orchestration expands and Arny’s voice raises – that I could see this track finishing off a mix beautifully.

Dang. I want this whole record pretty bad.

Bottom Line: I’m not sure if I’m happy for a new year, but I’m certainly happy for this song.

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Arny Margret & Asgeir “Part of Me” (2023)

One Little Independent Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I’m going to Wisconsin this weekend. I rather thought that I’d be heading up north for a quick jolt of brisk weather, something to get me more in the mood to write about this stuff. I looked up the 10-day forecast and it was 87 in Madison today, a solid 10 degrees warmer than it is in Virginia. Just wild. I’ll just have to plug along without my anticipated mood enhancer and get down to what we’re all here for… writing and reading about Christmas music in September.

Hailing from Iceland, Arny Margret and Asgeir have a lot of sweater weather to get themselves in the mood to write Christmas songs. 30 seconds into my first listen to their 2023 collaboration, “Part of Me,” I was already equating the song to staring at a low fire, even before I read the description on Arny’s Bandcamp page:

A winter warmer with rich, acoustic tones and stirring melodies, the track showcases the kind of intimacy and nostalgia that Iceland’s homegrown singer-songwriters have become known for. ‘Part Of Me’ is a fireside duet with a timeless quality and comforting ambiance.

I mean… ditto? What else can I say? Fireside. Nostalgia. Pull me up a log – I’m there. Arny & Asgeir’s voices nestle perfectly together, with an ease that feels like a casual conversation. Their control and restraint are perfection – I love when a singer doesn’t need to sing, if you follow. The minimal orchestration is equally gorgeous, suggesting a steady heartbeat, occasionally swelling with emotion. Well look at me with all those pretty words – I feel like I’m getting a bit too flowery here for what is such a simple, beautiful song that you should already be listening to. I mean… this thing is fucking gorgeous, what are you still doing reading this?

Bottom Line: This song practically makes a big mug of hot cocoa for you.

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Daði Freyr “Something Magical” (2021) / “Every Moment is Christmas with You” (2020/2018)

Samlist
Buy: 7Digital MP3 | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

One of the delights I discovered this year in my random Twitter searches was an announcement a month or so ago from the captivating Icelandic indie popster Daði Freyr. So… I check him out. At first glance, the insane videos make you believe that this might just be a joke, but you quickly realize that the songs are absolutely fantastic. As I awaited the new single to drop, I went down the rabbit hole, with every song (and video) poking that spot in my brain that made me smile really, really big. Kinda an uncomfortable, oversize smile that makes you look crazy as if I was in a Daði Freyr video. I was especially happy to find two Christmas songs in Daði Freyr’s back catalogue, though truly… it was only one song – in two different languages! “Every Moment is Christmas with You/Allir dagar eru jólin með þér” has that schmaltzy, classic Christmas crooner feel with modern-synth instrumentation. Be rest assured though, there is a quality to Daði Freyr’s voice that can make schmaltzy go down quite smoothly. The new track, “Something Magical,” is the polar opposite–a short, boogie-down track that is TOTALLY what Chromeo would do if they had made a Christmas song. It is GLORIOUS. I can’t stop fidgeting as I write this review. Just listen to it. This is a Christmas tradition that I am 100% down for.

Christmas-A-Gogo was equally excited for this new track... and 10,000 (or two) Christmas music blogs can’t be wrong!

Bottom Line: Daði Freyr’s mixture of crooning, synths, nostalgia, and humor is Something Magical. How cheesy was that??? You are welcome.

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2020’s “Every Moment is Christmas with You”

2018’s “Allir dagar eru jólin með þér”

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My Bubba “Champagne Drops” (2016)

My Bubba "Champagne Drops"

Cash Only / Tone Tree Music
Buy: iTunes | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

The duo of My Bubba, previously known as the trio My Bubba and Mi, hail from those crazy Nordic states (Sweden and Iceland to be specific), which any reader will know are a particular hotbed of music that Christmas Underground both covers, and loves. To my pleasant surprise, their most recent single… is a one-off Christmas original! “Champagne Drops” is both fresh and new, as well as completely familiar, as it has suggestions of both “Unchained Melody” and “What a Wonderful World” in the cadence and melody that drives the song. This feeling of familiarity helps bring the song into an even more intimate experience. The vocals accentuate this intimacy, hushed but not whispered, as if spoken in a room so that others might not be bothered by their intrusion. “Feels like home when you dance me around / much crackling under the soles of our feet / a Christmas sound.” This cozy song demands a fire… and a bit of champagne.

Bottom Line: Sometimes I don’t go for the extremely pretty stuff… but the intimacy that My Bubba achieve in this song is undeniable.

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