Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
classically influenced
indie-folk rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
/
chamber pop band. The defining characteristic of this band is their vocal harmonies, as all members sing.
The band formed in 2008 in
Reykjavík as a trio, consisting of Daniel Auðunsson (
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
), Gunnar Már Jakobsson (
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
) and Ragnar Ólafsson (
baritone guitar
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...
). When they recorded their first album, ''Árstíðir'', Jónas Jensson (
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
) and Jón Elísson (
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
) joined the band. In 2010, the band became a sextet with Karl James Pestka (
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
). Jón Elísson and Hallgrímur Jónas Jensson left Árstíðir in late 2013, and Karl James Pestka in 2016.
Currently, Árstíðir is composed of members Gunnar Már Jakobsson (
baritone guitar
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...
), Daniel Auðunsson (
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
) and Ragnar Ólafsson (
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
). Since founding the band, they have released three albums: one live EP and two studio albums. Árstíðir have always been an independent band. In Iceland, they have their own record company, Nivalis, and in Germany they have a cooperation contract with Beste Unterhaltung. In 2014, they crowdfunded their third studio album, ''Hvel'', via Kickstarter, which was released in March 2015.
Discography
Studio
* 2009: ''Árstíðir'' (English: Seasons)
* 2011: ''Svefns og vöku skil'' (English: Sleep State Return)
* 2015: ''Hvel'' (English: Spheres)
* 2016: ''Verloren Verleden'' (English: Lost Past)
in collaboration with Anneke van Giersbergen
* 2018: ''Nivalis'' (English: Snow)
* 2021: ''Pendúll'' (English: Pendulum)
* 2022: ''Blik'' (English: Look)
Lives & EPs
* 2009: ''Live at Fríkirkjan'' (Free Church) (EP)
* 2012: ''Tvíeind'' (Remix EP)
Viral Video
Árstíðir became known to a wider internet audience in 2013 when a YouTube video of an impromptu a capella performance of
Heyr himna smiður
"" (literally "Hear, smith of the heavens") is a medieval Icelandic hymn written by chieftain and poet Kolbeinn Tumason in the 13th-century. The music that accompanies the text was composed by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1938–2013), more than 70 ...
, (English: Hear, Smith of Heavens), a 13th-century Icelandic hymn, at
Vohwinkel train station in
Wuppertal, Germany went viral after a performance there. The video was shot by their PR manager.
Awards and nominations
, -
, 2009 , , Album "Árstíðir" , , #1 in Iceland Album Chart, ,
, -
, 2012 , , Folkherbst in Plauen, Germany , , Eiserner Eversteiner, Jury Award
, ,
, -
References
External links
*
Details
Icelandic indie rock groups
Musical groups from Reykjavík
{{Iceland-band-stub