Allt fyrir ástina

Though I imagine a lot of people probably associate Icelandic music with its more "out there" representatives like Björk and Sigur Rós, there are Icelandic singers making fantastic, more...accessible, for lack of a better word, music as well. That's not to say you still don't often see underlying dark currents even in these artists' work--for every "All Out Of Luck," there's a "Weekender" or "Love Me"--but more that the package it's wrapped in is one that isn't quite so deliberately left-field. The dancefloor-friendly songs of Páll Óskar, also known as Paul Oscar, probably do a good job of showing this as well--well, based on the lyrics of his English songs and the "sound" of the Icelandic ones. Best known internationally for his 1997 Eurovision entry "Minn hinsti dans" ("My final dance," a song reflecting on a hedonistic life and "never regretting" it, accompanied by an unusual-for-the-time but captivating performance involving a couch, some dancers, and provocative poses and gestures) Páll has done far more than that, releasing albums before and afterwards and creating quite the back catalogue of impressive songs. Perhaps it would make more sense to start off with one of his English language songs, something like "Deep Inside," but I'm a bit too much in love with his second most recent single (the most recent, "International," is great as well) to post anything other than it at the moment.

Allt fyrir ástina--or "Everything for love," in English. Remember how I was talking about that darkness? Well, I can't speak in regards to the lyrics, but this would be, at least musically, one of those songs that doesn't have it. Catchy and bearing the influences of dance, disco, and house, "Allt fyrir ástina" has a way of worming its way inside your brain, which is really only a problem when you try to sing along and end up spouting random syllables instead. Maybe it's better just to dance along instead... The video's quite an interesting watch as well.

Since this is a fairly new single, it'll only be up for a few days.

To buy Páll Óskar's single "Allt fyrir ástina" (there's an album of the same title coming out eventually, I think), go here (digital; since its redesign, Tonlist has become a fantastic digital music store that I wish more would model themselves after--you can choose to download your purchases as WMAs, AACs, or mp3s [192 kbps] now). It's maybe also worth noting that you can find his English language album Deep Inside listed under the artist name Paul Oscar on iTunes stores throughout the world. As I mentioned, Páll's latest single "International" is excellent as well--I definitely definitely recommend buying it. If you want to hear the full thing first, it's streaming on his MySpace and has a video on YouTube. It may even be better than "Allt fyrir ástina," but since it only came out a few days ago (well, that's when I got my copy, anyway), I'll withhold on a final verdict for the moment.

Next up: maybe that German singer, but probably Swedish dance pop.