“Described as a modern day Human League, but from Iceland.” We’ll, I would have to agree with that description. I first ran into FM Belfast on thesixtyone.com and instantly feel in love with their brand of electronic pop. This track is from their full length album, ” How To Make Friends” which goes on sale January 22nd. Fun album from start to finish, with the stand out tracks: Par Avion, Frequency, VHS, and I Can Feel Love.
A track by track breakdown by the band themselves…
Frequency: “This song was made after a family gathering where one of us had to be the designated driver for drunk family members. It ´s probably an experience most people recognize. It can be awful while it lasts but usually funny afterwards.”|
Underwear: “The song is about boredom combined with the freedom of running down the street in your underwear. It’s about growing up in place where you have to make your own entertainment.”
I Can Feel Love: “When you fall more and more in love with each drink you have – when you are drunk and happy in a cheesy kind of way.”
Tropical: “To some people it sounds like it’s a song about Iceland. Tropical was originally written about the town Gjogv in the Faeroe Islands, about a place that’s almost the opposite of Tropical. Exotic rocky island.”
Pump: “Pump is the first FM Belfast song ever made. It was a Christmas gift for our friends Inga and Bóas. The recording on the album is the original one and the lyrics are borrowed from Technotronic ´s Pump up the Jam.”
Par Avion: “One very cold winter day there was an article in the newspaper about an Icelandic girl that had moved to the Caribbean and was renting a house on the beach for a small amount of money. At the time it felt almost ridiculous to live on a frozen island and pay high rent for a tiny apartment. We just wanted to move right away. It helps singing this song, then you can go to the Caribbean for 3 minutes and 47 seconds.”
VHS: “About when formats change and become obsolete. You’ve grown attached to some technology and then someone comes along and changes it ruining your collections. Like a love song to a lost friend.”
Lotus: “A friend of ours said: ” Why don’t you do something with the Rage against the Machine?” so we did the best we could. We still don’t know if he was being serious or not.”
Optical: “The joy of getting your vision back by buying a pair of spectacles. Most of us in the band are visually impaired. Some in more denial than others.”
Synthia: “There once was a beautiful synthesizer that was owned by a neglectful man. The song is about poor treatment of synthesizers and our desire to save them.”
President: “It’s a song about a determined person that never gives up.”
‘How To Make Friends’ is released January 22nd on Morr Music / Kimi Records
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