Aldís Fjóla is a musician from a remote town in Iceland who draws inspiration from 90s grunge music and occasionally has a shoegaze-like sound. She seized creative ownership of her musings in 2017 and started self-releasing songs. Despite being a versatile and gifted artist, she mystifyingly battled self-doubt in the past up until that point. On February 10th, she released “Pipedreams,” the thirteenth release (a six-song EP) of a catalog under her own name. Since 2012, the Icelandic artist has collaborated with a variety of musicians. For “Pipedreams” Aldís enlisted the help of these renowned musicians to play on “Pipedreams:”
Aldís Fjóla – Singer/Songwriter
Stefán Örn Gunnlaugsson – Keypboards/synths/bass/Songwriter/Producer
Friðrik Jónsson – Guitar
Halldór Sveinsson – Violin
Kristófer Nökkvi Sigurðsson – Drums
The EP was tracked at Studio Bambus, Hafnarfjörður in Iceland. Stefán Örn Gunnlaugsson produced it, and Sigurdór Guðmundsson of Skonrokk Mastering mastered the work.
Aldís Fjóla immersed herself in upbeat Rock music, particularly Grunge, during her teenage years. Constantly searching for meaning in songs, she identified with the agony and sarcasm that Grunge offered lyrically. Alds Fjóla at 16 years old was finding inspiration in listening to bands like Skunk Anansie, Pearl Jam, No Doubt, and Alanis Morisette. A vein of hard rock music that is still favored by her and collaborator Stefán Örn.
LT1KF also covered the first single of the EP, check it out: “Burn”
The fact that Alds Fjóla is also a vocal instructor is particularly intriguing. Looking at her webpage, she has vocal talent in a range of musical genres. Whether singing a more contemporary piece or a Grunge rocker, her performances are consistently emotive and moving. In that respect, the inspiration she draws from heavier music is always there.
Alds Fjóla states that the EP’s overarching topic mainly revolves about sticking up for yourself from varying points of view. Over two years ago, Aldís Fjóla and Stefán Örn began composing songs for the album. They spent a significant amount of time experimenting and creating demos they could choose from. She says of the recording process:
Pipedreams is an album I’ve always wanted to create and co-working with Stefán Örn on a grunge rock album was the best time I’ve ever had. It became a walk down memory lane about all the fantastic artists that inspired me in the 90’s and going back to my
roots.
By my ear, I certainly pick up on her 90s alternative rock sensibilities. When it comes to Grunge, I would say that her approach is more similar to the “quiet to loud” hard rock dynamic of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains than say, the punk ethos of Mudhoney or The Melvins.
Track Listing:
- Wasted
- Burn
- Rearview Mirror
- Pipedreams
- Crossfire
- Brenndu brýr
My thoughts while listening:
“Wasted” is a really cool track. Sounds like it was influenced by Alice In Chains, in particular Jerry Cantrell’s contributions. An “alternative” or more restrained grunge, if you will. Similar to Live or STP. perhaps Silverchair. The vocal performance is hip and emotive.
“Rearview Mirror” – Oh yeah, I immediately like this one. Verse with bass and drums, familiar with the grunge dynamic. The dissonant, fuzzy guitars ringing out, give it that “airy” sound in the background. That and the synth. This one was my personal favorite. Really cool, “spooky” harmonies blend with the guitar lick great.
“Pipedreams” – Is a demonstration of her skillset in a more contemporary piece. Expressive and alternative similar to Tori Amos or even Fiona Apple. I particularly like the string arrangements in this track. Her vocal performance in which she switches from chest voice to head voice and back again is impressive.
“Crossfire”- has an “MTV Unplugged,” 1990s type of vibe and a catchy chorus. Reminds me of an edgier Cranberries and Guano Apes.
“Burn” is a melancholy song with a gloomy chorus, Sabbath-related vibes. The reverb on the guitars in the verses are great. A classic grunge maneuver, the middle section has a nice discordant breakdown. This track is in rotation on the weekends on AMS Radio’s LT1KF Indie Hour.
Brenndu brýr – The Icelandic version of the single “Burn,” which translates directly to English as “Burn Bridges.” Which was fascinating to me because I’ve been studying Dutch for the past year. I was eagerly listening to see if I could recognize any of the “crossover” words in the Lexicon, even though I know that Scandanavian is not the same from a comprehension perspective.
Definitely recommend Aldís Fjóla’s music for fans of 1990’s alternative/grunge rock and some of the bands I’ve named!
Don’t forget to support this project and follow Aldís Flója on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify. You can also visit her official website. If you enjoy her music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp.
It also helps to stream and share her music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Fresh Singles, Alterindie State Of Mind, Female Rising Stars, Sickest & Dopest, and Unknown but Essentials!
Remember that you can always find me here AMS Radio for all my social media and collaborations.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!
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This coverage was created via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Wow, what a bold and beautiful work Aldís Fjóla has created!
Hi my friend so glad you dig it 🤘🏼😎