Jonbjörn Gárur

Jónbjörn's 'Gárur' reflects the ebb and flow of life, and is a sonic exploration of the nether regions of atmospheric electronic music.

Jónbjörn, an Icelandic producer and purveyor of organic textures and soundscapes has just released his debut full-length LP titled ‘Gárur’. Translated to ‘Ripples’ in English, the album is a colourful display of intricately woven electronic grooves and hypnotic atmospheres.

The 10-track LP unfolds like a 1-hour mixtape, each song seamlessly blending from one to the next. ‘Þeytt smjör’ sets the scene with a sequence of generative ambience – lush pads and synthesizers atop a backdrop of found sound textures.

The album pushes forward into many beat-centric tracks across various genres – everything from Downtempo, Deep House, Electronica, and Electro can be found throughout. While each track borrows influences from across the dance music spectrum, the album is held together by Jónbjörn’s melodic and harmonic tendencies that encourage you to lose yourself in.

Jónbjörn's process is heavily sample-based, often jamming carelessly to unearth new sonic possibilities. He records tracks live, triggering loops and effects spontaneously, and separates the creative process from mixing to maintain a sense of naivety. This approach allows him to capture the purity of initial demos, without falling into the temptation to overly polish the final product and lose that initial magic.

Over the past three years, Jónbjörn has released a string of singles and his last full release on the Helsinki label ‘OO Recordings’, which featured six tracks on cassette. He has also been putting out music on his own label, Lagaffe Tales. In March 2020, he released his first full vinyl EP on his own label series, BROT, at a time when the global pandemic had closed almost all clubs worldwide. Additionally, he has released music on reputable labels such as D.KO Records, Neo Violence, Gestalt Records, Móatún 7, Bitterfeld Musik, Yellow Island Records, and FALK.