“Serious talent and vision” – NPR

“Samaris specialise in gorgeous, haunting nocturnes” – Drowned In Sound

“… unlike much else you’ll hear coming out of Iceland right now” – The Line Of Best Fit

Icelandic teenage wunderkind Samaris’ first UK release comes in the shape of an eponymously-titled album. ‘Samaris’ compiles their two Icelandic-released EPs, ‘Hljóma Þú’ (2011) and ‘Stofnar falla’ (recorded at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio with Gunnar Tynes of múm, 2012) and includes 4 remixes.

Combining disparate elements of electronics (Þórður Kári Steinþórsson), clarinet (Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir) and Jófríður Ákadóttir’s haunting voice, Samaris mix glacial electronica and bold, percussive beats with haunting chant-like vocals – the lyrics culled from nineteenth century Icelandic poems. ‘Viltu Vitrast’, for example, retells an Icelandic folk tale about villages who ask for help from a supernal being, but worry it will choose not to manifest its power on Earth. The effect is simultaneously ancient and modern – an ethereal sound filled with dark spaces and alien atmosphere.

Formed in Reykjavik in 2011, the band had won both the Icelandic Músíktilraunir (past winners include the likes of Of Monsters And Men) and Kraumur Award within months. The band performed at Iceland Airwaves in 2011 and 2012, attracting the attention of Line Of Best Fit, Drowned In Sound and NPR, amongst many others.