WARMLAND's debut album 'Unison Love' is out this Friday and packed full of extra-dimensional psych-pop gems. In the run-up, the Icelandic duo have released the futuristic video to new single 'Further' on CLASH today, right ahead of their performance at Secret Solstice happening in

the duo's hometown of Reykjavík this weekend. 

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WARMLAND's 'Unison Love' is released in collaboration with Secret Solstice, with the band playing an album launch in a 5,000 year old dormant volcano lava tunnel Saturday 22nd

June and as part of the main festival on Sunday 23rd June. 

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Quite the Herculean task to pull off, the 'Further' video was shot in the Icelandic Highlands in place called Kaldidalur. Located off a highland road, it is the second highest pass in Iceland. In order to shoot the video a petrol generator was rented, hauled into the highland and carried by the crew

to the chosen location, as well as instruments, lights and equipment.

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Over to WARMLAND's Hrafn Thoroddsen to explain more about this daredevil shoot:

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"We braved high winds, dust storms and frigid cold while shooting and shed one tear (each) but smiled through the process due to the beauty of the landscape."

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"‘Further’ is about distance and distance between people especially so we wanted to illustrate this with the vastness of the surroundings. Vistas of endless sands and gravel, where we are gliding in and out of view,

drifting further."

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WARMLAND is a project based on friendship. Arnar Guðjónsson and Hrafn Thoroddsen are two Icelandic musicians who first met a decade ago, touring across China in the same band. That project fell away, but the two kept in touch, sharing the same studio in a beautiful part of

Reykjavík.

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“We’ve known each other for 10 years,” explains Arnar, “and there’s always been a discussion: should we do something together? We share the same studio – Hrafn has the days, I have the nights.”

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Eventually, their long held plans bubbled to the surface. Sharing a number of demos, the two found that their previously secret solo endeavours perfectly intertwined, resulting in some gorgeous, infectious, psych-pop gems, all lysergic guitar lines, synthetic digital excursions and addictive melodies.

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Debut album ‘Unison Love’ is a 12 track manifesto, a finely balanced showcase for a partnership that runs deeper than most. “The trust that we have between us is very important,” says Hrafn. “Especially in a two man group, you

need to have full trust. The biggest discovery regarding the

music is how well it gelled together - I don’t recall a

moment where we had any difficulties making

decisions”

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The first song WARMLAND wrote together was ‘Blue Place’, an aptly named blueprint for what would follow. The duo take control of every single note – from the drums, to the bass, to the programming. “It sounded great, actually,” smiles Arnar. “Straight

from the start. It’s a home made album.”

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“We are trying to do some really good pop songs, but we also didn’t want to have any boundaries,” explains Hrafn. His band mate adds: “If you have good songs you can do whatever you want to. You can do lots of experimental things

to it, but the song will always carry itself.”

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Rooted in pop but deeply exploratory, ‘Unison Love’ is an inspired listen. ‘Gimme Gimme’ veers into outlandish prog territory, with its wild guitar lines and incredible programming; ‘Twincam’ 

is a tech-inspired digital odyssey, while the title track – and opening number - ‘Unison Love’

is an impossibly pretty psych-pop song.

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“Unison is the joining of elements together and that’s what we’re doing,” says Arnar; “Joining our personas together with love

to create this album.”

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Crafted in the same space across an intense 18 month period, ‘Unison Love’ has an incredible sense of analogue warmth – Arnar uses a vintage Gretsch drum kit that once belonged to his father, a highly respected jazz musician in Iceland. The final take, meanwhile, goes through

a tape machine for mixing, “just to get that extra flavour.”

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But there’s an extra dimension, too. WARMLAND made their live debut with a rapturously received show at Iceland Airwaves, displaying the visual depth to their concert experience – on its release, each song on the album will be paired with a specially crafted video, vastly expanding on their sonic creativity.

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“I think our music is cinematic,” says Arnar. “There is a visual side to it. It all plays together. It’s all done in-house. We do the videos, we do the

music, and we programme the lights. We have full control.”

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It all comes down to two people exploring their friendship, broadening the trust that took a decade to gain. Indeed, the biggest discussion they had was actually the name WARMLAND itself. “Naming albums and bands is one of the hardest things you

can do,” laughs Hrafn. His band mate adds: “You live in a land that’s

quite cold, then you want something different. It’s actually

quite fitting”.

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With their impeccable pop songwriting and their daring experimental excursions WARMLAND channel sheer Icelandic cool on a debut album that both encapsulates and drives their

friendship forwards.

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LIVE DATES

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22nd + 23rd June Secret Solstice, Reykjavík, Iceland

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B I Z Z A R R E

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