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Two Step Horror's dark undertones, mixed with dreamy layers, make for a feast to any music lover. You soon realize why you recognize the music. It’s straight out of YOUR dreams. Two Step Horror have made dreams into music.
Þórður Grímsson is one half of Two Step Horror. So not only half responsible for one of the most extraordinary debut albums of the year, he's an accomplished multi media artist & founder member of Vebeth.
Some of Þórður's artwork can be seen below, including The Third Sound debut album sleeve design (just released on A Records) & the latest Singapore Sling cover for Never Forever (Outlier Records). As with all things Vebeth, there's a sense of wonderment, an obvious deeper meaning - almost symbolic beauty. A defiance. Þórður's designs hint towards a mathematical slant. But that maybe because I'm a numbers man & not an artist. Maybe that's what I see...
See what you see instead.
The output isn't limited to art & graphic design, it extends to video too. Working as part of the "Product Of Iceland" team responsible for many of the Brian Jonestown Massacre videos that accompanied the My Bloody Underground releases, he has also produced all of the Two Step Horror videos. There's been others, there's more work in progress.
First off, 3 tracks from Two Step Horror; 2 from the new album "Living Room Music", plus one available for free download, which was made available following the album release.
Then we'll get onto Þórður's own choices: "I'd say that I could have named more obvious choices, but to keep things interesting I'm sending you this list which at this moment is the most honest one I could come up with."
1. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
"This record introduced me to music. Pink Floyd are the true pioneers of psychedelia and they released this record in the golden year of 1967, it's as pure as it comes and influenced as many people as the record 'Velvet Underground & Nico'. Songs like 'Lucifer Sam', 'Arnold Layne', 'Pow R. Toc H'. & 'See Emily Play' are indescribably good. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is dark & drone, decadent & mad... unlike that nonsense they started doing in the 70's and 80's, that's not my Pink Floyd. This track 'Astronomy Domine' along side 'See Emily Play' (which is probably one of the first modern music videos) is my favorite. It's not the version from the record, but recorded live from some BBC1 television program from '67. There's an interesting interview at the end of the clip where this guy Hans Keller asks Syd Barrett and Roger Waters why they have to play so loud."
2. Broadcast - Work and Non Work. "I got introduced to Broadcast by my friend Sævar who's a record collector nut like me. It was a goldmine, so much beautiful modern music from the same influences as I've always loved, and of course it goes much deeper, I could't name how many music discoveries I've made through reading about Broadcast and their influences. It was a huge loss to music to see her leave in her prime. 'Work and Non Work' is not better than any of the other Broadcast stuff, it just speaks to me in a different way. Like in a weird 60's alternative universe, where all the music that wasn't made then all of a sudden existed. 'The World Backwards' is one of my favorite from the record, partly because it's almost a remake of an old Elephant's Memory song called 'Old Man Willow' which is great and probably the only good Elephant's Memory song."
3. Clinic - Visitations. "Clinic has had a special place in my heart ever since I first heard it, I just got hooked. I think I've yet to hear a bad Clinic song. It became like a theme to my relationship with Anna as we used to listen to it non stop while drinking Masi on Wednesday nights. And yes it was very romantic. There's an interesting formula behind the Clinic records, there's always the fast song, the slow one, the lullaby, the punk song, etc. I kind of like it, why change something that works? This record has three of my favorites tracks on it: 'Harvest', 'Visitations' & 'If You Could Read Your Mind'. I have to name two more that are not on Visitations, 'Goodnight Georgie' and 'Come into Our Room', both flawless."
4. Mulatu Astatke - Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974. "These 'Ethio Jazz and Musique Instrumentale' series are really amazing, there has always been some weird romantic in ethiopian music. Mulatu Astatke is a musician and arranger who does these really moody and dark jazz pieces, It's some sort of Sun Ra influenced psych-jazz I'd say. I recommend to all who like 'Angels and Demon's' to check out 'Yèkèrmo Sèw' of this record. If I'm inviting people over for a dinner, this is the dinner music that's played."
5. Thor's Hammer - Umbarumbamba. "It's an Icelandic 1966 fuzzrock-mod-freakbeat record and one of it's kind. It was made along side a movie, which was supposed to be some sort of 'Hard Days Nights' or 'Help!' of Thor's Hammer (Hljómar in Iceland) where they went to england to "make it". it of course failed and ended up being like 12 minutes long with an awful dialog, sound and general quality. I think the movie is lost now, or at least I've never seen it, just read about it. The songs are amazing though and the EP is valued one of the most valuable double 7" in the world, going for couple of thousands of dollars if a copy surfaces f.e. e-bay. There are two reasons for that that I can see. First, there were only made like 50.000 copies and there was only that one pressing I believe, half labeled as Thor's Hammer, half as Hljómar. Second, Pop-music critics and fanatics believe that this record influenced people like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison (and a whole lot more), because their guitar sound changed drastically when this record came out, almost copying Gunnar Þórðarsson's (the guitarist) style. Or that's what I heard anyway, who cares it's a great album and this is a great track."
Þórður Grímsson has just brought 5 brand new albums to the bunker...we hope you enjoy the mix & check the links below for further Two Step Horror & Vebeth news...
Find Two Step Horror on Facebook... (http://www.facebook.com/twostephorror)
More on Myspace... (http://www.myspace.com/thetwostephorror)
Two Step Horror on Soundcloud... (http://soundcloud.com/twostephorror)
Vebeth on Facebook... (http://www.facebook.com/vebeth) To purchase the CD... (http://www.outlierrecords.co.uk/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=20)
Find Two Step Horror on Facebook... (http://www.facebook.com/twostephorror)
Tags: Þórður grímsson two step horror living room music vebeth outlier records
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