Ásgeir Torrent

Only an Icelander could make a song about cold weather (among other things) sound warm and energetic.  For Ãsgeir Trausti Einarsson, better known simply by his first name, creating invigorating music from such chilly motifs has become something of a specialty, and a successful one at that.  The Icelandic version of his latest full-length, released internationally as In the Silence with lyrics translated by American singer-songwriter John Grant, sold at record speed in his home country, with something close to a tenth of the population now owning a copy.

"Torrent" is a heartfelt ode to wind and rain that makes use of a delicately rhythmic piano line, interposed with firing drum salvos and soaring falsetto vocals, over a well-made bed of textural synths that evoke the sounds of the elements.  The overall effect is that of an orchestral fanfare without the overt use of an actual orchestra "“ no mean feat.

Ásgeir's particular brand of orchestral folktronica is difficult to mention without comparison to fellow Icelander Jónsi (of Sigur Rós fame) or the similarly wistful, pastoral, and often dramatic stylings of Bon Iver, but his sound is very much his own. A breath of cold, fresh air from the north country.