Hugar

Hugar are the latest in a long line of visionary artists to emerge from Iceland’s neo-classical/ ambient scene. Danny Turner explores their vintage studio

- Danny Turner

Icelandic multi-instrumentalists Bergur Þórisson and Pétur Jónsson have developed into one of the country’s most intriguing exports. Childhood friends, growing up in the town of Seltjarnarnes close to Reykjavík, the duo played in various funk, jazz, and reggae bands throughout their teenage years, but only began producing after gaining access to a recording studio in 2012. Their haunting self-titled debut album – Hugar (2014) – became a critically acclaimed release amidst collaborations with fellow Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds on the soundtrack to the ITV crime drama Broadchurch and Sigur Ros on their Black Mirror score. More recently, the pair completed The Vasulka Effect: Music for the Motion Picture, a documentary based on 1960s video-art pioneers Steina and Woody Vasulka. After scoring the docu-movie, Hugar expanded the project to create an extravagant 20-track ambient album.

How did you first meet?

Bergur: “We met in kindergarten when we were about three years old and obviously found that we were interested in music a little bit later. We started playing together in various different bands, but about eight years ago I was working in a studio that belonged to a friend of mine who was going on tour – he was actually my trombone teacher. The studio had an API console and some nice outboard and Neumann mics, so I called Pétur and said we need to make something happen. The band was born.”