Interesting Music from Icelandic Group

Poststructural Pub
1

I recently discovered this really interesting Icelandic band called “Amina”. Its a band that does really simple original melodies on instruments like xylophones, musical saws, electric cellos, musical glasses, psalteries and music boxes. They were supposedly the opening act for Sigur Ros and I must say there are some similarities in mood between the kind of melodies Sigur Ros and Amina play, although the latter is much more intimate sounding and instrumentally more interesting.

Check out this video of them playing all those weird instruments on Icelandic TV: (and their rather quaint dress sense)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYIDUvAtiGc&search=amina

2

This kind of stuff has been around for decades. There is a whole subgenre of musicians who invent their own weird instruments. The music they come up with is usually far less conventional than this stuff. If you are interested in this sort of thing, there’s a book that would help you get started called “Musical Instrument Design” by Bart Hopkin.

djm