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CD
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MORR 147CD
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Pascal Pinon's third album is the Icelandic duo's rawest and most diverse musical statement within the frame of their folk-influenced, minimalistic sound. Sundur comprises material written over the course of one and a half years. While most parts of the album are sparsely orchestrated and follow the experimental lo-fi-leaning aesthetics of the duo's previous two records, Pascal Pinon (MORR 101CD/LP, 2010) and Twosomeness (MORR 121CD/LP, 2012), the overall tone has become rawer with its metronome-like rhythms, occasional synth lines and driving piano melodies. Sundur lends its title from the Icelandic proverb "sundur og saman" (meaning "apart and together") and could be considered the companion of Twosomeness. Thematically, it reflects upon the voluntary separation of the two sisters. "We had never been apart our entire lives until we finished touring with our last album", remembers Jófríður Ákadóttir. While Ásthildur went to Amsterdam to study classical piano and composition and back to Iceland, her sister Jófríður went to tour the world with her other band, Samaris. It turned Pascal Pinon's writing process upside down. Although Ásthildur and Jófríður frequently visited each other in the Netherlands and respectively Iceland from early 2014 until late 2015 to finish the writing process, the geographical separation also influenced their compositions and thus the album as a whole. "The fact that we spent so much time apart creates completely different connections between the songs than on Twosomeness, which for me makes it more diverse in the best way possible", says Ásthildur. Indeed Sundur sees two different people arriving at their shared creative goal. Due to a conflict of schedules, Ásthildur and Jófríður ended up recording the bulk of Sundur in only two days. Their father, composer Áki Ásgeirsson, helped out with the engineering and contributed percussions played with scrap metal he brought with him, including discarded parts of airplanes. While few of those details will be audible on the surface, the unpolished sound design and added bits are crucial to Sundur. "It makes the album feel more real and raw which is what it essentially is all about," explains Jófríður. "It's very sparse and a lot closer in the approach and in regards to the sound of our very first album. It's kind of funny that seven years later, we would go back to the same place where we were at age 14!"
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LP
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MORR 147LP
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LP version. Pascal Pinon's third album is the Icelandic duo's rawest and most diverse musical statement within the frame of their folk-influenced, minimalistic sound. Sundur comprises material written over the course of one and a half years. While most parts of the album are sparsely orchestrated and follow the experimental lo-fi-leaning aesthetics of the duo's previous two records, Pascal Pinon (MORR 101CD/LP, 2010) and Twosomeness (MORR 121CD/LP, 2012), the overall tone has become rawer with its metronome-like rhythms, occasional synth lines and driving piano melodies. Sundur lends its title from the Icelandic proverb "sundur og saman" (meaning "apart and together") and could be considered the companion of Twosomeness. Thematically, it reflects upon the voluntary separation of the two sisters. "We had never been apart our entire lives until we finished touring with our last album", remembers Jófríður Ákadóttir. While Ásthildur went to Amsterdam to study classical piano and composition and back to Iceland, her sister Jófríður went to tour the world with her other band, Samaris. It turned Pascal Pinon's writing process upside down. Although Ásthildur and Jófríður frequently visited each other in the Netherlands and respectively Iceland from early 2014 until late 2015 to finish the writing process, the geographical separation also influenced their compositions and thus the album as a whole. "The fact that we spent so much time apart creates completely different connections between the songs than on Twosomeness, which for me makes it more diverse in the best way possible", says Ásthildur. Indeed Sundur sees two different people arriving at their shared creative goal. Due to a conflict of schedules, Ásthildur and Jófríður ended up recording the bulk of Sundur in only two days. Their father, composer Áki Ásgeirsson, helped out with the engineering and contributed percussions played with scrap metal he brought with him, including discarded parts of airplanes. While few of those details will be audible on the surface, the unpolished sound design and added bits are crucial to Sundur. "It makes the album feel more real and raw which is what it essentially is all about," explains Jófríður. "It's very sparse and a lot closer in the approach and in regards to the sound of our very first album. It's kind of funny that seven years later, we would go back to the same place where we were at age 14!"
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CD
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MORR 121CD
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On Pascal Pinon's Tumblr you'll find an older photo that shows twin sisters Jófrídur and Ásthildur smiling proudly over a Yamaha keyboard circa 1999. Back then, they weren't even in their teens, far from it, and yet they were already shaping and creating that unique chemistry -- a special bond that can only exist between siblings, twins especially. Thanks to this special bond, Pascal Pinon have managed to record a second album that's bolder, more mature, more focused, and more diverse than its predecessor. Having successfully toured Japan and other places, it's not always three-minute songs for Pascal Pinon; sometimes a few moments are sufficient to create a certain mood. Whereas album opener "Ekki Vanmeta" appears to be the Icelandic equivalent to a block party, "Bloom" intricately moves along and shape-shifts like Gavin Bryars' compositions. Pascal Pinon is now essentially comprised of Jófrídur and Ásthildur, with occasional help by Kristín (and then there's also casual member Sylvía); together they have created a many-layered soundtrack to growing up on a volcanic island in the Atlantic. A small world of its own, with all its marvels, all its "Good and Bad Things" (though still untouched by McDonald's, trains, and Starbucks). Even the fact that they used more than one microphone this time around does not take away from the characteristic DIY approach often found in Iceland's bedrooms. With Twosomeness, Pascal Pinon are about to enter adult life -- a point usually associated with drifting apart, forgetting dreams. These girls, however, seem to be going the other direction. Recorded and produced by Alex Somers (producer of Sigur Rós & Jónsi).
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LP
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MORR 121LP
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LP version. On Pascal Pinon's Tumblr you'll find an older photo that shows twin sisters Jófrídur and Ásthildur smiling proudly over a Yamaha keyboard circa 1999. Back then, they weren't even in their teens, far from it, and yet they were already shaping and creating that unique chemistry -- a special bond that can only exist between siblings, twins especially. Thanks to this special bond, Pascal Pinon have managed to record a second album that's bolder, more mature, more focused, and more diverse than its predecessor. Having successfully toured Japan and other places, it's not always three-minute songs for Pascal Pinon; sometimes a few moments are sufficient to create a certain mood. Whereas album opener "Ekki Vanmeta" appears to be the Icelandic equivalent to a block party, "Bloom" intricately moves along and shape-shifts like Gavin Bryars' compositions. Pascal Pinon is now essentially comprised of Jófrídur and Ásthildur, with occasional help by Kristín (and then there's also casual member Sylvía); together they have created a many-layered soundtrack to growing up on a volcanic island in the Atlantic. A small world of its own, with all its marvels, all its "Good and Bad Things" (though still untouched by McDonald's, trains, and Starbucks). Even the fact that they used more than one microphone this time around does not take away from the characteristic DIY approach often found in Iceland's bedrooms. With Twosomeness, Pascal Pinon are about to enter adult life -- a point usually associated with drifting apart, forgetting dreams. These girls, however, seem to be going the other direction. Recorded and produced by Alex Somers (producer of Sigur Rós & Jónsi). Includes mp3 download.
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7"
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ANOST 026EP
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Pascal Pinon are Icelandic twins Jófríður and Ásthildur. When they were only 14, they decided to start a band with two of their friends. Using a guitar, a glockenspiel and of course, their voices, Pascal Pinon produced a twee mixture of acoustic neofolk and lo-fi pop with a remarkable sense for songwriting. It was nominated for The Icelandic Music Awards as Newcomer of the Year, 2009. This 7" contains three tracks from their self-titled album. Sleeve design by Julia Guther.
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CD
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MORR 101CD
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This is the debut full-length release by Pascal Pinon, a bunch of very talented 16-year-old Icelandic teenage girls headed by twin sisters Jófrídur and Ásthildur with their band mates Halla and Kristín. Since the name "Pascal Pinon" refers to a two-headed freak-show "celebrity" who died in 1929 (and whose second head was really just a tumor modeled to look like a cranium by means of a wax enhancement), one might expect some rather disturbed DIY compositions, especially given that this band is two-headed as well (the twin thing). Yet, these young ladies instead focus on altogether different facets of life: like a latter-day Thoreau, Jófrídur praises the beauty of nature in the opening track, which translates to "Under Clear Sky," comprised of three beautiful chords and some poetic lines she composed when she was 13. Elsewhere, the four girls pay homage to Icelandic poet Davíd Stefánsson (1895-1964), and cite rather expected and unexpected ("thin walls," "shyness") influences to their music, singing in English as well as Icelandic, while deliberately ignoring the latest technical advancements: a bedroom, a bunch of guitars, flutes, and a glockenspiel will do just fine, just like that one microphone they placed in the middle of the house they rented to record their fragile DIY gems. Keeping their tracks short and crisp, they avoid both the cheap slickness of campfire romanticism and the supposedly fresh edge of the next teenage hype or the most "likes" on Facebook. Instead, Pascal Pinon are all about creating a connection, the smallest possible distance between their own feelings and the listeners. Call it nude folk, new Romanticism or the new shy -- what matters is that Pascal Pinon, though no longer the "gang of 14-year-olds" they were when they recorded this album, are just getting started. While their self-titled debut, which they independently released in Iceland, earning them a nomination for "Newcomer of the Year" at last year's Icelandic Music Awards, has been picked up by Morr Music for an international release (naturally it was their parents who signed the contract), they're already busy learning new instruments and working on their sophomore LP. Considering that, the whole claim about their songs being "all terrible shit" ("I Wrote A Song") is an outright lie.
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LP
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MORR 101LP
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LP version with poster and download coupon.
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