Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
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 Wale ...
/
chamber pop
Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...
band. The defining characteristic of this band is their vocal harmonies, as all members sing.
The band formed in 2008 in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
as a trio, consisting of Daníel Auðunsson (
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
), Gunnar Már Jakobsson (
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
) 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, Sche ...
). When they recorded their first album, ''Árstíðir'', Jónas Jensson (
cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
) and Jón Elísson (
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
) joined the band. In 2010, the band became a sextet with Karl James Pestka (
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
). 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, Sche ...
), Daníel Auðunsson (
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
) and Ragnar Ólafsson (
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
). 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
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...
* 2018: ''Nivalis'' (English: Snow)
* 2018: ''Garðurinn Minn''
in collaboration with Magnús Þór
* 2021: ''Pendúll'' (English: Pendulum)
* 2022: ''Blik'' (English: Look)
* 2024: ''Vetrarsól - Voices of the Winter Sun'' (a capella album)
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, (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