Bang Gang is a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

band from

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 ...

founded by

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and producer

Barði Jóhannsson Barði Jóhannsson (born 10 September 1975) is an Icelandic musician, composer, writer, TV show host (of the surrealist Icelandic TV show ''Konfekt''), clothing designer and film director. He is mostly known for his work with the groups Bang Ga ...

(see also Lady & Bird). The band was formed in 1996, in Barði’s hometown of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. Bang Gang were initially a surf band but it moved into melodic pop. While Barði has worked with a number of vocalists and musicians, he remains the only constant member. The band's second album '' Something Wrong'' followed in 2003 and their acclaimed '' Ghosts From The Past'' was released on Discograph in 2008. The most recent album ''

The Wolves Are Whispering Bang Gang is a downtempo band from Iceland founded by songwriter and producer Barði Jóhannsson (see also Lady & Bird). The band was formed in 1996, in Barði’s hometown of Reykjavík. Bang Gang were initially a surf band but it moved into ...

'' has been described by journalists as "Atmospheric Ghost Pop" and has a sound that is unique. The band is recognized for its blend of songwriting, electronica and glacial atmospheres. The band has toured the world playing festivals like

Iceland Airwaves Iceland Airwaves is a music festival annually held in early November in Reykjavík, Iceland. The festival spans four days (Wednesday - Saturday) and its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international. The festival's main sp ...

Cannes Film festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

, Novosonic, For Noise,

Montreaux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

, CMJ and

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

and a number of independent shows at venues such as Salle Pleyel, Gramercy theater, Getty Center and more across Europe and North America.

Albums

''You'' (1998)

When Henrik Baldvin Björnsson left Bang Gang, Barði and Esther Talia Casey continued working together under the Bang Gang name. Their first song was used on the soundtrack of Icelandic movie ''Blossi 810551''. Their second, "Sleep", was recorded for a compilation released by Sproti Records and was used for a Citroen campaign. The single "Sleep" was released in 1998 and featured a video by director

Ragnar Bragason Ragnar Bragason (born 15 September 1971) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Droplaug was born in Súðavík, Iceland. He is best known for his films '' Börn'' (''Children'') and '' Foreldrar'' (''Paren ...

. Followed by another single and video for the song "So Alone". Their first album, ''

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

'', was released in Iceland in 1998. The band signed a deal with East-West France, who released ''You'' in 2000. The French version featured remixes by French musician

Kid Loco Jean-Yves Prieur, Kid Loco is a French electronic musician, DJ, remixer and producer. He was born on 19 June 1964 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Allmusic considers his style to be similar to Air and Dimitri from Paris. His best-known albu ...

''Something Wrong'' (2003)

'' Something Wrong'' was the follow up to 2000’s ''You''. The album was released in 2003 as a follow up on 2002’s untitled EP. It features Bang Gang's distinctive mix of atmospheric songwriting and haunting electronica and features vocal performances from Nicolette, Phoebe Tolmer, Esther,

GusGus GusGus is an electronic music band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Although initially a film and acting collective, the group is mostly known for its electronic music. The group's discography consists of eleven studio albums. History GusGus was ...

vocalist Daniel Agust Haraldsson and long-term collaborator Keren Ann. Various songs from ''Something Wrong'' were used for TV, film and other media. For example, the song "Follow" was used in Fox TV show ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...

''; "Inside" was used for an

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

advertisement and was featured in the movie '' Cashback'' and the trailer for the film ''

Triage In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...

''; and "Find What You Get" has been used in commercials for the car

Lancia Musa The Lancia Musa (Type 350) is a five-passenger compact MPV manufactured by Fiat, and marketed by the company's Lancia subdivision for model years 2004 through to 2012. A front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-door design and a modified variant of t ...

''Ghosts from the Past'' (2008)

'' Ghosts from the Past'' was Bang Gang’s third album. The album features vocalists and co-writers Keren Ann and Anthony Gonzales ( M83). The album features

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

singles "I Know You Sleep", "Don't Feel Ashamed" and included an opera singer on the title track. The song "Lost in Wonderland" was used for the Oscar season trailer at

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

''The Wolves Are Whispering'' (2015)

''The Wolves Are Whispering'' is the fourth studio album of Bang Gang. The record features guest writers and vocalists Keren Ann,

Helen Marnie Helen Marnie (born 21 February 1978) is a Scottish musician, known as the lead vocalist and one of the keyboardists and songwriters of the electronic music, electronic band Ladytron. In 2012, she started a solo career as Marnie and released her ...

(

Ladytron Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...

), Bloodgroup and Jofridur Akadottir (

Samaris ''Samaris'' is a genus of crested flounders native to the Indo-Pacific. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Samaris chesterfieldensis'' Mihara & Amaoka, 2004 * '' Samaris costae'' Quéro, Hensley & Ma ...

, Pascal Pinon)

Discography

* ''

'' (1998) * '' Something Wrong'' (2003) * '' Ghosts from the Past'' (2008) * ''The Wolves Are Whispering'' (2015)

References

External links

Official band websiteMyspaceBarði Jóhannsson

Reviews

Ghosts From The Past album reviewGhosts From The Past album reviewGhosts From The Past album reviewThe Wolves Are Whispering album review
{{Authority control Icelandic pop music groups Icelandic electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Reykjavík