Exploding on the Icelandic music scene with shattering force and intensity Útidúr is one dirty dozen that’s making a buzz like an army of bumblebees. Imagine if Beirut and Calexico were stuck in a Mexican standoff – Sam Peckinpah style – fending off the and hanger-on Arcade FireDavid Bowie when all of a sudden Nina Simone and Serge Gainsbourg would show up with a band of gypsies. Indeed, the only thing that might break the tension could be this speedily snowballing sensation from the Reykjavik underground.
Formed by guitarist/singer Gunnar Örn, keyboardist Kristinn Roach and singer Rakel, Útidúr started churning out multifaceted songwriting that soon chain-reacted the project to mushroom into a twelve strong wild bunch. The full posse now includes players of double bass, drums, trumpet, violins, a second guitar and an accordion. The band has honed their craft for a while and begun playing at various venues in downtown Reykjavík in the summer of 2009.
This energetic group, whose members also star in numerous projects and side-projects, by nature defies rigid definitions. Shifting between the sparse and the cataclysmic with groove-infested ease this is one twelve-some that is able to seize attention like an earthquake and then sweep you off your feet like a tornado. Mostly though they seduce you softly and surely until you realize your stuck in their web, you might even be tricked to feel like you´ve always been part of them. From then on you are at their blissful mercy. To find out if this rings true check out this colorful consortium.
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Útidúr @ Myspace
Útidúr @ Bandcamp
