Mikael Lind

News on upcoming album

2011-12-15T11:24:00.000Z

I have been a bit lazy updating this site lately, but on my Soundcloud page you can find excerpts of what I have been working on for the last year or so. I plan to release my next album in the spring of 2012 so keep updated and feel free to listen to my tracks and comment.

My Soundcloud page

2011-09-20T13:23:00.001Z

Here's my Soundcloud page where you can find excerpts and new experiments, sometimes to appear on my next album and sometimes just for the fun of it.

Latest tracks by Mikael Lind

New song excerpt

2011-07-14T09:28:00.002Z

Some of you might already have heard a previous version of the song Thoork on one of my music players. This is a more recent version, newly mixed and with violins by Paul Evans, which will appear on my upcoming album.

Mikael Lind - Thoork (excerpt) by Mikael Lind

Concert tomorrow in Reykjavik

2011-05-13T17:53:00.004Z

I will be playing a short, largely improvised concert in Reykjavik tomorrow the 14th of May, supporting Minor Sailor. It will take place in Hemmi and Valdi and start around 17:00.

New Facebook page

2011-02-06T18:23:00.001Z

Two new songs

2010-09-26T15:23:00.004Z

I've uploaded two new songs that you can hear on the player to the right. The first one is Twin Earth, with Paul Evans on violin. The second is called Iver och hets, with Anna Finnbogadóttir on cello. Please leave your comments about the songs! I'm not sure whether I will include them on my upcoming album or not, so all feedback is helpful!

Flatey 2010

2010-08-31T09:59:00.004Z

Review in The Silent Ballet

2010-08-18T16:13:00.006Z

My latest album Alltihop was recently reviewed on the online music page The Silent Ballet. I got a decent rating, 6/10, with opinions that I will take into account when composing my next album. You can read the full review here:
Alltihop on The Silent Ballet

Höfðatún and Sæbraut

2010-07-13T11:36:00.004Z

Villa Reykjavik

2010-07-03T15:00:00.006Z

I will play a concert on the arts and music festival Villa Reykjavik this month. The concert is the 11th of July, a Sunday, and starts at 22:00. Two other groups will play this evening: Blood Music and Antykrystyna. I have never heard either of their music before so this will be interesting.

The homepage is here: http://villareykjavik.com/

New song excerpt

2010-06-07T21:25:00.003Z

I've decided to upload an excerpt of a new song in the making. The full name of the piece will be Cognition, Relaxation, Disturbance, and as the title suggests it consist of three parts. The first part is thoughtfully composed, the second more simple and minimalistic and the last part will be a degeneration into noise music. You can now hear the first part, Cognition, in my music players.

Concert next thursday

2010-05-16T17:27:00.004Z

So, finally we seem to have a concert coming up in Sodoma Reykjavik the 20th of may, this thursday. Me and Matthew will make loops, melodies, noise and electronic walls, hopefully to the delight of the spectators. The concerts will start 21:00 and end sometime before midnight.

Today is sunday the 16th and I will be off tonight to see the Whalewatching tour in the National Theatre. Without doubt, I will get some inspiration from Nico Muhly, Ben Frost, Daníel Bjarnason and the rest.

P2 Ström remix

2010-04-07T19:07:00.003Z

I did a remix for the Swedish radio program P2 Ström and it was aired on wednesday last week (31/3). Now you can hear it on their homepage:
Strömremixer

New concert date

2010-04-05T16:24:00.005Z

So the concert in Sódóma Reykjavík was postponed due to a fire in the club next door, Batteríið. However, a new date has been set for the 20th of may, and I hope we can keep that.

I have some new ideas in my mind that I have currently started to work with. One is a piece built on a minimalist base with repeated piano chords and a simple piano melody looped backwards. On top of that I improvise on piano and glockenspiel, and I will probably add some drums to it later. The outcome will hopefully be interesting!

Albums to get inspired by

2010-03-15T17:22:00.006Z

One is constantly trying to discover new interesting artists or interesting new albums from artist one already knows of. I have three recent album that I have listened to a lot that I would like to recommend (in no particular order):

1. Hauschka - Slowflakes and carwrecks
2. Four tet - There is love in you
3. Matmos - Supreme balloon
4. Tim Hecker - An imaginary country
5. Bibio - Ambivalence avenue

And since I live there, five albums that I have enjoyed recently from icelanders or people living in or with a connection to Iceland (in no particular order):

1. Nico Muhly - Mothertongue
2. Ben Frost - By the throat
3. Hafdís Bjarnadóttir - Jæja
4. Daníel Bjarnason - Processions
5. Ghostigital/Finnbogi Pétursson/Skúli Sverrisson - Aero

There, 10 albums to check out for those who want something new to listen to.

Industrial tones in Sódóma the 25th

2010-03-08T18:09:00.004Z

The concert in Kaffibarinn last week (mar. 4th) went pretty well. However, I've decided to change the sound a bit for my next concert in Sódóma Reykjavík the 25th. There will be more industrial tones, fat basses and weird drum loops and less melodic improvisations. The mood will be pretty dark, with occasional melodic features, and I advice my listeners to just relax and let themselves get caught up in the dramatic, hypnotic, pulsating minimalism.

Concerts in Reykjavik in march

2010-02-19T00:08:00.007Z

(Photo: Matthew Collings)

I will play two concerts in march in Reykjavik, Iceland. The first one will be at Kaffibarinn the 3rd of march and the next one at Sodoma the 25th of march. Other artists are B. G. Baarregaard and Matthew Collings. The concerts start at 21:00 and end at midnight. Free entrance!

Alltihop on Gogoyoko

2010-01-22T18:08:00.004Z

I want to give my support to Gogoyoko, this nice site where the artist gets to be in full control of his own release. Fair play in music. My album Alltihop is up there on high quality mp3 to buy. Check out the site here:
Alltihop on Gogoyoko

Listen to works in the making

2010-01-09T22:42:00.004Z

Mik tok a min is a new song that is still being composed. I will have to do some changes to it and improve it to make it fit the new album that I am working on. It is interesting to hear what people think of the songs that I am working on, so therefore I have put it up on my Reverbnation player and Myspace for people to listen.

White space painting

2010-01-05T17:53:00.001Z

I'm not the one who rejects borrowing my music to creative projects.

WHITE SPACE from saga-mariah on Vimeo.

Happy new year

2009-12-31T13:39:00.003Z

2009 was a learning experience for me. I released the album Alltihop and played a couple of gigs in Reykjavik, where the Iceland Airwaves one was probably the most important one. I am now working on a new album with loads of trial-and-error. I have very ambitious ideas that I think you can hear in the song Thoork. Loads of experimenting but without losing the sense of good arrangements and melodies, that is my goal.

I hope you will follow me in 2010. I can assure you that it will be rewarding for everyone who likes experimental music. Thanks.

Another song preview

2009-12-09T18:31:00.004Z

The song Sunt sunt will probably make its way to my next album. It's more pop than Thoork. I am singing in the end of the track, which is a new spice in my music. The song is yet only short, but I will maybe expand it to be maybe 10 minutes long.

Luxsit Organic Care photoshoot

2009-12-07T20:04:00.003Z

First preview of new song!

2009-11-18T21:17:00.007Z

I'm currently working hard on a new song called Thoork. I have some mastering and editing left to do, and I'm also going to record a real cello instead of using the software cello that is on the preview. Anyway, the song is up for anyone to listen on my myspace: Mikael Lind on Myspace

You can also find the song to the right in this blog on the Reverbnation Player.

Feel free to comment!

Kleifarvatn and Krýsuvík

2009-10-28T20:30:00.005Z

New photographs from last sunday:

Video clips from Airwaves

2009-10-26T19:01:00.003Z

Here are two video clips from my concert on Iceland Airwaves 2009. Anna Finnbogadóttir plays the cello and Stefán Finnbogason is in charge of the camera.

Musicians wanted!

2009-10-24T17:40:00.002Z

My Airwaves concert in Hressó last week went well. Unfortunately, my accordion player Björn Gauti Björnsson couldn't play with me this time but I had Anna Finnbogadóttir on cello and she did a great job. Peoples' reactions were positive and I got some new listeners and sold some CD's. A short video clip from the concert will be up shortly!

However, I'm eager to try playing with even more live instruments! Or with singer(s). If you have a special talent and feel that you could contribute to my live concerts, don't hesitate to contact me. Mainly in Iceland of course, but I'll probably go on tour next year to Norway, Sweden and maybe Denmark next year so people in these areas are also welcome to send me an e-mail.

My music would work with more acoustic instruments to play against my electronic drums and bass lines. Here's what Avi Roig had to say about the matter on his interesting blog on Scandinavian music "It's a trap" (www.itsatrap.com):

"I've [...] heard [Mikael Lind ...] through the very excellent "Postawakeningsound" download comp. If you dig skittery, dreamlike electronica, that's a must-have; as for "Alltihop", it's much more composed and demanding... to a point. Lind is not one for whom words such as "loud" or "brash" would ever fit, his music always lies on the mellower end of the spectrum. "Upprisa" is a good example: despite the bass-heavy Rhodes-style keys taking the lead, the drums are squelched into static and the melodic counterpoint is taken on with light strings and soft pads. There are elements of pop in the structure too, but in the end it seems that Lind lets his classical-influenced tendencies lead the piece in a straight line rather than through circles. Ideally, I think this would sound best on live acoustic instruments, but until he gets himself an ensemble, this is still quite nice."
(http://www.itsatrap.com/?n=31419)

He has got a point and I think my next album will be more in the direction of classical music-meets-electronica.

Airwaves date announced!

2009-10-08T17:25:00.004Z

I will be playing on saturday the 17'th 21:00 in Hressó on the Iceland Airwaves festival. Apart from that I will play an off venue concert in the bookstore Eymundsson on Skólavörðustígur 11 on the same day at 16:30.

Below is the presentation of me in the Airwaves schedule catalogue. Odd but fun, even though I can assure you that there will be more than just lullabies for grown-ups on my concerts:

"If you have ever watched BabyTV, you may feel like Mr. Lind’s child-like brand of experimental neo-classical would fit right in against a kaleidoscope graphic. Even grown-ups need lullabies."

Nikita clothing

2009-10-06T23:50:00.004Z

The song Ballonger from my album Alltihop was used in a video for the icelandic clothing company Nikita (with some added spacy robot sounds that weren't on the original track):

Airwaves presentation

2009-09-25T17:25:00.002Z

A presentation of me and my music has been published on the official Iceland Airwaves homepage:

Mikael Lind on Airwaves

Iceland Airwaves 2009

2009-09-11T18:41:00.004Z

Official Iceland Airwaves logo.

I have been accepted to play at the Iceland Airwaves festival 2009 october 14-18. I will post more information when I know more. I will probably play an off venue-concert in addition to the main one.

New projects

2009-09-02T23:40:00.002Z

Have just arrived home from a nice vacation in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Now I'm starting my composition again. One song will be for Björn Axén's urban salons; the creative Saga-Mariah made the artwork:

Saga-Mariah's blog

Then I'm also composing two songs for two different compilations - more about that later!

Goo!

2009-08-09T21:16:00.002Z

This is a music video by my friend Timo Rychert. The music is composed by me and another friend named Matthew Collings. Be sure to check out their names 'cause my guess is that you'll hear a lot from them in the future!

Goo (HD) from Timo Rychert on Vimeo.

Vestfirðir sumar 2009

2009-07-24T21:05:00.002Z

Piano Improvisations free mp3 album

2009-06-01T12:21:00.006Z

I've recently completed recordings of piano improvisations after having had access to a really nice sounding upright piano for a month. The result is free for anyone to download and share.

Simply use the link below to download the zip file. The five works are in high quality mp3 format.

Download Improvisations for piano Zip

If you want to listen to previews first you can go to this page:

Preview Improvisations for piano

Album reviews

2009-05-22T17:59:00.004Z

I would like to share some record reviews that have been published about my cd Alltihop.

First of all, I want to mention the great review I got in Iceland's biggest newspaper Morgunblaðið; no less than 5 out of 5 from Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir. She finds similarities between my music and that of To Rococo Rot, Kippi Kanínus and Amiina, and likes how the album is both raw and melodic.

Another is from the swedish music magazine Groove, where Lea Pålsson gave the album 4 out of 5 and some of the beautiful words written about the cd were these (my translation):

„...the music speaks it's own language. There is something to all these crackly sounds. A feeling of comfort in loneliness.”
„This is a musical experiment that can't be compared with anything else. This is more beautiful.”

I was also Tónlistarmaður mánaðarins (Musician of the month) in the lifestyle magazine Nýtt líf (New life). This is one nice sentence from the text by Lena Viderø (also my translation):

„I recommend that you take a walk down to the sea, have a seat, look at the ocean and listen to the cd Alltihop in calm and comfort.”

Then there are two reviews of the album in the Reykjavik Grapevine. They are not as positive.

Sindri Eldon is not pleased with the sweeter first two thirds of the album; he finds the „eventual slide into depression” in the last third making the first two halves irrelevant. I don't really know how to interpret this – I can't see why variation in moods should be a bad thing? For me that was one strenght of the record. Anyhow, he also complains about cliché drum patterns. This is a matter of taste. For me, there are far more annoying clichés in guitar-drums-bass-singer rock music. But I know that Sindri's music taste is completely different from mine so I wasn't suprised when I read his review.

Florian Zühlke wrote the other review and I'm happy to read that he finds me „a good composer”. Though he feels that the album is a bit lifeless when consisting of only „synthesizer and a computer”. This criticism is a bit peculiar. First I feel that there's way more life in for example loads of completely electronic Kraftwerk songs that in let's say the acoustic music of Rod Stewart. Second my cd does consist of melodica and harmonica as well as some drums built up from sounds I've sampled in an „acoustic” way, and I've also worked a lot in making my synthezisers sound alive by building every sound from scratch (no presets here). It's up to every man and woman to decide about this, but for me the lable „lifeless” doesn't really feel appropriate.

Anyhow, opinions are opinions and I'm happy to get feedback.

At the moment I'm recording piano music on an upright piano with a really nice, thick sound. We'll just have to wait and see how that goes.

My music in animation

2009-05-14T20:08:00.003Z

A part of my song Eins og þú was recently used as soundtrack for two short animated films that can now be seen on youtube. Here are some info:

Graphics & models: Saga-Mariah Sandberg, Björn Stensson, Laban Lind.
Wollen landscape: Hedda & Leo Dibinger.

Tónleikar á Hemma og Valda

2009-05-01T16:34:00.004Z

Hér er myndband frá tónleikum á Hemma og Valda föstudaginn 24:a apríl. Tónleikarnir voru á vegum Grapevine Grassroots #3 og aðrir tónlistarmenn sem fram komu voru Magnoose og 7oi. Linda tók upp, Laufey er söngkonan og Gauti snýr tökkum.

Recension i Groove

2009-04-26T10:46:00.002Z

När man vaknar en söndagsmorgon och känner att man har en hel del arbete att få gjort men en lömsk huvudvärk från dagen före som inte har gett sig försvårar koncentrationen, då är det kul när man slösurfar på nätet och upptäcker något så vackert som denna personliga recension från tidningen Groove:

Groove: Mikael Lind - Alltihop

Sådant räddar dagen och lindrar huvudvärken för ett tag.

Hólavallagarður

2009-04-16T20:50:00.004Z

Ég vissi reyndar ekki að Egill ætlaði að fjalla um þennan garð í Kiljunni. Ég var ekki að reyna að herma eftir honum, þetta var algjör tilviljun.

Nokkrar pælingar varðandi Ísland og IMF

2009-04-15T20:31:00.001Z

Hverju á Ísland von á ef að það tekur við láni Alþjóðagjaldeyrissjóðsins (IMF) einungis á hans forsendum? Til allrar hamingju hefur landið í dag stjórn sem er tortryggin gagnvart frjálshyggju, ólíkt fyrri hægristjórn sem lét reyfarakapitalismann leika lausum hala með þeim afleiðingum að landið er í dag talið vera á barmi gjaldþrots. IMF er þekkt fyrir að krefjast óhemlaðrar frjálshyggjustefnu í þeim löndum sem þiggja lán frá sjóðnum. Vinstri-grænir og vinstrihliðin í Samfylkingunni hafa hins vegar ekki látið undan kröftuglegri gagnrýni á slíka stefnu. Engin furða ef viðræðurnar milli IMF og stjórnarinnar séu ákafar!

Annað sem án efa kostar stjórnina heilabrotum er olían á Drekasvæðinu norð-austan við Ísland. Spákaupmenn í olíufyrirtækjum um allan heim hafa uppgötvað að þessi olía sem einu sinni var of dýr til að bora eftir gæti veitt Íslandi gríðarleg auðæfi. (Sjá grein Johans Ehrenberg á þessum efnum: http://www.etc.se/20976/island-vaentar-pa-oljan/) En á græn ríkisstjórn í landi þar sem að notkun vistvænna farartækja gætu verið framúrskarandi á heimsmælikvarða innan nokkurra ára vegna stuttrar fjarlægðar í kringum höfuðborgarsvæðið að græða pening á mengandi olíu?

Þrátt fyrir þá kreppu sem nú tröllríður Íslandi finnst mér að það ætti að henda IMF út undir eins. Í fyrsta lagi er kreppan orðin eins djúp í og raun ber vitni hér á landi vegna algjörrar misstjórnar og ábyrgðarleysi. Mér skilst að margir þeirra s.k. útrásarvíkinga, sem að sagðir bera ábyrgðina, séu ennþá með draumaupphæðir í erlendum skattaparadísum. Í öðru lagi hefur IMF sögu að baki sér sem má minnst kalla skammarlega. John Perkins segir í bók sinni Confessions of an economic hit man frá hvernig sjóðurinn hefur meðal annars myrt ráðherra í löndum sem samþykktu ekki þeim skilyrðum sem IMF fyrirskipaði. Það bera vitaskuld ekki allir í sjóðnum ábyrgð á þessum glæpsamlegu aðferðum en dæmin sýna samt að hér sé um að ræða stofnun sem svífist nánast einskis til að breiða út sína skítugu frjálshyggju. Eins og sagan hefur kennt okkur er skammgóður gleði að selja auðlindir landsins ódýrt til útlenskra stórfyrirtækja.

More photos

2009-04-03T20:48:00.004Z

I have been busy working with my music but still not completely cut off from taking photographs.

Tónleikar í 12 tónum

2009-03-29T18:03:00.005Z

Tvö stutt myndbönd frá tónleikum í 12 tónum. Linda Georgsdóttir tók upp og Björn Gauti Björnsson snýr tökkum og leikur á harmónikku.

Photos of this and that

2009-03-21T15:55:00.004Z

Record release!

2009-03-19T20:24:00.014Z

Photo: Emil Andersson

Platan mín “Alltihop” er loksins komin til landsins. Henni verður dreift í sölu á mánudaginn 23:a mars í stærri bóka- og plötubúðum. Einnig er hægt að kaupa sér eintak á heimasíðu drefandans, Afkimi (Kimi records): www.kimirecords.net

Platan er ætluð fólki sem hefur gaman af frumlegri raftónlist í anda Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada o.fl.

Á þessari vefsíðu er hægt að hlusta á brot af plötunni og kaupa hana í mp3 formi:
http://www.tonlist.is/Music/Album/250285/mikael_lind/alltihop/

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Min skiva “Alltihop” har äntligen kommit til Island. Den distribueras på måndag den 23:e mars i större bok- och skivaffärer. Det är även möjligt att köpa ett exemplar på distributörens hemsida, Afkimi (Kimi records): www.kimirecords.net

Plattan passar folk som gillar experimentell elektronisk musik i stil med Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada m.fl.

På följande internetsida kan man lyssna på klipp från skivan och köpa den i mp3-format:
http://www.tonlist.is/Music/Album/250285/mikael_lind/alltihop/

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My record “Alltihop” has finally reached Iceland. It will be distributed on monday the 23'rd of march in major book stores and most record stores. It is also possible to by a copy on the distributor's homepage, Afkimi (Kimi records): www.kimirecords.net

The record will fit people who like experimental electronic music similar to Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada a.o.

On the following web page you can listen to bits from the album and buy it in mp3 format:
http://www.tonlist.is/Music/Album/250285/mikael_lind/alltihop/

Some new photos

2009-03-06T23:13:00.006Z

Here are my personal favourites of some photos taken last week when the weather was nice. Nothing spectacular, but quite charming.

Nokkur orð um fyrrverandi seðlabankastjóra Íslands

2009-03-03T22:26:00.000Z

Án þess að vilja taka þátt í persónuárásum tel ég það mikla blessun að Davíð Oddson sé loks farinn úr starfi seðlabankastjóra. Ég fylgdist með viðtalinu í Kastljósi nýlega og í hreinskilni sagt þótti mér sláandi hve firrtur maðurinn er á eigin störf í Seðlabankanum. Hann neitar einfaldlega að horfast í augu við þá staðreynd að hann hefur staðið sig illa sem seðlabankastjóri; sofið á verðinum og þar með brennt allar brýr að baki sér.

Sumum – að því er virðist að mestu leyti Sjálfstæðismönnum –þykir Davíð hafa staðið sig með sóma í þættinum. Margir sömu aðilanna hafa gert lítið úr búsáhaldamótmælunum og þegar byrjaðir að kalla fram fullyrðingum um vanhæfa ríkisstjórn eftir einn mánuð í starfi. Það virðist sem að þessir aðilar trúi því ekki að Davíð hafi gert nokkuð rangt í starfi sínu sem seðlabankastjóri og virðast þeir styðjast við það að Davíð hafi nú einu sinni varað við hruninu áður en það kom.

Í viðtali við Jón Hannibal Baldvissson sem að birt var í þættinum Silfri Egilis 1. mars sl. fjallar Jón um starf seðlabankastjóra. Kom þar fram að í starfinu fælist ekki einungis að 'vara við' hruni, heldur einnig að 'bregðast við'. Davíð átti að hafa eftirlit með tvennu. Í fyrstu lagi að krónan missti ekki stöðu sína sem traustur gjaldmiðill. Í öðru lagi að gengið héldi sér tiltölulega sterkt.

Ef marka má ofangreind tilmæli Jóns Baldvins Hannibaldssonar um starf seðlabankastjóra þá virðist mér Davíð hafa mistekist verkefnið gersamlega. Hann heldur áfram að tönglast á því að hann hafi varað við fallinu en talar lítið sem ekkert um það til hvaða ráðstafana Seðlabankinn m.a. undir stjórn hans hafi gripið í tilefni af yfirvofandi falli. Þetta kalla ég einfaldlega að hafa pissað í skóinn sinn; tómlætið olli honum óvinsældum og varð honum loks að falli. Ég óska nýja seðlabankastjóranum Svein Harald Øygard góðs gengis.

Trying out my new camera

2009-02-28T18:13:00.000Z

These are photos from Reykjavik, Iceland, which I took with my newly bought Samsung Digimax l85. My theme was simply to make beautiful photographs out of simple motifs. I am completely new to more artistic photography so please give feedback.