Newspaper Article

Ice queens play nice

2009

Overview

Nowhere near as climactic or dramatic as [Sigur Ros] or as skittish as [Bjork], Amiina play gentle yet tensile music as if their collective life depended on it. They use an array of instrumentation, including zither, Irish harp, musical saws, music boxes, drinking glasses, metallophone, guitars and harmonium - \"We have a theremin but we haven't learned how to play it yet,\" says [Hildur]. Despite their environment, they claim that their music hasn't been directly influenced by Icelandic folk music, which is largely song-based. Subtle changes are afoot, however, as the women are presently working with some male musicians, but don't expect any heavy injection of testosterone anytime soon. \"Also, the musicians here,\" comments Hildur, \"generally don't depend on making lots of money by having to sell many records, so the feeling is just to enjoy what you're doing. They have - like some of us, maybe - another job, and they're doing it just for fun.\" \"We're still just trying to figure out how the music business works. It's such a jungle, it's hard to figure out where you stand. We're just taking a few months at a time, and that's all we can do. We all have our separate lives - [Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir] has a baby, Hildur is expecting in October - so there are no long-term plans. It's all so hard to predict.\"

• Publisher: The Irish Times DAC
• Subject: Ros, Sigur / Sigfusdottir, Maria Huld Markan