We're big fans of anything unique and out of our typical reach at Earmilk – and we're always keen to push boundaries and explore genres we don't typically experience. Never more is that the case, than with the new album from Icelandic composers and experimentalists Viibra. A group of flautists, who rose to cult acclaim after performing as part of Bjork's recent "Cornucopia" tour dates, they also performed on her single "Utopia"..
Each member of the outfit, brings their own unique skillset and innovative musical direction to the project. It's less of a band, than a collective of musicians forming under one name for the purpose of this release. The album ebbs and flows from chilled pieces and introspective soundscapes, to haunting moments of real tension, brought about by at times, piercing flute performances. One of the main members of the collective explains that –
"When we started this journey of making a viibra album back in 2022, we decided to invite members of viibra and our close collaborators and friends to meet us in the studio to gather material (sounds from us) they would then use as material for a piece for an upcoming album. In the classical context, this is quite an unusual process. There was no traditional score; we provided sounds, and then composers would take them from there. We asked composers to come prepared with ideas of what kind of things they were after. This was also practical since we didn't have time to "prepare" works that needed to be played "perfectly" for an upcoming album. We ended up with two pieces from viibra's members and then works from good friends/collaborators and Björk's musical director, Bergur Þórisson, who also is the album's studio engineer and producer, as well as being the composer of one of the works." – Berglind María Tómasdóttir
If you want to expand your musical repetoire and try something different this Monday morning – check this one out below