Örvar Smárason

After years of collaborations, múm’s Örvar Smárason has finally come into his own as a solo artist. Performing as part of the bands múm and FM Belfast among stints in several others, Örvar has been instrumental in creating the electronic soundscapes of 2000s Icelandic music. Yet it wasn’t until 2018 that he finally released a debut album, Light is Liquid, a playful experiment testing the capabilities of a primarily synthesized album.

Örvar began creating music on his parents’ computer, so it seems natural that the technological element is ever-present in all his work. He enjoys the never-ending creative process, and seems most at home when things are on the move.

In Light is Liquid, amidst vocodered vocals and future-robot sounds, Örvar creates a world that is simultaneously luminous, crystalline and dark. It seems that after years of collaborations with other musicians, his solo album is finally allowing him to come into his own now that he has free reign over his music – creating the feeling of an alien presence with neural network-type sounds based on what they imagine is music for humans.

Örvar’s collaboration with Sóley and Sin Fang culminated in the widely praised LP Team Dreams, a collection of one-per-month tracks released throughout 2017 for a total of 12 tracks.

Apart from music, Örvar has also published a novella, a book of poetry and studied screenwriting. He is also an avid football player.