After 25 years of music, memories and unforgettable live performances, GusGus unfold into a new era with the announcement of their upcoming 2021 album. Rejuvenated and replete with creative aspiration, the collective welcome Vök’s Margrét Rán as the newest member of the circus, calling upon her illustrious dream-pop vocals to launch a new chapter in the GusGus saga.
GusGus has had a span of nearly two decades in which they have done nearly every style of electronic influenced music. From techno to trip-hop, from house to progressive house/trance to pop, this collective has made each style their own. With the band’s name refering to the 1974 German film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul where a female character is cooking couscous for her lover, pronouncing it Gusgus. Selling over 700 000 albulms world wide, Gusgus’ music is eclectic and has been remixed by Indie electronic luminaries such as Björk, Depeche Mode, Moloko, and Sigur Rós.
Brimming with ethereal sonic finesse, their primary quest has always been to transcend the physical realm and evoke a divinely hypnotic sense of release via their audiences. On a continuous emotional journey that champions free expression and sound experimentation, the emblematic outfit subverts the traditional electronic music format and oscillate between analog hardware and celestial song, resulting in their own intoxicating strain of electronica.
Balance Series returns after 3 years with Tim Green
Mix of the Week - Stanton WarriorsFormed in 2013 by singer Margrét Rán and saxophonist Andri Már, Vök started life by entering the annual band contest, “Músíktilraunir,” competition in Iceland. The problem: They didn’t actually have any songs to perform. Within a matter of weeks, Vök composed several tracks and performed them for the very first time at the band contest. And you guessed it … Vök won the competition. The duo became a trio at the start of the summer 2013 when they introduced guitarist Ólafur Alexander to the fold. Subsequently they recorded and released the EP, ‘Tension’ via Icelandic indie label Record Records.
Described as dream-pop/indie-electro band their sound consists of dreamy electronics with melodic vocals, distant saxophones and clean reverberated guitars. Vök is easily placed in the realm of indie-electro, thus resulting in everyone from The Knife and The xx to Poliça and Phantogram, but their music is distinctly their own
Offering an immersive montage of short stories that will serve as their most ambitious and forward-thinking LP to date, “Mobile Home” echoes the world’s forgotten purpose, lost between screens of distraction and material consciousness. This conceptual manifesto is the embodiment of GusGus and their world; a virtuous blend of masterful compositions and profound ideologies.
We packed up and headed to Iceland to speak with Icelandic indie electro Vök singer, Margrét Magnúsdóttir along with Biggi Veira and Daníel Ágúst.
