Júníus Meyvant

About

" Melodic, spacious soul-folk from Iceland "

Before announcing the release of his new album, ‘Guru’, on 28^th October 2022, Júníus Meyvant had already established his musical character as a warm indie-folk pop artist, dipped in 70s singer/ songwriterisms, like James Taylor, and soul-pop, in the realm of the accessible and cozy-but-funky driven singles of Bill Withers and the late Charles Bradley: melodic and spacious. Much like his contemporaries Axel Flóvent, Ásgeir, and The War On Drugs, Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson (his real name) creates music that doesn’t so much recycle a past era as express its characteristics in a modern way. It Unfolds rather than asserts, and is easy-going rather than provocative.

A native of Heimaey island, which is the largest of the volcanic archipelago off the south coast of Iceland, Unnar Gísli grew up skateboarding and painting. Then music came along. He began playing guitar, and soon embarked on his musical project as a solo endeavor. In 2014 he premiered his award winning and critically acclaimed debut single, ‘Color Decay’, via Record Records, followed by a huge tour in Europe and the U.S. By the time he released his first official album, ‘Floating Harmonies’, he had found an audience beyond Iceland’s shores.

The lusher and more upbeat sophomore record ‘Across the Borders’ came in 2018, adding a more layered element to his sound, with a vital energy stemming from its instrumental richness. This is obvious in the finesse of his new album. ‘Rise Up’ shines through silky vocals and delicate arrangements, whilst ‘High Heels’ quietly touches on americana elements. Then, there’s ‘Guru’, with its exquisitely arranged prog-soul. What we already know about Júníus Meyvant is that he delivers a graceful and affecting artistic statement. Strings, horns and rhythm are all consistent, comforting and in perfect balance.