Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2017, Qupperneq 31

TRACK BY TRACK
‘Shelter’ by
Sycamore Tree
Explosive love and smooth vocals
Words: Sycamore Tree & Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Saga Sig
LP
Out now
New duo
S y c a m o r e
Tree recent-
ly dropped their debut release
‘Shelter.’ With a smooth ethereal
and romantic sound, the piece
quickly secured the band’s place
as a newcomer to watch. To learn
more, we sat down with one half
of the group, Gunnar Hilmarsson,
to discuss the new album.
1. My Heart Beats For You
The song is about lovers who are
falling deeply in love but don’t
know when they will see each other
again. It was the first song I sent
to Águsta Eva to convince her to
be my better half in this duo. When
she came to the studio and sang it,
there was some magic in the room.
The weather was beautiful, calm,
and sunny—just like the song.
2. Shelter
Love is a strong phenomenon and
when people fall in love they want
to protect and give their partner
a shelter from all things bad—so
‘Shelter.’ The song is also about
the fear of being rejected. It was
the last song we recorded and it
almost didn’t end up on the album.
It was just a coincidence that it
was chosen and then used as the
title track.
3. Trouble
‘Trouble’ has more attitude and
a darker sound than most other
songs on the album. For upcom-
ing pieces, we want to stay within
this sound world. The lyrics talk
about falling for the wrong people
over and over—being attracted to
someone you both love and hate
at the same time. Some people go
from one such relationship to an-
other all their lives.
4. Full of Love
Normally I’m quick at composing
songs and lyrics but this song
actually caused me a lot of head-
aches. Between recording the first
verse and the second, there was a
one year interval, which was un-
usual for us.
5. Bright New Day
‘Bright New Day’ is both the short-
est and most upbeat track on the
album. Quick intro, short verse,
then straight to the chorus with a
big hook. Ómar, the producer, and
I are both massive Beatles fans and
wanted to take the song into that
direction. However, Ágústa Eva is
not a big Beatles fan so it took us
boys some time to convince her
about the excellence of this track.
Months after it was ready though,
she listened to it and suddenly
said, “Guys, let’s send this one out
now!“
6. Home
I hardly remember writing ‘Home.’ It
was one of those songs that was lit-
erally written the first time I played
it and hasn’t changed much since.
It's a simple, clean and beautiful
piece about how songs and love
can make the world a better place.
Ágústa Eva had a bad cold when it
was recorded, which gave colour
to the song. We both have a soft
spot for it.
7. Don’t Let Go
In all honesty, I was not sure about
‘Don’t Let Go’ at first, but Ómar and
Ágústa Eva were convinced we
should continue working on it. It
was good I trusted their judge-
ment. I wrote the song one night
in my underwear on my way to bed.
Sitting in a small wooden chair in
front of the TV, it just came to me.
This song is about lovers who need
to say goodbye but don’t know if or
when they will meet again.
8. Come back to me
When Ágústa Eva and I began this
song, it had very raw guitar and
vocals which worked, but in the
studio it took a complete U-turn.
It’s harder, bitter, and maybe even
colder than the other songs but
still has a gentle undertone. With
cold synthesizers, distorted vo-
cals, and ghost-like keyboards
from the wonderful mind of Ómar,
there’s a mysterious atmosphere
that definitely closes the ‘Shelter’
story. The song is about lovers who
both love and hate each other—a
flammable relationship that occa-
sionally bursts yet always comes
back together. Yes, a bit off the
classic modern love story.
The last words of Ágústa Eva on
this track are, “...like you’ll need me
again.” It’s the perfect way to end
the album: we will be giving you
more soon.
31The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 19 — 2017
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Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir and Gunnar
Hilmarsson are Sycamore tree
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