By Aaron Mendelsohn
When Sigur Ros broke into the modern music world’s public consciousness at the beginning of this century, it did so with the help of some very important women. In recording and touring behind albums such as Agaetis Byrjun,
( ) and Takk, Sigur Ros employed four friends from the Reykjavík, Iceland music community to add violin, viola and cello to an already euphonious arrangement of more traditional rock instruments. Over time, the four women, all classically trained by top Scandinavian universities, developed a relationship with each other, nurtured by their coursework and from touring and recording with Sigur Ros. As a result, they inevitably become their own unit, dubbed Amiina.
Amiina — María Huld Markan, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir and Sólrún Sumarliadóttir (although all four prefer to go by just their first names) — has created a sonic wonderland that tiptoes the fine line between classical compositions and experimental electronic. It’s not quite noise pop, and not quite post-rock, but by utilizing modern technology with over two dozen traditional and non-traditional instruments, Amiina has evolved from a string quartet into its own unique and breathtaking group.
“It just happened gradually,” explains Sólrún about Amiina’s transformation, speaking via phone from her home in Iceland. “The collaboration with Sigur Ros had a lot to do with it actually. Because the way we worked with the guys was they never gave us any sheet music; we just played together and it just happened quite organically.
“So, I think that as time passed we just slowly went away from the kind of classical tradition and kind of really, really structured music world into something more open with a curiosity about trying out new things and eventually trying out other instruments. It’s just been happening slowly over the past eight years or so.”
While each member originally had a master string instrument, that approach has become antiquated. Slowly, the four began embracing instruments outside their comfort zones, finding ways to incorporate harps, water glasses, xylophones and even a saw. Like a large family dinner, the women have a table of these tools when they play live, rotating positions and taking turns executing the precise movement for producing the necessary sound.
“It’s so much fun to find a new instrument and get a new soundscape,” says Sólrún. “But the instruments we choose to play are there ’cause we like them, obviously, and actually they keep on getting more in numbers. I think we are adding three or four new instruments in preparing for this upcoming tour, and we are probably up to close to 30 instruments on stage.”
With so many diverse instruments, and only four band members, songs don’t take shape in the most traditional method either. Experimentation plays a large role in the formation of Amiina’s melodies, becoming the foreground to wordless adventures.
“The first step is usually us getting together and trying things out,” says Sólrún, “then slowly it becomes or takes on a form. Then little by little it builds up to a certain structure, and then we kind of see what it becomes. But we never know what kind of song or piece we are doing beforehand. We never kind of discuss, ‘Let’s do something that sounds like this.’ Or if we do, it usually turns out to be something entirely different.”
Like Sigur Ros, those experiments usually result in expressive songs like “Shakka,” an eerie, baroque chamber piece, or “Ugla,” a buoyant, humorous hymn. But while each song uniquely identifies with a mood or experience, that’s not always Amiina’s goal.
“Our music is the outcome of four of us coming together, and creating some sort of experience or atmosphere,” adds Sólrún. “It’s just what happens when these four personalities come together and make songs together. There’s no kind of formal idea behind it. It’s just something that comes really naturally. It’s the combination of feelings and emotions and ideas from the four of us.”
And as to playing with Sigur Ros for the last time, Sólrún maintains that the four are concentrating on themselves, but says, “I don’t think we have played with Sigur Ros for the last time, but that’s pretty much our assignment these days, just working on us.”
Amiina, Tom Brosseau
9 p.m. Sunday, March 25
House of Blues Cambridge Room
308 Euclid Ave.
216.241.5555
Tickets: $13-$15
