A Conversation with Ásgeir Trausti – HuffPost 10.8.14
Mike Ragogna: Ásgeir Trausiti, you’re one of the most popular recording artists in your native Iceland. What is your musical history including influences and musical instruction?
Ásgeir Trausti: I started playing classical guitar around the age of 6, and after that I wanted to be a guitarist. I stayed in school playing classical guitar up until I was 19 so I think that gave me a lot in terms of influences, and because of the technique, especially with fingerpicking, which I use in most of the songs I write. Guitarists like Francesco Tarrega and Andres Segovia stood out for me. But I was also very interested in playing in rock bands and loved bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Queens Of the Stone Age, which doesn’t really translate into the music I make now, but it used to and still does sometimes. As a teenager, artists like Elliott Smith, Damien Rice, Mugison, Sigur Rós, Jeff Buckley influenced me and maybe at that time I started focusing on making melodic songs with a lot of harmonies. But I think what has influenced me most with what I do now is both melodic folk and minimalistic electronic music, such as Thom Yorke, Justin Vernon, James Blake, Jon Hopkins, Nick Drake, and Chet Baker.
MR: Your album Dýrð í dauðaþögn-that was later recorded and released in English, entitled In The Silence–is the fastest-selling debut in Iceland’s history with more than 10% of the country’s population owning the album. What do you think it is about the album or you as an artist that resonated so strongly with your country and what was your reaction to that success?
AT: I don’t really know, so the reaction came as a big surprise to me. The music seems to get to a lot of people and to people of all ages. Perhaps it’s the fact that all the songs are very different from each other or that my dad, who’s a poet, wrote most of the lyrics and they are beautiful. I didn’t really know how to react to this unexpected success and I was really confused at times, but then I just decided that I was going to try this out and see what would happen. So I did that although it took some time to get used to the life of the musician and all the touring.
MR: Your career has grown to include success in Europe and now you’re branching out to the US. Would you say that you’re striving to establish yourself as a folk artist in the States and are you aiming from something even more aggressive?
AT: I never really have high expectations and hopes for what will happen in the future, and I don’t really like planning things too much but we have good people working with us in the US and it’s going quite well there now and seems to be building up, so the plan is to tour a lot there over the next few months and hopefully it will just keep going as well as it has been.
MR: Ásgeir, your single “King And Cross” hit #2 on Shazam in Nashville and has received generous US airplay in cities like Chicago, Portland, Austin and San Diego, so that must be very encouraging. To you as the artist, what is your theory on why it’s taking off in the States?
AT: I don’t know but probably for some part for the same reasons as why it took off in Iceland or anywhere else for that matter. But I know that there are certain areas or people in the States that are always looking over to Iceland for new music because of the music scene we have here, which many people are fascinated about.
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
AT: Just be yourself and try and not take criticism or other people’s opinions too personally, and have fun!
MR: And what was the best advice you were ever given, about music, your music, etc.?
AT: I think one is just trying to be open minded, trying new things and see where that takes you.
MR: What is your dream for you as an artist in the US and where do you see your musical career going in the future around the world?
AT: I hope I’ll be able to tour more in the US in the coming years because I really enjoy it and I’d like to explore the country more. I don’t really have a clear picture of myself in the future though. I just love making music, so hopefully I will be able to do more of that. Having people love what you do and getting the opportunity to play music for people around the world is a great bonus.