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10"
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KRLP 016LP
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CD
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KRCD 016CD
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This is the second release on Kimi Records for Benni Hemm Hemm. With a move to Edinburgh, Scotland, Benni Hemm Hemm learnt two things: he learned to speak Scottish and that it's just as much fun recording at home as it is to record in the Sigur Rós studio. To practice his recently discovered knowledge, Benni made an EP by himself with his home recording gear, apart from the usual 10+ member Benni Hemm Hemm collective. This EP is called Retaliate and it's a collection of five songs which feature knives, gold, lazy pioneers, confident Talibans, blood-thirsty vampires, Stan-Stan-the-caretaker-man, and last but not least -- blood, lots of blood. This is Benni Hemm Hemm's first release all sung in English -- and with English lyrics, a new sound evolves. Retaliate is home-made in almost every sense. It is recorded in Benni's home in Edinburgh and Benni plays most of the instruments, very important exceptions being the wonderful contribution of Emily Scott (double bass) and Peter Liddle (trumpet & alto-horn). Retaliate is Benni Hemm Hemm's third EP (and sixth overall release) but the previous two, Summer Plate and Ein Í Leyni, have been released in Iceland only.
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CD
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KRCD 005CD
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This is the third full-length release from Icelandic music collective, Benni Hemm Hemm, headed up by extremely talented lead songwriter/arranger, Benedikt H. Hermannsson. Murta St. Calunga is the soundtrack to an adventurous journey, sailing to distant shores, riding rolling wave upon rolling wave of rollicking, orchestral indie-pop. On this monstrously entertaining album, Benni's search for a clear yet heavy sound has come to an end, with awesome results. Recorded and mixed on tape, this nostalgic procedure produces an environment which fits the occasion and brings out the best of the band's amazing width. Bigger and fatter than a Minke whale, not only does this album represent the finest of Iceland's experimental scene, it's also packed with sly melodies which are guaranteed to stick around in your head months and even years after you first insert Murta St. Calunga in your stereo. These songs are powerful -- nicely wrapped up in giant string and brass arrangements, strummed guitar and gentle piano, all played with an unmatchable joy. The lyrics take you to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Romania, as well as to more surreal places, like an Icelandic whale-fishing boat in the North Atlantic. Even the pages of the award-winning novel Skugga-Baldur (The Blue Fox), by Icelandic author, poet, and Björk lyricist Sjón, become a destination in the instantly-loveable "Veiðiljóð." This record speaks in tongues, whether it be Icelandic, English, French, or even the universal language of music. Each mind, each soul will be touched. The world is a fine place. The land of Murta St. Calunga is even better.
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LP
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KRLP 005LP
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CD
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MORR 074CD
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The sounds and texts for Benni Hemm Hemm's second album Kajak were written within a few, concentrated weeks. The recordings in Sundlaugin, the studio of Sigur Rós, were also done within only four days. During four magical days, 11 musicians recorded 13 vibrating tracks with kettle drums and trumpets, with guitars, trombones and a glockenspiel. Emotionally, energetically, emphatically. According to the pulsating way these songs come out of the loudspeakers, these stories wanted to be told. Still on board: the emphatic wind section of Northern Soul, the whirling enthusiasm of dance music. What is new on Kajak is a dramaturgical balance, a giving and taking, especially among single tracks. With Kajak, Benedik H. Hermannsson, the passionate narrator and cunning entertainer, became a well-versed arranger, as well. "Sorgartár" is situated close to the ocean. A surging and swelling, a ride on the wave's crest, constructed of a wind section, organs and one baritone guitar. "Regngalsinn" is an abstract love poem. Birds twitter, everything in the garden is lovely. One could call it a power-ballad if power-ballads didn't have such a bad reputation. "Mónakó" is an absurd song with three singing-tracks overlapping each other. "Egísa," finally, is a slow stroll out of the album into the sunshine. The sun is low in the sky and makes us squint.
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LP + 7"
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MORR 074LP
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LP + 7" version. Contains one additional track.
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7"
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ANOST 016EP
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Released in 2007. Skvavars is an acoustic postcard. One track tells of travelling, the other one tells of the people met along the way. Benni Hemm Hemm recorded "Skvavars" for his album Kajak, and it drifts with one continuous surge. The wind murmurs the instruments around your ears... voices whirl through the air. "Baldrei" features a tiny guitar, trumpet, cornet and piano as well as Jens Lekman's Icelandic singing.
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7"
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ANOST 012EP
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Released in 2006. "Beginning End" is an emphatic overture, reduced to opulence. A lot of instruments -- guitars, a brass section and a glockenspiel -- ensnare just a few sounds, a lively game. The second track is "Beygja Og Beygja," Benni Hemm Hemm's first hit single. This time, it is performed by an acoustic guitar and Benni's Icelandic singing fragments. Reminiscent of Stereolab, Ennio Morricone and any other good-natured dance band, sometime after midnight when the power goes out.
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