Style:
Pop, DIY, Indie
Homepage
Releases:
Lonely Mountain (Lifelike - 2003)
Niceland (12T005 - 2004)
Mugimama is this Monkeymusic? (12T011 - 2004)
Little Trip (12T025 - 2005)

Welcome to Mugison's musical adventures. In the world of Mugison anything is possible and anything goes.

Mugison comes from the remote town of Isafjordur in the West Fjords of Iceland. If you look at a map of Iceland, Isafjordur is on the bit that sticks out of the top left hand corner, a day's sail from The North Pole. After working in his teens on fishing boats, in fish factories and in the harbour (Papamugi is Isafjordur's harbour-master), Mugison left Isafjordur for London where he spent time studying music and hanging out.

It was during his time in London that he started recording the sounds that would form the basis for his debut album 'Lonely Mountain', which was released by Lifelike in 2003. 'Lonely Mountain' was a staggeringly ambitious debut. The CD packaging was equally ambitious with Mugison and his family hand-stitching over 10,000 copies before putting them all on a boat to England. Following its release, Mugison began honing his skills as a live performer. Building himself 'The Mugibox', a box, no bigger than a suitcase, that contained all the equipment he needed (including his pants) to go out on the road, Mugison tirelessly toured Europe throughout 2003 and 2004. A troubadour for the electronic age, Mugison won fans over through exactly the kind of explosive and endearing performances detailed at the top of the page here. This culminated in a series of astonishing shows at the Triptych and Sonar Festivals, on tour with fellow Icelanders Mum and in support of Super Furry Animals.

Remarkably, in 2004 Mugison still found time to record two albums. His soundtrack to Fridrik Thor Fridrikksonís film 'Niceland' was recorded almost entirely in a church in Sudavik, close to his hometown of Isafjordur, and the influence of the surroundings often nudge the album towards a more acoustic sound. Beware though - Ghosts called 'Patrick Swayze' lurk in the corners. The fall of 2004 saw the release of Mugison's second album proper, 'Mugimama Is This Monkeymusic?'. More smiles, tears, love, guts and rock and roll.

Mugison’s second full-length effort has got more of an acoustic feel to it than earlier works. And indeed, anyone who’s witnessed an unplugged Mugison gig will know that the songs stand well on their own, without electronic backup. That’s not to say that Mugimama is more simplistic than earlier accomplishments. Instead, she’s more organic and intimate, with more flesh on her than anything else that’s so far come out of the Mugiwomb.

In 2005, 12 Tónar released ‘Mugimama Is This Monkeymusic’ in Iceland. The album became the label’s bestseller of the year, going gold in January '05 (over 5000 copies sold). At the Icelandic Music Awards in February, Mugison became a new born star of Icelandic Pop Music as he celebrated four well earned awards. Mugison won three of five categories he was nominated in and was also voted the Most Popular Performer. He won the Song of the Year for Murr Murr (with Pétur "the Lick" Benediktsson), Best Artwork (with Raggi Kjartans, Rúna and Alli Metall) and Album of the Year. Not bad for a guy with one cheap mic and a guitar, a laptop computer and, of course, the mugi magic. All that just a few weeks after being voted the second most dead sexy musician in Iceland.

Mugison's live performances are not to be missed. He has made it crystal clear that still in our pre-programmed, pre-packaged musical age almost anything can happen on stage, and that is indeed an increasingly rare thing now days. This of course makes Mugison one of Iceland’s most celebrated live musicians at the moment, and rightfully so. His live gigs are full of life and quite a lot of good old fun.

Late 2005 saw the release of Mugison's fourth record, a soundtrack to a film by Baltasar Kormákur, 'Little Trip'. Mugison is currently working on new material, living in Ísafjörður again, building a studio and raising his two children with his wife Rúna.

Press:
Gaffa