We meet in a cafe on the Lower East Side. Two of the only people occupying the establishment, I sip my cappuccino as he tells his story.
We start with an introduction to his work. He plays me the music video which seems to have the most popularity right now. It is for “Ghost Of Your Mother’s Womb,” which is on his album President of Mozambique. He tells me this is the first album in a three-part story he is trying to tell. It was released December 2011 on Druglord Records.
I’m not sure where to begin, so I start with the obvious.
“How would you classify your music?” I ask him.
His response: Electronic spirit music.
Go watch the video I mention or listen to samples from the album. The description is rather fitting.
I like the fact that he creates his own descriptor, rather than trying to force it into one of the more “traditional” genres that people would be familiar with. Sometimes there are no set words to describe a thing, so you have to create your own. It shows creativity – something every musician should have but not enough actually do.
If you really must have something more familiar to judge this with, then others have said it sounds like Depeche Mode. I can understand where they get it from.
The next obvious question I could think of was where he got his inspiration from. His response included conflict, front companies, international organizations, and being possessed by spirits. The biggest inspiration, however, was horror films. Being something of a fanatic on the subject, I of course jumped on this. This is how I learned his favorite horror movie is “The Shining” and that he reads a lot of horror, especially Stephen King.
Besides being a musician, he is also involved in film and is currently working on an indie production called “Hectic Knife”. He plays the lead villain in this, a serial killer doctor with a drug trafficking operation. Greg DeLiso is the director, and it is being released on Munrovia Pictures.
Another interesting point of discussion involves world travel. Originally from Iceland, he has been to 40 countries, including attending grad school in Lebanon, where he studied International Relations with a focus on the Middle East. It was there that he was kidnapped for 7 hours by Hezbollah. It was all a misunderstanding, but his life did feel threatened during the ordeal.
Besides being interested in travel, he also has an interest in photos, design, painting – essentially anything artistic. When asked what he would do if not music, his response was either acting or writing. Clearly creativity is in his blood. It may not be practical, but for some people it is a calling that cannot be ignored.
Right now the focus is on music, but it could transition to film or theater at some point. In fact, he has thought about writing a film with his own score. The music videos he is working on now are said to be leading up to a larger film.
So what’s next?
An east coast tour, hopefully in the spring. He also is trying to get a band for the live shows, to add a more organic feel than a backing track would offer.
I was also going to include a bit of an album review where I tell you what the story is about, but I think I’m going to send you off to listen for yourself. Everyone interprets things differently based on their own perceptions. I would hate to influence you before you get to listen for yourself. I’ll just send you to iTunes, or if you like actual record stores then go check out Soundfix. I actually real like the art on the physical album, so it might be worth the trip just for that. Plus I like supporting local businesses. There aren’t many of them left. It would be a shame if they all disappeared one day.
That concludes our business for the day. It was a pleasure meeting and introducing such a unique individual to the world. I hope I’ve done some small part in helping his journey. Until we meet again, reader.
Adieu