BRAND NEW INTERVIEW WITH ARNAR
This interview with Arnar was published this morning (12/18/2014) in Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið. He talks about the new album and touring. Here’s our translation:
A RETURN TO THE SPOTLIGHT
New album from Of Monsters and Men will be released in the New Year
“We are just working hard in the studio, recording a new album” said Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, a member of the band Of Monsters and Men. The band has been keeping a low profile since they finished their almost two-year-long tour in August of last year.
The band members took a welcome break until January of this year, at which time they started remodeling the space where they would work on writing songs. “In January, we started working on building and remodeling a space where we could practice and write new songs. In March, we started writing songs for the new album” says Arnar.
Focus on Songwriting
The band members have focused on writing and recording songs for the album, which will be released during the first half of 2015. In that time the band has rarely played live.
Their first album, My Head is an Animal, released in 2011 [the international version came out in 2012], was a big hit both in Iceland and abroad. The band members are hoping that the new album will allow them to hold on to their foreign fans, as well as their Icelandic fans.
An American Producer
Arnar says that the process of making this album has been quite different from the first one. “We are more serious about this now. This album is more focused and coherent compared to the first one, which included songs that had been written over a long time. Additionally, we have been working with the American producer Rich Costey, and he has put his mark on the album.”
Costey is known in the Los Angeles music scene. He has worked with various world famous acts, such as Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Birdy, and Sigur Rós. According to Arnar, the collaboration has been going well. The album is well on its way, and the band members are very happy with it so far. Next, they will travel to Los Angeles to finish the album. They have also started thinking about touring next year.
“We will have a release concert, and then we want to tour abroad like we did for the first album,” Arnar says. They hope to release the album before the summer, because there are many opportunities to play big events both in Iceland and abroad over the summer. “We hope to be able to repeat the last tour, because that was a lot of fun. Hopefully we’ll be able to.”
Bullet points: »My Head is an Animal included hits such as “Little Talks”, “Dirty Paws”, and “King and Lionheart”. »The album was well received, and reached the 6th place on the Billboard chart. »The band received a platinum certification when the album reached one million units sold in the USA in January 2014.
Credit: Morgunblaðið / Benedikta Br. Alexandersdóttir.
This interview with Arnar was published this morning (12/18/2014) in Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið. He talks about the new album and touring. Here’s our translation:
A RETURN TO THE SPOTLIGHT
New album from Of Monsters and Men will be released in the New Year
“We are just working hard in the studio, recording a new album” said Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, a member of the band Of Monsters and Men. The band has been keeping a low profile since they finished their almost two-year-long tour in August of last year.
The band members took a welcome break until January of this year, at which time they started remodeling the space where they would work on writing songs. “In January, we started working on building and remodeling a space where we could practice and write new songs. In March, we started writing songs for the new album” says Arnar.
Focus on Songwriting
The band members have focused on writing and recording songs for the album, which will be released during the first half of 2015. In that time the band has rarely played live.
Their first album, My Head is an Animal, released in 2011 [the international version came out in 2012], was a big hit both in Iceland and abroad. The band members are hoping that the new album will allow them to hold on to their foreign fans, as well as their Icelandic fans.
An American Producer
Arnar says that the process of making this album has been quite different from the first one. “We are more serious about this now. This album is more focused and coherent compared to the first one, which included songs that had been written over a long time. Additionally, we have been working with the American producer Rich Costey, and he has put his mark on the album.”
Costey is known in the Los Angeles music scene. He has worked with various world famous acts, such as Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Birdy, and Sigur Rós. According to Arnar, the collaboration has been going well. The album is well on its way, and the band members are very happy with it so far. Next, they will travel to Los Angeles to finish the album. They have also started thinking about touring next year.
“We will have a release concert, and then we want to tour abroad like we did for the first album,” Arnar says. They hope to release the album before the summer, because there are many opportunities to play big events both in Iceland and abroad over the summer. “We hope to be able to repeat the last tour, because that was a lot of fun. Hopefully we’ll be able to.”
Bullet points: »My Head is an Animal included hits such as “Little Talks”, “Dirty Paws”, and “King and Lionheart”. »The album was well received, and reached the 6th place on the Billboard chart. »The band received a platinum certification when the album reached one million units sold in the USA in January 2014.
Credit: Morgunblaðið / Benedikta Br. Alexandersdóttir.