Today sees the release of a new single by Teitur Magnússon called Hvíti dauði. This time around, Teitur is joined by artist Gunnar Jónsson Collider, who produced, recorded and mixed the track. The single comes with a video directed by Jón Bjarki Magnússon, featuring footage from his upcoming documentary Hálfur álfur (English: Half Elf).
Teitur Magnússon is no stranger to Icelandic music lovers. After a string of releases with pop reggae outfit Ojba Rasta, Teitur stepped into the limelight in 2014 with his solo album 27. The album contained pop music tinged with shades of psychedelia and tropicália, and was followed up with 2018’s Orna to critical acclaim. Teitur was recently nominated for an Iceland Music award for his Orna single Skriftargangur.
Gunnar Jónsson Collider has released electronic and ambient music on Icelandic and foreign labels since 2015, when he caught the attention of critics with his Apeshedder EP. After remixing Teitur and dj. flugvél og geimskip’s single Lífsspeki, Gunnar formed a collaborative relationship with Teitur which has now borne fruit with the single Hvíti dauði.
Teitur and Gunnar host together a concert at Mengi on the 12th of March.
Hvíti dauði was written by Teitur Magnússon. The lyrics are also by Teitur but also include passages from the Bible and Icelandic poet Bólu-Hjálmar’s poem, Mismunur, about an old man facing his death. Teitur sings and plays guitar whilst Gunnar adds vocals, instruments and a dreamy pop production. Old friends from Teitur’s own live band Æðisgengið also lend a hand, most notably Erling Bang and Hreiðar Már Árnason who add drums and percussion.
As previously mentioned, the video is directed by award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Jón Bjarki Magnússon. Jón studied creative writing at the University of Iceland and graduated with an MA in Visual and Media Anthropology from Freie Universität, Berlin in 2018. He is currently finishing production on his latest documentary, Half Elf, which tells the story of a 99 year old lighthouse keeper preparing for his earthly funeral while trying to reconnect with the elf within. Jón’s video for Hvíti dauði includes footage from this upcoming film.