Ásgeir
Album ‘Julia’ out February 13th via One Little Independent Records
Single ‘Against the Current’ out now
UK/EU/US Tour Dates
On his fifth studio album, ‘Julia’, out February 13th via One Little Independent Records, Icelandic singer-songwriter Ásgeir enters intriguing and uncharted territory. After years of engaging translators such as John Grant and working with the poetry of his father, Einar Georg Einarsson, Ásgeir has penned his lyrics by himself for the first time in his long and celebrated career. The result is a deeply contemplative body of work, steeped in nostalgia, that sees Ásgeir meditating on his past regrets as well as his hopes for the future, guided by the spectre of the album’s title character.
On new single ‘Against the Current’, Ásgeir captures the quiet defiance of self-reclamation. With a brass arrangement from Samuel Jón Samúelsson, the track builds into a triumphant swell. Lyrically, it is about finally seeing oneself clearly, shaking expectations and embracing the possibility of change. “The lyrics paint a picture of me seeing myself really for the first time. Seeing that I’ve been stuck in my ways, letting other people’s opinions of me change who I am and wanting to break from that pattern. To not let anyone, including myself, put me in a box and not limit my potential through what ideas someone might have of me. Realising that there’s many versions of me that need to shine as well. I could start a black metal band tomorrow if I wanted to.”
Of its atmospheric accompanying video, directed by Einar Egils, Ásgeir says “this was shot in an abandoned house that my cousin owns during my December tour around Iceland. It was super cold and very dirty. It’s about saying goodbye to a version of yourself that you used to be. Revisiting old memories and then moving on.”
‘Against the Current’ comes ahead of album release next month as well as Asgeir’s headline UK, European and US tour starting in the spring.
Ásgeir has long been lauded for his intricate folk-pop, lush production, and wistful, emotive falsetto. ‘Julia’ marks a shift toward not just lyrical self-reliance but cathartic directness, songs that feel not just exquisitely performed, but lived in. “This was kind of the first time I was writing lyrics totally on my own,” he shares. “It was scary. I’m still trying to find myself within that. But I tried to open myself up and I learned a lot through that process, and it was definitely therapeutic for me.”
This new sense of vulnerability threads through the album’s ten tracks, written and recorded over the course of nearly two years. Many of the songs were first composed on guitar, with Ásgeir aiming for simplicity, prioritising melody, clarity, and meaning. The production, co-developed with longtime collaborator Guðm. “Kiddi” Kristinn Jónsson, remains organic and understated, allowing Ásgeir’s voice, and importantly his voice as a writer, to come forward.
These recordings mirror the spirit of Ásgeir’s recent return to solo touring, over 70 shows across Europe, the Nordics and Iceland, often in small churches or quiet venues. Those performances reconnected him with the core of his music; storytelling, presence and shared stillness. Musically, the record leans into Ásgeir’s long-held love of folk and Americana. He cites influences ranging from Daniel Lanois, Leonard Cohen, and Nick Drake to contemporary artists like Adrianne Lenker, Dina Ögon, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Saya Gray.
Ásgeir is one of Iceland’s most successful exports. His debut album, ‘Dýrð í dauðaþögn’, became the best-selling debut in Icelandic history, leading to the English-language version ‘In the Silence’ in 2014. He continued to refine his sound with ‘Afterglow’ in 2017, ‘Bury the Moon’ in 2020 and ‘Time on My Hands’ in 2022, earning praise from press and radio worldwide, including the likes of The Independent, MOJO, NME, The Line of Best Fit, Clash Magazine, BBC 6 Music and Radio X.
In recent years, he also performed with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and recorded a live session for Arte TV in Berlin. He wrote a song for a Kafkaesque play that was hosted at the Reykjavik City Theatre called Sýslumaður Dauðans.
In ‘Julia’, Ásgeir doesn’t just look back, he carries memories forward, reshaping them. These songs live in the space between reflection and reinvention, where the past softens, and the future’s horizon comes into focus.
Tour dates
14th Apr – UK, Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
15th Apr – UK, Newcastle – The Cluny
16th Apr – UK, Manchester – Band On The Wall
17th Apr – UK, Glasgow – Room 2
19th Apr – UK, Birmingham – The Castle & Falcon
20th Apr – UK, Bristol – Thekla
22nd Apr – UK, London – Islington Assembly Hall
23rd Apr – FR, Lille – Le Splendid
25th Apr – CH, Rubigen – Mühle Hunziken
26th Apr – CH, Zurich – Dynamo
28th Apr – PL, Warsaw – Hydrozagadka
29th Apr – CZ, Prague – Rock Cafe
1st May – DK, Copenhagen – Koncerthuset, Studie 2
3rd May – SE, Stockholm – Slaktkyrkan
5th May – NO, Oslo – Rockefeller Music Hall
9th Jun – US, Denver – Meow Wolf
10th Jun – US, Santa Fe – St Francis Auditorium
12th Jun – US, Phoenix – Valley Bar
13th Jun – US, San Diego – Music Box
14th Jun – US, Los Angeles – Lodge Room
16th Jun – US, San Francisco – The Chapel
18th Jun – US, Portland – Mississippi Studios
19th Jun – US, Seattle – Triple Door
20th Jun – CA, Vancouver – Wise Hall
23rd Jun – US, Minneapolis – Fine Line
24th Jun – US, Chicago – Thalia Hall
26th Jun – CA, Toronto – The Great Hall
27th Jun – US, Boston – Arts at the Armory
30th Jun – US, New York – Le Poisson Rouge
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