Get to Know GusGus, One of Iceland's Other Timeless Musical Exports
Hardware-loving producer Biggi proves you still don't need a laptop to make dance music.
Averaging one album every other year for the past two decades has made GusGus one of the most consistent units in electronic music—despite the fact that the group has had anywhere from two to ten members over it's 20-year run. Currently a duo made up my constant producer Birgir Þórarinsson (Biggi) and regular vocalist Daniel Haraldsson, the Icelandic pair continue to craft melodic electronic songs and perform them live on the same basic stage set-up they've been using since the late-90s to adoring audiences worldwide. They've also found a home on Germany's Kompakt, a record label as reliable as the band itself, after stints at legendary imprints 4AD and Underwater.
"I'm not a sales person, and I don't want to be a salesperson. I'm a musician," say Biggi, explaining why he has no interest in the DIY opportunities of online music sales. And if record labels, laptop-free performances and electronica albums sound a bit "retro" in 2016, you might want to change that last word to "timeless," which is what good musicians should always strive for. And what GusGus, more often than not, has achieved.