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Daniel Agust Takes Iceland’s Center Stage

When someone mentions the name Daniel Agust, the words, visionary and nonconformist, come to mind. Is it the voice, the music? In an era cluttered with cookie-cutter pop princesses and teen idols it’s rare to come across an artist so completely unfettered by the chains of celebrity and yet, here he is.

For Gus Gus fans, Agust’s re-emergence has been long anticipated but well worth the wait. His departure from the legendary dance collective marks an exodus from the comfortable confines of ‘group effort’ into the more risky realm of ‘solo artist’ but I don’t think he’s nervous. Agust christens his five year hiatus as a learning experience of monumental proportion, which combined intervals of writing and working projects.

“I left Gus Gus in the Spring of 2000 to explore new ways of making music. It was necessary for me to grow and it’s been a dream for so many years. It’s good to make it finally come true.”

And coming true it is. Following in the footsteps of renowned visionaries such as Bjork and Sigur Ros, Daniel seems rightly poised to take centre stage as Iceland’s next big thing.

“Well, we’ll see. Time will tell.”

At first glance one can’t help but notice Daniel’s distinctive and flamboyant style for which he takes no credit. It seems that he has an equally talented handful of designer friends that like to dress him up.

“I have some friends that design clothes. So my style seems to change every season,” Laughter “but really it’s important to be comfortable.”

Much like his fashion sense, Daniel’s music defies description. For his first solo effort ‘Swallowed a Star’ he called upon the talents of well-known re-mixer, Bix, whose portfolio includes the likes of Madonna and Beck.

“When I approached people about the album, no one could get what I was trying to do but Bix understood me completely. It was a tremendously enjoyable experience to be able to work with someone and not have difficulty getting your ideas across.”

After five long years of writing, working and writing again, Agust has crafted an intricately woven tapestry of orchestral strings, electronic soundscapes and vocals. The sound is timeless, beautiful and haunting. Not surprisingly, each song is in its own way reminiscent of the emotions inspired by Iceland’s regal landscape.

“It is hard to find categories to fit my music. Maybe it’s pop in chamber music format, I don’t know. To me it’s still Pop, just done differently.”

Daniel credits the talents of many like Bix with helping bring his dream to fruition but make no mistake this is his baby. If you are a fan looking for a new and improved version of the Daniel Agust you knew from Gus Gus then you might want to brace yourself. While he does categorize his latest work as ‘Pop’ it bears only a vague resemblance to his former self. Even more surprising is the very romantic and sweet side of Agust, which is exposed in tracks like, “Nobody Else”. Described as lyrically simplistic, I asked him the reason for the minimalism.

“This was the meaning that I was trying to convey, that you can love just one person so much that there is simply nobody else. There wasn’t anything else I wanted to say about it.”

This summer will see Agust perform at a few festivals but work is well underway toward his next album. Not one to reinvent the past, Agust claims his next compilation will be a stark contradiction to his latest.

“I want it to be more simple and not so intricately woven. It will also cover more diverse aspects of life than, Swallowed a Star.”

Given that more than just a glimmer of musical genius hides within this truly unique artist, fans and critics alike will undoubtedly be amazed and inspired—while potentially bewildered—by the sublime and harmonious visualizations he creates.