Artist Spotlight: Meet AGGRASOPPAR
What was the creative process like for this particular single "KONSEPTUALISERA SAMANHALD HVØRSÍNAMILLUM?"
It was a tricky beat to approach. Ayphin, our producer and one of three core AGGRASOPPAR-members, had created a really intricate and interesting universe in the track, and I (Sóljudrongur) wanted the first verse. Because the instrumental was so interesting and rich, I just let it breathe for a good minute before I did my verse. It came out as a dark and minimalistic verse, just a short poem about innate grief, and Ayphin took it from there with a fascinating verse about the sadness of people trying to connect, but failing, because it can be so difficult to connect with people in a meaningful way. All in all, it's a minimalistic and sad meditation about human connection.
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of this song?
We had just started to make our second album, this song was from one of the first sessions. It was at this point that we decided that the album should be split in two: One wholesome/happy A-side and a depressing/aggressive B-side. This song became the main idea for the B-side, although the vibe of this track is a bit more chill than the others.
Have you already performed the song live? Can you share any memorable experiences or stories from performing it?
Yes, quite a few times! The live version differs quite a bit from the studio version. We recorded a live session at the Studio Bloch in Tórshavn, where we invited a bunch of friends and had them all record us with their phones in a dark room with the flashlights on. That was quite memorable and great fun! You can check it out here, the whole session will be released along with the upcoming album in February 2024: YouTube
Are there any upcoming projects or releases that you are particularly excited about?
Yes, our new album! It's called "døgurðaslang / MIDNÁTTARSANG" which translates to "midday nap / MIDNIGHT SONG" – the two main ingredients of Faroese culture: The old school working man would have a short midday nap after eating lunch, before he returned to work. Midnight song is what we call the big sing-along at midnight with the traditional chain dance on our Faroese national day, Ólavsøka, on July 29th. It think it has the world record for the biggest chain dance, like 5.000 people? I might be wrong, though, haha. Anyway – the A-side of the album is already out, and KONSEPTUALISERA is the first single of the B-side.
Every venue has a unique atmosphere. How do you adapt your performance to suit different types of venues, from intimate clubs to large festivals?
We are actually quite versatile. We have around 40 songs on the repertoire already, and we can play all kinds of shows: Wholesome acoustic sets, aggressive hardcore shit, artsy electronica, you name it. It depends on the venue and setting which way we want to take it. Usually, we'll incorporate different types of vibes to make the set as unpredictable and contrasting as possible. The bigger the show, the bigger the sound, that's usually how we roll.
