As a whole, Geirþjófsfjörður has a touch of the epic without being obtuse. It’s a fine balance and finely achieved. I would imagine most ambient fans would be proud to have this as part of their collection—it’s an album deserving of many, many listens.
Icy tones underpinned by cavernous drones
Árni Grétar’s Futuregrapher project is generally heavily influenced by his Icelandic homeland and this deep ambient release on the ever impressive Neotantra imprint, that’s run by IDM and ambient legend, Lee Norris is no different.
Slowly pulsating icy tones underpinned by cavernous drones that are literally dripping with melancholy are the main theme of the album. It’s a deep one, as mentioned, and as such it’s an album you need to give your full attention to in order to appreciate the slowly evolving dynamics that give it the emotional aspects it thrives upon. The touches of Berlin School were quite unexpected, yet most appreciated at the same time. Especially if you like your music to go through the gears as such.
You certainly get the feeling you’re at one with nature listening to this album, especially with headphones on as the subtleties are rather sublime. They envelop you by stealth almost. As a whole, Geirþjófsfjörður has a touch of the epic without being obtuse. It’s a fine balance and finely achieved. I would imagine most ambient fans would be proud to have this as part of their collection—it’s an album deserving of many, many listens.
The final, longform ambient piece (“Tjaldur”) on the album is the best of the bunch in my opinion. A lot of longform ambient today is rather bland, two chord, mildly undulated nonsense with a fabricated concept about outer space to help sell it to the gullible public. Thankfully, Árni Grétar needs no hypothesized scenarios for his inspiration, it’s literally all around him. You can almost hear the icebergs sing if you listen with an open heart.
Geirþjófsfjörður is available on Neotantra. [Bandcamp]
