Iceland review - 2016, Qupperneq 76

74 ICELAND REVIEW
hopefully, we add something new to it,”
Jökull reflects. His voice has caught the
attention of many—gravelly, with a deep
soul and a wide range.
The band defies all labeling, and Jökull
stresses the importance of keeping their
independence when it comes to the cre-
ative process. “The music is very diverse,
and it’s important for us to remain our-
selves—not to be controlled in what we
do.”
Only four singles have been released
in the US so far: ‘All the Pretty Girls’—
being the most popular—‘Way Down
We Go,’ ‘No Good,’ and ‘Can’t Go on
Without You.’ The first two came out
with videos shot in the Icelandic coun-
tryside—‘Way Down We Go’ memo-
rably filmed inside a volcano in South
Iceland, where the band performed. “We
like to use Icelandic landscape in our
videos and plan to shoot one here this
summer.”
BRIGHT FUTURE
Kaleo released a self-titled album
through Icelandic label Sena in 2013.
The band’s first US-released album has
been anxiously awaited and is due out
this summer. Jökull describes it as two-
fold: “There will be rock and roll on
one hand and ballads and softer material
on the other. Then the plan is to tour
Europe in the fall.”
Jökull writes all the music and lyrics
for the band. “Usually, I write the mel-
ody first and then the lyrics. Some of
the songs I’ve written in a summer cabin
in Iceland, but usually a change in sur-
roundings is inspiring. When I lived in
Iceland, I would often write songs while
vacationing in Spain.”
All the band members grew up in
Mosfellsbær—Jökull, Daníel and Davíð
being childhood friends. Rubin joined
the group just three years ago, but the
others have been performing together
for six years—first appearing at pubs
and various small venues, but later at
festivals.
When asked to describe the effect of
his Icelandic upbringing on his crea-
tivity, Jökull responds: “Of course the
freedom of growing up in Iceland has
shaped my personality—the long dark
winters, the amazing beauty in the sum-
mer. It’s no coincidence that Iceland has
produced so many musicians,” he states.
The future looks bright for Kaleo.
Ironically, ‘No Good’ and ‘Way Down
We Go’ is what they sing, but ‘real-
ly good’ is what they are, and ‘way
up’ seems to be where they’re head-
ed. We all follow them close-
ly—undoubtedly including “all the
pretty girls.” *
MUSIC
Clockwise from left: Rubin Pollock, Davíð Antonsson, Jökull Júlíusson and Daníel Ægir Kristjánsson.