With tons of chaotic supply on the internet, you’re going to have people who become very good at being curators or stylists. It’s the same sort of people that I used to go to record shops for.
When I was a teenager in Iceland people would throw rocks and shout abuse at me because they thought I was weird. I never got that in London no matter what I wore.
Kids draw masterpieces – they’re the best painters ever. I think the same with music. They could totally write amazing music if they just had the right tools.
I mean, I’ve never been thinking that if you’re a fan you have to buy everything that somebody puts out. I mean, you’ve got a choice. If you don’t want it, just don’t buy it. It’s also a reaction to YouTube and sharing of files.
We’re always mourning things that have died. It’s a bit much sometimes. These studios have no fresh air, and there’s this unwritten rule that they don’t have windows, either.
I lose energy and I can’t do as many things as I want. So I have to plan days when I’m not doing anything. I find that a bit boring, but it’s necessary.
When I write a song, I see a tunnel, and then the chorus is an open space, or the bassline is doing this shape. I see songs as a more of a geometric, spacial experience.
Icelandic people are really educated. But maybe we are at where the people in the States were 50 years ago, where they think that stuff that isn’t done with a hammer or physical power is not a job. It’s that backwards.
I’ve always appreciated working with people I have chemistry with, who are friends, and where you feel that the work is growing while you are getting to know each other better.
I have a very happy, healthy relationship with the country, so it’s really easy to go everywhere because I always have Iceland to go back to. It’s sort of a contradiction, but that’s how it works somehow.
