words//shaun oppedisano
One of the most fascinating things about amiina is not their talent, but instead the band’s creative versatility. On stage, they constantly rotate instruments, some of which are barely intended for musical purposes [saws and handbells]. Since their early international touring with Sigur Rós, these ladies have polished up their English and enlisted a few good men in the band as well. Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir introduces us to a new amiina we will grow to love in 2010.
The Re Minore EP sounds a bit darker and more electronic than Kurr. Are these songs that you specifically wrote for an EP or were they leftovers that didn’t quite have a place?
The Re Minore songs were composed with our friends Vignir [Kippi Kaninus] and Maggi, the drummer, who have joined the band now.
We had been adding more percussion to our music ever since Maggi started joining us on tours in 2007. But the more electronic textures came with Kippi when we prepared a show with him for the Reykjavík Arts Festival in 2008. Later in 2008 we started developing our work with the guys some more, and finally decided to make an album together. The EP was made mainly because we were so excited about recording the songs that were ready, and wanted to take something new with us on tour. We only had 500 copies made, so it was a very limited run. Slightly reworked versions of the Re Minore songs will also be on the new album.
You’re currently working on a new album, isn’t that right?
Yes, and hope to release it spring/summer 2010!
The last time you all planned to have a US tour that got disrupted. Do you think you’ll be getting around to that sometime in 2010?
We definitely hope to. We really enjoy performing our new material so we hope to be able to tour as much as possible.
You often rotate instruments and make use of more unique tools when you play live. Does this help to keep things interesting and creative?
I guess it does. But at the same time this is how we’ve always worked as amiina. Live performance becomes a bit of choreography as well. And we enjoy that aspect of our shows. Lately we haven’t been adding new instruments at the same velocity as we used to, but that sort of came as a necessity as we were finding it increasingly more difficult to tour because of the amount of instruments we were carrying.
How did amiina start and where did you meet?
Us four girls met in the Reykjavík College of Music where we all studied and played chamber music together. Basically, we started out as a classical string quartet and then gradually evolved into something very different.
The original spelling “Amína” suddenly changed to “amiina”. Is there a story behind this?
Yes. After releasing our first EP, AnimaminA, and selling it on iTunes, we discovered there were quite a few other Amínas out there. Things got a little complicated, and so we decided to add an “i” to our name, instead of completely changing names.
The recent collapses of the Icelandic government and economy honestly sounded pretty frightening from an outsider’s perspective. Were you able to see any disruptions in your everyday life?
Many Icelanders have been through very rough financial times lately, due to the economic collapse. But for parts of the nation this hasn’t had such disastrous effects on daily life. But of course, due to the currency collapse, necessities like food have become more expensive.
However, the crisis has brought some positive changes as well. People are more critical of their environment and seem more ready to embrace to core values in life. There has been a definite shift in focus away from an obsessively materialistic and money-oriented view, which had dominated our society for years.
I’ve been told that Icelanders are pretty protective of their culture. I have always wanted to visit but did not want to offend any locals. Can you give any advice to travelers?
I think you’re right in that we’re protective of the culture, but that definitely doesn’t mean we don’t want to share!
My advise would be to stay only a few days in Reykjavík, maybe sample concerts and exhibitions a bit, eat at some of the very nice seafood restaurants here, and then go enjoy the countryside. Pretty much all parts of the country have something great to offer–I would just follow the weather forecast, take the tent and go where ever the weather is nice (if traveling during the summer!). And don’t forget to visit at least a few of the many outdoor heated swimming pools we have here. That’s a must.
I imagine the surreal Icelandic landscape and environment has had a profound impact on your creative endeavors.
Our closest environment probably does influence us. But it’s very hard to say exactly which parts, and to us it’s not particularly surreal as this is what we grew up with.
Have you had any difficulties with the language barrier when going on tour to many different countries?
Our English is okay, so in many places it’s not a problem. But yes, it can be a little tricky some places where not many speak English.
What is the most fun part of being in such an incredibly imaginative group?
The most fun is being able to play music with good friends and knowing to respond to those little nuances one only notices with people one knows very well. And traveling with them.