Hermigervill [er*muh*Gair*vill] is a one man electronic act from Reykjavík, Iceland that does it all from playing every instrument on his albums to deftly handling a variety of genres including House, Hip-Hop, and Trip-Hop. He currently has two self-released full-length records, entitled Sleepwork and Lausnina, available for free through his website, with several more apparently in the works. To date, he’s worked with a number of Icelandic musicians and tours as frequently as possible.

Hermigervill’s music is nothing if not diverse. From song to song, styles switch with such ease that the uninformed might assume that they’re listening to a homemade mixtape from a friend. Songs like “Army Of Them (Remix)” sound like a smoked-out Kanye B-Side while others like “Sveitin Milli Sanda” and “Blame It On Gray” are perfect specimens of Trip-Hop and hard-rocking House, respectively. The surprising thing is that it doesn’t seem overly intentional or labored. He’s simply an artist that likes to experiment and does it rather well.

In regards to instrumentation, one can expect an array of sounds from haunting Portishead-esque theremins to club beats with playful lead synth lines that sound like he might have spent a little too much time listening to The Well Tempered Synthesizer. The Hermigervill sound is also rather sample-heavy on his studio work which he says completely changes on the live stage. Rather than simply hit play on a sample and dance around, he reworks the most unique sample-based elements from each song into playable patterns on synths and whatever else is needed.

In past interviews, Hermigervill professed both his love of Icelandic music and slight lack of knowledge of other artists outside the country. However, he did happen to cite DJ Shadow and The Chemical Brothers as influences which are quite apparent at times in terms of his scratching and occasional big-beat sound. (If I’m not mistaken, “Blame It On Gray” uses the same drum beat as “Get Up On It Like This” by The Chemical Brothers.) But with his innate ability to get to the heart of a multitude of genres, Hermigervill is nonetheless a highly original artist worth listening to.

Here are some links:
Myspace
Official Site

Here is a two song mix from Hermigervill’s Sleepwork album that feature “Hard To Stop” and “Darkshot”

Here is a comprehensive list of every country, artist, and genre that I’ve covered so far on The Global Music Project.

• Country: Dhaka, Bangladesh / Artist: Drumlinezz / Genre : Jazzy Drum & Bass
• Country: Taipei, Taiwan / Artist: Waa Wei / Genre : Acoustic-Pop
• Country: Turin, Italy / Artist: Diarmonia Mundi / Genre : Metalcore
• Country: Helsinki, Finland / Artist: Delay Trees / Genre : Mellow-Pop-Rock
• Country: Switzerland / Artist: Reverend Beat Man / Genre : Psycho-billy
• Country: Poland / Artist: Rotofobia / Genre : Electronic-Garage-Art-Rock
• Country: Luanda, Angola / Artist: MC Kapa / Genre : Politically-charged Hip-Hop
• Country: Berlin, Germany / Artist: Golden Disko Ship / Genre : Ambient/Glitch
• Country: Brazil / Artist: Felguk / Genre : Electro-House
• Country: Mali / Artist: Tinariwen / Genre : Roots-Rock/Blues
• Country: Russia / Artist: Yago-E-Aboo / Genre : Futuristic-Rock
• Country: Norway / Artist: Magnus Eliassen / Genre : Acoustic-Soul

Magnus Eliassen is an independent acoustic-pop artist from Norway with soul to spare. Aside from being a model for DIY done right, his new album, Second Grace, is equal parts contemplative, charming, and sensuous. Considering just how good it sounds, it’s also quite surprising that he recorded the whole thing at his grandparents’ house. After performing around 100 shows around Europe, many of them sold out, and some press adding up, it seems that Magnus might be fast on his to way to becoming a force in indie music. That is, if he’s worried about that kind of thing.

One of Magnus’ strong suits is certainly the consistency in his music. Each song is an instantly enjoyable journey into earnest and soulful-coffee house territory with a irresistibly deep clap-along back-beat and lyrics that laud the joys of love. It should also be noted that all of the lyrics are sung in English, which is no small feat considering that Norwegian is the national language. There is also a subtle undercurrent of a Latin influence as well which is brought out by the use of castanets, staccato guitar, and the occasional odd time signature. Although currently promoting himself as a solo artist by name, he is also joined by three other musicians who masterfully help see his vision to fruition.

Where I normally would only consider it to have a slight effect on an artist’s work, Magnus’ personal beliefs should also be considered in conjunction with his music and overall aesthetic. Through his rationalization of the necessity of occasional music piracy, anti-materialism, and making many of his meals from scratch and for under $1, he manages to promote a positive message that compliments the music without being preachy. A quick look at his biography also reveals that the apparent impetus for this wave of positive energy was being involved in a rather bad car crash.

Because I consider Magnus to be a highly original artist from everything that I’ve heard thus far, I hate to compare him to any other artists. However, if I had to, I suppose it would be a blending of the vocal stylings of Jeff Buckley and  Travis, the soul elements of Remy Shand, and the laid back acoustic vibe of a Jack Johnson.

Here are some links:
Myspace
Official Website
CD Baby

Here is an unstoppable tune from his brand new album, Second Grace. I have to say it’s one of my favorites.