It seemed like just yesterday that Icelandic singer/songwriter Ásgeir was in Seattle and sitting on a park bench next to Kurt Cobain's house on Lake Washington. Just over a year ago, he was performing from his glorious debut, Dýrð í dauðaþögn, and revealed that he had been working with U.S. born, Iceland resident John Grant on an English version of the album. In The Silence is already out, released on One Little Indian earlier this month, and Ásgeir is already rising fast in Europe and the U.S. It's no wonder he's as high in the clouds as his ethereal voice. His folk pop-meets-electronica sound immediately appeals to fans of Bon Iver and James Blake, and now with Grant's smart translation, there's nothing stopping him. We were lucky to bring Ásgeir back on air again during Iceland Airwaves last October as his demand was already huge. We packed Kex Hostel for this one and Ásgeir delivered to both audiences, in English and Icelandic, his heavenly and haunting sound.
Full Performance:
KEXP staffers aren't the only Americans to fall under the ethereal spell of Iceland: when musician John Grant played the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in 2011, he liked it so much, he decided to stay! Performing songs from the album he recorded there, his sophomore release Pale Green Ghosts, Gran…
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