The Fanpage of the Icelandic band Hellvar by Wim Van Hooste

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Hellvar's "Kjaftaedi" on Australian Fat Planet Radio Show

Two of my favourite countries united here:
Australia meets Icelandic music
Stuart Rogers, an Aussie based in New York City, was featured on Australian Stuart Buchanan’s nationally syndicated Fat Planet Radio Show on FBi FM. Stuart Rogers is the man behind the Iceland Airwaves Video Podcasts aka Iceairpodcast. He's making a lot of great videos of Icelandic artists, performing live in Iceland or abroad. Sometimes acoustic and/or even @ the homes of the artists! Original it is.
They made a 36-minute session in which the 2 Stuarts discussed new Icelandic music and played new tracks by 6 up and coming Icelandic artists:
1. Olöf Arnalds - "Klara" - Album "Vid og Vid "
2. Benni Hemm Hemm (feat. Jens Lekman) - "Friðþjófur Og Ingibjörg" - Album Ein Í Leyni
3. Mr. Silla & Mongoose - "Organ Deviltry" - Album "Foxbite "
4. Borko - "Ding Dong Kingdom" - Album "Celebrating Life"
5. Hellvar - "Kjaftaedi" - Album "Bat Out Of Hellvar"
6. FM Belfast - "Synthia" (Demo) - "How to make friends"
Stuart’s radio show is a companion to his international music blog, Fat Planet, which was recently featured in The Guardian as “Best Blog For World Music.”
Listen to the show @ http://lofi.tv/2008/01/30/icelandic-session-on-fbi-fm-in-australia
Stuart Rogers @ www.youtube.com/iceairpodcast

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hellvar @ Radio Eigekai


Hellvar started in 2004 when founding members Heida and Elvar moved to Berlin as philosophy students. Armed with an electric guitar and a drum machine the two philosophers were forced to book gigs as the student loans from Iceland were not giving them the financial security they were designed to do. Heida and Elvar took material written for their more traditional Icelandic rock band and rearranged it for the Drum machine.

Elvar describes the music of Hellvar as drum-machines and electric guitars.
Heida doesn't want to describe it, and said: ,,Just come to a gig". In early 2007 the band grew from a 2 piece to a quartet when the child prodigy Alexandra was given guitar duties and the bass virtuoso Sverrir was added to the lineup. Together the two boys and two girls stir up a coctail from electronica to new-wave with a twist of lime.

The band released their first album "Bat out of Hellvar" in the end of 2007 and they have been touring Europe, America and Asia entertaining both the younger and older generations of the free mind, from all continents. Kimi Records, a brand new Icelandic label, releases the album.
www.radio-eigekai.com/specialprogram/bomb/pg/artist/hellvar/001.html

Hellvar @ Swedish Dotshop


Hellvar
Bat out of Hellvar
Gloomy New Wave + Dark Electronix + Data Rock from Iceland ****
Kimi (KRCD001)
This item will be released on September 22nd, 2008
Rock meets Electronica and Electronica meets New Wave on this debut LP from Hellvar. Aptly titled "Bat Out of Hellvar", this CD isn’t quite the paradise by the dashboard light you might be familiar with but still carries with it a dash of dark paradise.
From “Insomnia” to “Nowhere” with an “Ice Cream Drum Machine” in between, the album has a bright yet gloomy vibe to it. The catchy “Give Me Gold” has proved to be something of a hit. Led by charismatic singer Heida, the band has proven to be a force in concerts and has already gathered a strong and loyal following in Berlin, where the band was founded by Heida and hubbie Elvar two years ago.
Already the band has proven to have a knack for the unusual. To celebrate the release of their CD, the band contacted the Reykavík bus company and played a set while driving a popular route.
“The experience is what counts,” says singer/guitarist Heida, “sound comes second. Driving through the streets of Reykjavík using public transport, watching the city life throught the window while listening to fun music. That’s something for the future.“ Although more than content with Hellvar’s novelty, the public transportation system in Reykjavík has yet to offer them a contract for the future. However, they will. Nobody can resist an offer from Hellvar.
Tracklisting:
Insomnia
11 types
Electric Toy
Play with Dice
Ice Cream Drum Machine
Speedmental
Give me Gold
Like I Ache
Kjaftaedi
Light & Sound
Nowhere
www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=KRCD001