Paddan (members of Sugarcubes, KUKL) announce debut EP ‘Fluid Time’, first track out now
Icelandic duo Paddan (members of Sugarcubes, KUKL) announce debut EP 'Fluid Time'
(Photo by Sigtryggur Ari Johannsson) On May 10, Icelandic duo Paddan will release their new EP “Fluid Time” on the Washington D.C.-based label Lovitt Records. Today the band shares “Bug,” the first single, and its accompanying video, to be released from the forthcoming EP. Behind Paddan we find Birgir and Sigtryggur (members of Sugarcubes, KUKL).
On the song, the band’s Sigtryggur Baldursson says: “On ‘Bug’ we are working with the concept of using ideas very directly, documenting musical performances and using them more or less naturally, as they come. You could say we are putting our faith in the saying that first impressions are often correct. There is one modular synth in the background but everything else is played live on various instruments. Apart from bass, drums, and guitars we also have a harmonica and lap steel popping up in various places, played by Gaukur Davidsson.”
The material was recorded, produced, and arranged by the pair, Sigtryggur and Birgir play basses and drums along with various other instruments. All recordings are played on live instruments except a modular synth which is programmed in the background of two tracks The duo is joined by the harmonica and lap steel player Gaukur Davidsson on “Vaguely” and “Bug”, and trumpet player Eirikur Orri Ólafsson on “Splash”. You’ll also find Vaccines bassist Arni Hjörvar Árnason on mixing for “Bug,” “Splash” and “Kokka”, while sound-mixer Albert Finnbogason was active on “Vaguely.”
About Paddan
Paddan’s Sigtryggur Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen are lifelong friends from Kópavogur, Iceland, who started as mates on the local football team, then graduated to making music together as teenagers, and even later as young men doing time in the experimental punk collective KUKL, from 1983 – 1986. KUKL was populated by survivors of the post-punk scene in Iceland in the early 80s, which is well documented in the film “Rock in Reykjavik” from 1982. The band was released by the Crass collective in London and featured members, apart from Birgir and Sigtryggur, like Guðlaugur Óttarsson, Einar Melax, Björk and Einar Örn, some of whom would become better known later in outfits like the Sugarcubes and their respective solo work and other collaborations. Sigtryggur has a long career in music, having worked with among others, Emiliana Torrini, Howie B, Les Negresses Vertes, Tomas R. Einarsson, Petur Ben, KK, Kaktus Einarsson, and many many others. He also produces an award-winning documentary music show for RUV called Hljómskálinn.
Birgir Mogensen is a classically trained classical guitarist and bass player who has worked through the years with artists ranging from KUKL to Killing Joke to Spilafifl and Inferno5. Regarding the EP Birgir Mogensen says, “As a duo, we trusted our musical intuition and were guided by allowing the first idea to remain unchanged during the recording process”
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