mum

Mum is a popular band from Iceland whose music stands out for the combination of soft touching vocals, distinct rhythmic patterns and expansive use of traditional and unordinary musical instruments. This project was launched as a duet in 1997 by musicians Gunnar Orn Tunes and Orvar Aoreyjarson Samarason. In a year, they were joined by twin-sisters Gyda and Kristin Anna Valtyrsdyttir. The newly formed quartet released their debut full-length record in 2000 under the title Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK. This studio work was re-issued in 2005. The music experts appraised this effort highly mostly emphasizing the unconventional music approach of the group.

In 2001, Mum were through with a collection of remixes called Please Smile My Noise Bleed. A year later, they advanced with the release of the second studio album, Finally We Are No One. To support this long player, the Icelanders arranged their first truly large-scale concert tour during which they visited a big number of countries on different continents. When this campaign came to an end, Gyda decided to quit the band and came back to her studies in Reykjavik. Shortly afterwards, the third sister, Estildur Valtyrsdyttir, took up the duties of a vocalist on a temporary basis, while Serena Tideman replaced Gyda on cello to help the group have their European tour. In 2004, Mum completed their third album, Summer Make Good, a much darker and foggier work than the first attempts. To accelerate the sales of this record, the musicians also delivered to the market two singles, Nightly Cares, and Dusk Log. By that time, the ensemble recruited new regular members, Eirikur Olafsson, Olof Arnadls and Hildur Gudnadottir. The latter had been assisting the group during their recording sessions since the very start, but only then he became a full-time participant of the project. When the streak of gigs promoting Summer Make Good was over, Kristin also parted with Mum.

2006 saw Mum participate in a number of memorable shows scattered across Europe, the USA and Asia. To perform live, the Icelanders did not use only usual equipment, but also laptops, old cassette recorders and traditional gypsy instruments. In 2007, Mum recorded an album called Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy, which appeared the last chapter in the long-term relations between the outfit and the Fatcat label. Despite the regular making of studio records and packed concert schedule, these musicians always strived to find some time for the projects marked far beyond the frames of a normal pop-band’s activities. Among them, it is necessary to mention Mum’s own soundtrack to Sergei Einstein’s classic motion picture Battleship Potemkin. On a number of occasions, the group was invited to play along chamber orchestras. By the summer of 2009, Mum finished the preparations of their fifth long player, Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know. In twelve years of working on the stage, this ensemble has gone through several changes in the lineup, style and sound. Yet there was something that never came to pass. This is the uniqueness of the Icelandic band that trained the listeners to expect practically anything from their new records.