Foto-© Clara Schicketanz

Der Songwriter Axel Flóvent hat nach Jahren der Suche seine maßgebliche Inspirationsquelle gefunden: die isländische Hauptstadt Reykjavík liegt in der Faxaflói-Bucht und ist zu großen Teilen vom Nordatlantik umgeben. Doch Axel musste seine Heimat zunächst verlassen, um diese Erkenntnis zu gewinnen. Geboren und aufgewachsen in dem kleinen Fischerdorf Húsavik im Norden des Landes, nahm Flóvent auch dort seine erste EP Forest Fires auf. Der gleichnamige Titeltrack entwickelte sich zu einem Streaming-Phänomen und sammelte über 40 Millionen Streams. Euphorisiert von diesem Erfolg, verließ Axel Island und unterschrieb einen Plattenvertrag bei einem Majorlabel in den Niederlanden. Mit 19 Jahren zog er in seine erste eigene Wohnung, doch fühlte sich sehr isoliert. So tauschte er Amsterdam kurzerhand gegen die britische Küstenstadt Brighton, wo er seine letzte EP Youthful Hearts aufnahm. Doch auch hier hielt es Flóvent nicht allzu lange, verhalf es es ihm zur „nötigen Einsicht, wieder nach Island zurückzukehren”, wie er sagt. Diesem Plan ließ er taten folgen und zog 2019 in die isländische Hauptstadt Reykjavík, wo er sich auf seine Wurzeln besann und zu seinem DIY-Spirit zurückfand. Und nun auch endlich das von Ian Grimble (The 1975, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Mumford & Sons) produzierte, lang ersehnte Debütalbum vorzulegen! Bevor dieses am Freitag erscheint hat uns der Isländer etwas über die fünf Alben geschrieben, die ihn und seinen Sound geprägt haben!

Jimmy Eat World – Futures (2004)

I remember the moment my sister introduced me to this record. I was about 11 years old and I had just discovered the world of emo and pop punk. This album felt like it’s own genre to me, this band didn’t sound like all the other pop punk bands out there, It had something unique to me it felt like partially because for me at 11 it felt like I could possibly one day sing like him because he just sung the melodies with amazing production/harmonise swimming around him, he wasn’t the traditional super singer frontman that a lot of other pop punk bands had. He went the extra mile with the quality of the melodies and lyrical story so you were never left bored or unimpressed (in my experience) I was so hooked in a way I had not been before and I still adore this record to this day.

Band of Horses –  Cease to Begin (2007)

This record was the perfect picture of a melancholy, Indie rock blend. It has the best rock songs and the best ballads in one place. All I wanted to do is to have a place where I could rock out with my friends and be emotional at the same time and Band of Horses mastered this world for me. There were few bands that sit in a similar place for me but Band of Horses and specially this record stood out. It’s also a band my sister introduced me to but unlike Jimmy eat World, which she was growing up from when she introduced them to me. She still was a big fan of BOH and it was nice to bond over the love for this record.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever ago (2008)

I know that almost every self defined indie folk artist (coming around after this era in music) is majorly influenced by this record but how can you not. I discovered this record after I had been writing melancholic indie folk for a while but listening to this record gave me the feeling that I still have in my heart. One day I will write something that is this perfect. I mean I’ve gone through waves of self disbelief but this is my life goal. Something this honest, something this pure. If I ever will, I will die happy. But something about it keeps me going so I also hope I’ll never reach there.

Bombay Bicycle Club – Flaws (2010)

Even though this is not my favourite Bombay record, it is definitely the record that influenced me the most. Here is another band that perfected the blend of stripping down to raw emotions, crying in the shower harmonies and indie rock gems. I love this bands way to portray the art of their sound and not losing them selves. This is what I wanted to master more than anything and I still do. The way they took a full 360 on releasing this record a year after the best indie rock album of the 2000’s in my opinion gives me goosebumps. But it is also exactly what I needed when I was 14-15 years old.

The 1975 – Music for Cars EP (2013)

I discovered The 1975 from a friend, He sent me their song that was quite new at the time, Chocolate, and I was into it instantly. They were pulling all the strings that I was heavily influenced by at the time. What inspired me the most was how it felt like they were not searching for themselves in their work, It felt unreal how thought of everything was. I also just absolutely fell in love with Matty’s lyric writing, he was slightly abstract with his directness, it felt like weird conversations and thoughts I had been carrying with me in my non-contagious mind until he sang it back to me. Something I really wanted to achieve with my lyrics as soon as I felt it.