Guðmundur Arnalds is an electronic musician based in Reykjavík. He's been prolific in the Reykjavík scene over the past couple of years working in different fields mainly through the collectives such as Mengi, Spectral Assault Records, Agalma, and Post-Dreifing. He has releases on all of these labels as well as bbbbbbbb recors and Superpang. His catalog ranges from understated and delicate to harsh and gritty with ease, showcasing versatile interests and influences which can be seen throughout his evergrowing catalog of projects and collaborations. At heart, he remains an improviser and is commited to DIY approaches in music, being self-taught and very involved in his local scene.
His work with ex.girls and Final Boss Type Zero has been awarded the Kraumur music prize and he has several new projects coming out this year.
Guðmundur has performed and collaborated with a number of musicians such as Skúli Sverrisson, John McCowen, Flaaryr, IDK IDA, ZAAR, ex.girls, Magnús T. Eliasson, Sigtryggur Berg, Geisha Cartel, sideproject, and Andy Morin to name a few.
About this site - a more personal bio:
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Creating a website like this has always been something I've wanted to do, but for some reason, a part of me thought it would be too self-indulgent. That was of course never the case and it's refreshing to give yourself the freedom to go along with your convictions. Additionally, the fact is that my music career can be confusing even to myself at times, so having a personal space on the internet where I can articulate my thoughts to both myself and others is great!
I started making music as a child. I would come home from school, sneak a guitar out of my father's office and play for hours - often falling asleep. As a teenager, I sadly lost interest in music as a teenagerand stopped playing except for the occasional garage session. By the time I was 23, I had all but given up on making music and had enrolled in university to study Anthropology after (luckily) dropping out of computer science.
So what really pushed me to make this site was to have a platform to engage with myself and externalize my thoughts, it's also a space where I can create on my own terms and cultivate a little digital garden. The creative process is very dear to me, once you've defined the final form of something, you close doors to other possibilities - in my opinion, final convictions tend to get in the way of progress and creativity. Therefore, this site is an exercise in the process of actualization and becoming, allowing me to explore new avenues and ideas.