is a progressive rock movement hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Their dark sound, some might say, is the result of short hours of daylight in places like Iceland and Nova Scotia.
However, there is a glitter of hope underlying in their songs, hope of better times best portrayed through the surrealistic lyrics of Alex MacNeil. They have sometimes been called “the guitar-player's dream†to see live, no doubt due to the weaving of layers of guitar lines by MacNeil and Gylfi Blöndal.
kimono was formed as a 4 piece rock band in 2001 by Gylfi Blöndal (guitar), Alex MacNeil (guitar and vocals), Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason (drums) and Halldór Örn Ragnarsson (bass). With this line-up they released their debut in 2003 (â€Mineur Aggressifâ€), the critically acclaimed “Arctic Death Ship†in 2005 and the experimental “all music recorded†in 2007, the last one in collaboration with Icelandic producer Curver (of Ghostigital).
2007 saw the departure of Halldór from the band to pursue his art career. Since then the band has been recording a new album as a trio, with Gylfi switching from guitar to baritone guitar.
kimono took up residence in Berlin in 2005 and toured extensively around Germany, England, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland to follow up the release of “Arctic Death Ship†on the mainland. They garnered stellar reviews for both the album and their live shows from countless media and were written up as one of the 10 bands to watch in 2006 in Germany by the country's largest music publication, Intro.
The radio-single "Wire" (available here for streaming) was a hit in numerous Icelandic radio stations and it's the first teaser for the upcoming album.
(May 5th, 2008)
buy Arctic Death Ship online.
buy Mineur Aggressif online.
buy Curver+kimono online.
Japanese Policeman
director: Ragnar Hansson
2003
Aftermath
director: Birgir Páll Auðunsson
2005
