The Sound Of Silence

According to popular conjecture, one in ten Icelanders is a published author. It's not too surprising when you think of the rich literary history – stretching back thousands of years – that is one of the foundations of Icelandic culture. That, of course, leaks into the music. Think Bjork, Sigur Ros, Ólafur Arnalds. Now think Ásgeir. After a second appearance at South By Southwest, Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson has rapidly become a go-to name for the current crop of reflective singer-songwriters, not least because of just how interesting his story is.

Growing up in Laugarbakki, a remote town in Iceland's northwest, Trausti was exposed daily to the kind of environment that would shape his music: the breathtaking landscape of fjords, forests and plains. “It was about as far away from living in the city as you can imagine,” Trausti says. “I still get anxious when I'm in the city too long, I always need to get back there after a while. It's my home, and I think everyone has that feeling when they need to return to their home.” Trausti and his brother were supported in the arts by their father, a writer and poet of over 40 years, and the man who would eventually pen the lyrics to Trausti's debut album. “The album was originally released back in 2012,” Trausti explains. “We started recording it about three, no, four months before it was released. You know, it was mostly just music that I had recorded on my own while I was in Reykjavík. And then John Grant heard the songs, and he liked them. He called me up and wanted me to try one song in his studio. So I went to the studio, I tried one song and it just worked. We got along really well. We tried another song, and then another and another. In the end we started to discuss about releasing the whole album again in English. I never meant for it to work out that way, but I'm very happy it has. The original album was very popular in Iceland, but hopefully a lot more people can hear it, and I guess take something from it, now that it's in English also.”

Here's another Icelandic statistic: In The Silence, or Dýrð í dauðaþögn in Icelandic, is the biggest selling album in the country, with allegedly 80 per cent of Icelandic households owning a copy. He even released a Christmas song, which stayed at #1 on the charts for nine weeks. “Icelandic people relate to the music, because it's mostly about Icelandic things,” Trausti says. “Growing up in the north-west, I grew very close with the land and with the beauty of the land, and that's something that's very important in Iceland. Everything pretty much relates to it.”

This does all mean, however, that Trausti has had to bite the bullet and tour his music around major cities. Whilst it's not his first foray into the international circuit, the beginning of 2014 is a turning point in the young musician's career. Trausti is wrapping up a European tour at the moment of our conversation, and the transformation is clear in his voice. “We just played a show at the Union Chapel in London. The audience was incredible. I have played there a couple of times, but there is something special about it now. I mean, we played in a church, a really really old church, which was beautiful. It was very soulful, with 900 people sitting down and just listening. You know, we don't play shows that much where people just sit and listen, so that was a different experience for all of us. But it was just great.”

Another big change is on the cards for Trausti now, as he has been announced as one of the more eclectic acts on the Splendour line-up. Trausti ponders the notion given that maybe it won't be too different coming to Australia: it is relatively isolated as well. “Yeah, it will be interesting,” he says. “Getting used to travelling to all these countries – outside of Europe, where I have toured a few times – is different, but it's been great. We've had a lot of great experiences. Australia is a long way away,” Trausti chuckles, “But it would be good.” In that subtle Icelandic lilt, Trausti is humble about just how much audience reaction he expects from the visit. “I still find it hard to believe sometimes that the album is so big in countries like Australia. I didn't even think people would know about it, but I've heard from a lot of people nice things. I don't know, it has not been that long since the album was released worldwide, so I think maybe we are still trying to get used to it. But it's nice to know people want to hear the music.”