Following the release of Kiasmos—a fusion of Rasmussen’s beats and basslines, and soaring, emotive strings and piano by Ólafur— the duo released a trio of equally excellent EPs followed between 2015-2017 (Looped, Swept, Blurred). But then their respective solo careers took over and the project ended up on an extended hiatus—that was until the appearance this year of a brand new EP (Flown) and a bubblesome single (Burst), which led to the release of their highly-anticipated second album. Entitled simply II—their titles are the most minimal thing about the duo—it’s immediately identifiable as a Kiasmos record, albeit with a more experimental approach to the rhythms, more detail and layers in the sound design, and more playful elements that serve to balance out, and complement, their familiar epic aesthetic.
“It was a matter of finding the right moment,” explains Ólafur of the decade gap between albums. “A moment where we would both be excited and inspired to make more music together. We never wanted to make another album ‘just because’. For me personally, I got the spark back when I performed Blurred as part of my Cercle Set in the Icelandic highlands. That was really fun, and great to perform with my full band, including live strings and drums. It got me thinking that maybe it was time to finally finish that album.”
The pair began production during the pandemic years of 2020-2021, and the album was recorded in several locations, including Ólafur’s studios in Iceland and Bali, Janus’s studio in Iceland, and a recording studio in Akureyri, in the north of Iceland. “Each of those places brought something to the record,” comments Ólafur. “Perhaps the Balinese influence is most significant. We stayed there for a while during the pandemic and were really inspired by Gamelan music. One day we went to the market and got a couple of cheap instruments to jam with, not really thinking it would make it onto the record, but the Gamelan turned out to become the lead melody of Told.”
Careful listeners to II will also discern sounds from the Balinese rainforest and other field recordings and instruments amidst the immaculately-arranged meld of compelling breakbeats, swooning piano and strings and driving basslines. As with their debut, the album is a beautifully-flowing emotional journey, savvily constructed to appeal to home listeners as much as those fortunate enough to catch one of their acclaimed live performances. “It’s true that our music tends to have an emotional and journey-like quality,” agrees Janus. “We are drawn to creating songs that evoke strong feelings. Our music is instrumental, which adds to its emotive power by reflecting the listener’s current emotions.”
The two have continued to learn from each other’s respective skill sets, with Janus finding it “really motivating to see how Óli carefully thinks about the structure and progression of a song; he’s very dedicated to working out any musical puzzle,” and Ólafur finding “a lot of value in Janus’s way of working and making beats within Ableton; it’s so fast and inspiring.” As well as taking the album on the road between now and November, the duo have also released two striking videos for current singles Flown and Sailed, both of which are built around the mysterious monolith that appears on the album’s cover.
“Although different, the videos are connected by the fact that the monolith can mean anything or nothing,” comments Janus. “For Flown, Greg Barnes created a moody black-and-white video about an old man who dreams of flying to reach the monolith in the sky. For Sailed, Neels Castillon made an epic sci-fi video filmed in the Icelandic highlands during winter. So much work and passion went into these videos, and we were so happy with the results. They’re like our music: instrumental and open to any interpretation… and that's exactly how we like it."
by Paul Sullivan
