#juniusmeyvant

[floodingthemask]

JUNIUS MEYVANT - DONT MIND

[quarantinemusiccalendar]

Day 05: Júníus Meyvant - Floating Harmonies

The music of Júníus Meyvant is so warm, sunny and soul-sounding you probably wouldn’t expect it’s coming from an Icelander. By the way, Júniús Meyvant is a pseudonym. The man behind this music is called Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson. And if Iceland wasn’t isolated and gloomy enough, he is from isle of Heimaey (population about 4200) in the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar), a small volcanic archipelago 12 km off the south coast of Iceland. But from the amount of wonderful music that’s comming from Iceland lately I sense music writing probably does benefit from isolation and harsh climatic conditions. Maybe it acts as an incubator. And maybe the warm feeling dripping from Meyvant’s music developed as a reaction to the natural conditions and the isolation of his home town. Maybe. It’s just a guess. But I bet, it’s a question that pops up in most heads when they hear his music.

Although the album Floating Harmonies (2016) is only his 3rd released work (2nd regular album), hearing it, one could easily assume he’s been performing and recording music professionally for at least 2 decades. In reality Unnar Gísli attended music school briefly as a child, but quit soon and stopped playing any instruments, only to pick it up again in his early twenties again when he found an old guitar at his parents' house. Already on his 1st and 2nd album, his songwriting is of the highest class. When asked about this soul sound, he admitted that he likes soul, but he doesn’t really think about it when he writes music, it simply sounds like soul  without him intending to do so. The whole album is very groovy, it’s upbeat, intrumentally rich with strong melodies and clever arrangements throughout the whole record. And it’s warm and sweet. Even his sad song sound sunny. His vocals are a bit edgy and coarse with soulful honey-like quality to it. It’s a perfect album for a lazy sunday afternoon and for driving long distances in a car. I am quite curious how will his next album sound like.

The record is so consistent and strong that shortlisting just 4 of the 12 songs was quite hard. All but 2 pass my quality filter, so my first list consisted of 9 songs. And that would be against the definition of the task I gave myself at the beginning of this excercise. But here is a list of four: one pop song inspired by folding his own laundry, one dance song about the world peace, one about faith and one slowly rocking almost bossa nova-like gem.(1) Btw, the album artwork is his own painting.

Happy Sunday, relax and enjoy.

Album highlights: - Color Decay - Mighty Backbone - Signals - Manos

Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3bB5lH7

Links and References: Júníus Meyvant - Wikipedia (1)  H.B.Gylfadóttir (10 August 2016). “Track By Track: ‘Floating Harmonies’ By Júníus Meyvant“. The Reykjavík Grapevine.  

[noellefabianmusic]

Supplying the horns for Junius Meyvant- Live KEXP

[brentbutlermusic]

View this post on Instagram

while @areyoureadyfreddie is surely the focus here, @juniusmeyvant was an incredible guest tonight and i’m honored to have interviewed him and hear him live at @popdust hq | more to come! | . . . . . #juniusmeyvant #ineedmorepink #acrosstheborders #floatingharmonies #popdustpresents #newmusic #live #musicians #singer #tour #guitar #puppy #glassnoterecords #songwriter #iceland #guitarspotter #talent #nyc #folk #music #interview #pop #love #dope #popdust #brentbutler #guitarist #westmanislands #goodvibes #LILAC | (at Times Square, New York City) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtCz3hcH70d/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ifaqo3q2484a

[therevue]

The #MelodicTonic offers tasty, grand, and long-lasting treats from well-known and emerging artists alike. Sit back and indulge in #newmusic from Thom Yorke, Júníus Meyvant, Frøkedal, MAWD, Small Million, and EXITMUSIC's Devon Church. Homepage link is in bio where you'll find the mini-playlist. ... Supporting labels: XL Recordings, Record Records, Propeller Recordings, and Felte ... #indiemusic #ThomYorke #JuniusMeyvant #Frokedal #MAWD #SmallMillion #DevonChurch #indietronica #indiefolk #retrosoul #synthpop #newmusicalert #newmusicdiscovery #pressplay #nowplaying #takealisten https://www.instagram.com/p/BnVyNv_hNqW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tt2fm4asxjhh

[sigwhoreneyweaver]

"I LOVE YOU!" #juniusmeyvant (at The Hotel Cafe)

[generatorrr]

Signals by Ben Bill http://flic.kr/p/EGE4z5

[erick-martinez]

Chilling to Júniús Meyvant's self titled Ep. One of my favorite discoveries from Iceland airwaves 2014. Everyone go check out his live session from airwaves on KEXP. It's fucking great! Hoping we get a full album this year. #juniusmeyvant #nowspinning #vinylcommunity