La nouvelle sensation folk de ce début d’année nous vient d’Islande. Originaire de Laugarbakki, un petit village de seulement 40 habitants, le jeune Ásgeir Trausti se réservait à une carrière de lanceur de javelot jusqu’à ce qu’à la suite d’une blessure, il décide de concentrer ses efforts à la sortie son premier album, Dýrð í dauðaþögn.
Devenu en quelques semaines le premier album le plus vendu de l’histoire de la chanson islandaise (devant Björk et Sigur Rós), Dýrð í dauðaþögn a depuis fait l’objet d’une adaptation en anglais par le musicien américain John Grant. Un album intitulé In the Silence, paru le 27 janvier dernier sur le label One Little Indian Records/Because.
Avec son single « King and Cross », Ásgeir conquiert le reste de l’Europe et rénove le genre de subtiles sonorités électro. La douceur timide de son timbre rappelle Bon Iver et Jeff Buckley, auxquels il emprunte aussi un certain lyrisme mélancolique et une poésie rudement efficaces.
Icelandic singer-songwriter, Asgeir, may only be 21 years old but he has already made his mark on the Icelandic music scene with his debut album ‘Dyrd i daudathogn’ which quickly became the biggest selling debut album in Icelandic musical history.
Born and raised in the countryside of Iceland, Asgeir comes from a family of musicians. He trained on classical guitar but was aiming for a career in sports when he suddenly made a U-turn after being encouraged to take his music more seriously. He took his demos to producer Gudmundur Kristinn Jonsson and several months later his debut album was released in Iceland with great critical acclaim. It only took it six weeks to reach gold sales and less then three months after its release the album had reached platinum sales. The English version of the album, titled « In The Silence » has just been released internationally with lyrics translated by American musician John Grant.
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Acheter / Buy « In The Silence » : iTunes
Écouter sur Deezer
Critique de l’album « In The Silence » sur Les Inrocks