Mugison

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Doesn't seem to have been too much said about Mugison on ilm (apart from a nice anecdote about meeting him at an airport), but he is apparently considered to be The Shit in Iceland. A good friend of mine spent the holidays back home in Reykjavik and picked up the new record ("Mugimama Is This Monkey Music?") after it got ridiculous amounts of praise in the Icelandic press.

Anyway, it's really, really great- a lot gentler than the first album, and a whole lot less dependent on laptop glitches. In terms of production maybe even a step backwards, but the songs are just fucking terrific. I'd be really interested to hear what others think, especially anyone familiar with "Lonely Mountain". I can't help but feel it's crying out to be some sort of mp3blog word-of-mouth phenomenon. Or maybe I'm just too smitten.

It's not out here (here being, erm, everywhere else in the world...) but there are quite lengthy samples on the guy's website and I've seen it (infrequently) pop up on p2p. I particularly recommend "2 Birds" and "Murr Murr".

― strophic (strophic), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:05 (twenty years ago)

He played at me'labels club night last year when I wasn't there - the people who's opinion I trust said he was utterly mindblowing, others didn't like him at all. He was apparently a bit aggressive and insulting towards the crowd, but that was mainly down to the fact that he thought he was there to do a "gig" gig and he was on in the middle of a club night. And there was apparently a bad atmos there that night because some label or other demanded that 50+hangers on got in for free to a 250 capacity night where the promoter had to break even.

I like what I've heard but not enough to dive in - I know the two tracks which you mention which I think are kind of alright - is the rest as good/in the same style?

― Bernard the Butler (Lynskey), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

I'd say for the most part, yep - all very lo-fi. His girlfriend sings on a few of the songs (including one of those mentioned above) and does a very nice job. The one jarring exception is "Sad as a Truck" which is much more in keeping with the most aggressive/abrupt-sounding bits of the first album.

He seems like an interesting proposition live - I've since found out that he played triptych a couple of years ago, but short of running round the world backwards very fast, I think that boat has probably sailed..

― strophic (strophic), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:37 (twenty years ago)

ICELAND: musings on recent music purchases there

I really need to hear this new Mugison album.

Although, he DOES get distribution outside Iceland via Accidental Music in the UK. There are record stores in the states that have his stuff. I should probably take a look.

― donut christ (donut), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:39 (twenty years ago)

Lonely Mountain, from 2003, is pretty cool. Lovely sleeve especially

― DJ Mencap0))), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

I saw him play one of the drunkest shows I've ever seen at the ICA at a Soundslike night with Max de Wardener and Mara Carlyle and Brooks, plus Herbert DJing. Mugison was Viking-smashed, rat-arsed drunk, and it was quite rock n roll and lairy. It was pretty damn entertaining, he's a real showman.

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

REVIVE!

I just heard a promo of his "Mugimama is this monkey music?" CD and it's pretty damned incredible- some really gorgeous acoustic guitar and voice folk songs recalling Kentuckiana's finest. Some really perverse and hilarious lyrics too.

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 15 March 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

I still listen to Lonely Mountain, though I must admit the fact that someone upthread said his production has taken a step back is a little disappointing... I loved how wildly "Sea Y" veered from sedate to drunken to completely demented and back again a few times.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Tuesday, 15 March 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

Hurray, vindication! Turns out I can time travel, too, because I'm going to see him at the end of April alongside Arab Strap at triptych.

― strophic (strophic), Tuesday, 15 March 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

I'm going to see him at the end of April alongside Arab Strap at triptych.
Me too. In Glasgow. Though that would be the start of May, so you must be going to the Embra one.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 15 March 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Just bought and heard his new album Little Trip... it's honestly his most realized album to date... I apologized for the term "realized" as it's just an intellectual way of saying "this album SPEAKS to me", but I do mean it definitely in the sense that this new one takes the best qualities of the more quiet, poignant Lonely Mountain, the more freaked out Prince/Tom Waits obsessions on Mugimama and makes quite a production out of the best of both elements.

Perhaps I'm just happy that Mugison has finally made an album that doesn't sound "laptoppy" anymore. There's nothing wrong with "laptoppy" albums, obviously, but I got a sense with the last one that he was really trying hard to break out of that barrier, and he accomplishes it with this one.

It's also his Faust Tapes/Smile, if you will. Lots of short fragmented tracks, that have reprises and revisitations. There's a cover of Tom Waits ("Little Trip To Heaven"), and he credits a song to his wife, who wrote "Piano for Tombstones". "Go Blind" rocks.

Anyway, Little Trip is great.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Thursday, 1 June 2006 07:07 (nineteen years ago)

He'll never do anything better than "Salt".

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Friday, 2 June 2006 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

"Salt" was the best song on that last album, definitely... it reminds me of Bwyd Time era Gorky's.

― ((((((DOPplur)))n)))u))))tttt (donut), Friday, 2 June 2006 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

Mugison was Viking-smashed, rat-arsed drunk, and it was quite rock n roll and lairy. It was pretty damn entertaining, he's a real showman.

I saw him play last year in possibly similar circumstances - I dunno if he was drunk but he was totally incapable of working any of his equipment - and I seriously wanted to hit him. Maybe you have to be rooting for him to start with

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Friday, 2 June 2006 16:50 (nineteen years ago)

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