Hist og -
release concert (IS)

Austurbær
Saturday August 29
10 PM

hist og was founded at the end of 2017 with the aim of blurring the boundaries between electronic music and jazz. The trio consists of Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson, who plays trumpet, drum brain, and electronics; Róberta Andersen on guitar, bass, and keyboards; and Magnús Trygvason Eliassen on drums and percussion.

Their music is characterized by an introspective, expansive, and rhythmically heavy blend of jazz, electronic music, and improvisation that draws from a wide range of influences.

The trio will release its fourth full-length album through Reykjavík Recordshop early this year, and much of their current activity revolves around presenting the new record. The members hope that the Reykjavík Jazz Festival will play an important role in introducing the album to audiences.

hist og has previously released three albums: Days of Tundra (2019), hits of (2020), and holy ghost of (2023). All three received widespread critical acclaim, earning the band three nominations in the jazz category at the Icelandic Music Awards, inclusion on the prestigious Kraumur List, and the title “Improvisation of the Year” from Morgunblaðið in 2019.

About hits of, critic Arnar Eggert Thoroddsen wrote in Morgunblaðið:

“Powerful stuff … the stamp of this super-trio is unmistakably present throughout.”

The British magazine Jazzwise wrote the following about the trio’s performance at the Reykjavík Jazz Festival in August 2024:

“They are at once thunderous, producing huge walls of sound, and spacey; while also laying down serious grooves. […] They'd go down a storm at a venue like London's Café OTO – let's hope they visit the UK soon.”

The members of hist og have worked for many years with a broad range of artists and bands, including múm, amiina, Sin Fang, Sigur Rós, Kira Kira, Benni Hemm Hemm, and Seabear, alongside countless collaborations in jazz and improvised music with ADHD, Hilmar Jensson, Skúli Sverrisson, and Mógil.