Samaris is an
electronic music
Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...
group from Iceland which formed in January 2011 and consists of Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir (
clarinet), Þórður Kári Steinþórsson (
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
) and
Jófríður Ákadóttir
Jófríður Ákadóttir (born 4 August 1994) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist known as JFDR and is a founding member of the musical groups Samaris (band), Samaris and Pascal Pinon (band), Pascal Pinon. She ha ...
(
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
).
History
After forming in January 2011, Samaris entered and won the 2011 Icelandic
Músíktilraunir
Músíktilraunir ( en, Music Experiments) is an annual music competition held in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Winners
* 1982 – Dron
* 1983 – Dúkkulísurnar
* 1984 – ''not held due to teachers' strike''
* 1985 – Gipsy
* 1986 – Greifarnir
...
competition.
Steinþórsson also won the Keyboard/Programmer prize. Following this, the group self-released their ''Hljóma Þú'' (2011)
EP, which won the band an Icelandic
Kraumur
Kraumur Music Fund is an independent Icelandic music fund and operation established by thAurora Charity Foundationin the beginning of 2008 ''"to strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting ...
award.
In August 2011, Samaris took part in
Stage Europe Networkevent in The Netherlands which brought together acts from Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, France, Germany and Iceland. In October 2011, Samaris performed at the
Iceland Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves is a music festival annually held in early November in Reykjavík, Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populat ...
festival.
A further self-released EP, ''Stofnar falla'', followed in 2012 before the group signed with
One Little Indian Records
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...
. The band performed at the 2012 Iceland Airwaves festival.
Samaris's self-titled debut album was released in July 2013, which combined the tracks from their two previous EPs along with four
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
es,
to generally favourable reviews. The album combined their music with lyrics taken from 19th-century Icelandic poems.
The follow-up album ''Black Lights'' (2016), which had been recorded in Berlin the year prior, marks their switch to making music in English. It was headed up by the release of the lead-single "Wanted 2 Say" in April, 2016.
In 2017, lead singer Jófríõur Ákadóttir was featured on
Low Roar's single, "Bones", from their upcoming album "Once In A Long, Long While".
Discography
Studio albums
*''Samaris'' (2013), (
One Little Indian
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...
)
*''Silkidrangar'' (2014), (One Little Indian)
*''Silkidrangar Sessions'' (2015), (One Little Indian)
*''Black Lights'' (2016), (One Little Indian)
Extended plays
*''Hljóma Þú '' (2011), self-released
*''Stofnar falla'' (2012), self-released
Singles
*"Góða tungl" (2013), One Little Indian
*"Viltu vitrast" (2013), One Little Indian
*"Ég vildi fegin verða" (2014), One Little Indian
* "Brennur Stjarna" (2014), One Little Indian
* "Wanted 2 Say" (2016), One Little Indian
References
{{Authority control
2011 establishments in Iceland
Icelandic electronic music groups
Musical groups established in 2011
Icelandic musical trios