Steamrolling the breakout success of Icelandic icons Sigur Rós and Björk, 22-year-old phenomenon Ãsgeir follows his sold out debut tour with his grandest appearance yet – filling both the Forum Theatre and Sydney Opera House with the falsetto-folk harmonies and delicate electronics of his chart-topping opus, In The Silence.
Born to a family of musicians and raised in a village of forty, Ãsgeir Trausti’s astonishing rise captured the attention of none other than John Grant, leading to a full-album translation by the cult American songwriter himself. Drawing on genre-jumping influences that are redefining traditional song circles (Bon Iver, James Blake), Ãsgeir’s timeless melodies have ushered homeland hymnals into the electro-acoustic builds of ‘Torrent’ and hushed mid-album highlight, ‘Going Home’.
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Ásgeir’s debut album In The Silence has received endless praise ever since its release and his popularity has begun to explode, as it has been doing in the UK and across the rest of Europe. The album peaked at #8 on the ARIA Charts last month, and was Triple J’s Feature Album for the week of release.
It also saw Ásgeir translate his album from his native Icelandic into English, as he explained to Tone Deaf in a recent interview. “When people hear something in Icelandic for the first time, they don’t necessarily connect to it very well, so that’s where the idea came from,” he says.
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Now two years on from notching the biggest selling album ever in Iceland, Ãsgeir’s heartbreaking performances have transcended cultural bounds – from switching languages mid-set to his chilling takes on Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’ and Milky Chance’s ‘Stolen Dance’ for triple j’s Like A Version.
Accompanied by his family-featuring four-piece band, Ãsgeir will begin a new chapter on the Forum and Opera House stages (along with performances at Falls Festival, Field Day and Southbound), embracing the new year to enrapture another nation as one of the great songwriting successes of the decade.
Ásgeir Falls Festival 2014 Sideshows
Wednesday 7th – Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Tickets on sale Friday October 3 via www.handsometours.com
Friday 9th – Forum Theatre, Melbourne w/ support by Jane Tyrrell
Tickets on sale now from www.handsometours.com and www.secret-sounds.com.au
Asgeir will also perform at Falls Festival, Field Day and Southbound festivals.
