FM Belfast machen Musik die glücklich macht. Selbst um 3 Uhr in der Nacht, oder gerade dann. Wer sich Anfangs noch fragte, warum das Samstagsprogramm mit Ihnen endete, war spätestens nach dem dritten Lied überzeugt, dass man nur so in die kühle der Nacht entlassen werden durfte. Árni Vilhjálmsson von FM Belfast beantwortete uns im Vorfeld ein paar Fragen.
To get to know you: What was the main intention of forming FM Belfast? The long winters of the north? I know, what a big question to start with.
It was mostly passion for making music. We are all good friends and we spend a lot of time together so that must also have been the drive. We also like making music in sunny weather.
Whats with the name? Do you miss the old analogue days when everybody was still listening to FM radio?
Wow, we have gotten this question a 1000 times and never thought of this answer. This will go on the list of answers for „Where does the name of the group come from“?
Do you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?
It was probably Lotus on FM4. It made us very happy and surprised.
Your 2008 release was partly recorded in NYC. Where was your new album recorded? Has the place an influence on the music?
The new album was actually also partly recorded in NYC. Mostly in our home studio and also in some random hotel rooms. Yes, places, people, food and transportation modes influence our music. Amongst other things.
How would you describe your style? Punk, Folk, Electronica. Do we need categories anyways?
If we were journalists we would probably be really good and describing and categorizing our music. Since we are not we mostly just say it’s happy, dramatic dance pop indie electronica that will make you dance, cry and smile all at the same time.
Where do you get the inspirations for your songs, the album sounds like A roller coaster ride of emotions?
We feel like we already answered this question nr. 4 but come to think of it we are all emotional people so there is plenty of inspiration there. Our goal is of course to make the listeners dance with tears in their eyes.
You started out as a studio-project. But I guess that changed, since everybody tells me I should see you live. Did you have the live-performance in mind when you wrote the new album?
Yes and no. Some of the songs are made only in the studio with no thought of the live show. Sometimes we get influenced by the live show and that transmits into the songs. It’s not something we would focus on but we are very pleased if that is delivered.
How many people are on stage this time? You still don’t have a fix count of people?
We are 3-4 in the core group. We like to have at least 5 people on stage. If somebody else wants to join in it’s a bonus.
Somebody must have taken you very seriously, when he was listening to „I Don?t Want To Go To Sleep Either“ on your new album. You are set to play at 3 o’clock in the morning. Is this what you do when you don’t want to go to bed?
We like doing concerts any time of the day. Concerts in the day time in the sun can be great. We hope people won’t take the title too seriously because we need our sleep!
Music seems to be Island what Oil is to Saudi Arabia. Compared to the size of the country, Islands‘ music scene seems to be a big export product (Jonsi, GusGus, of course Björk). What do you think could be a reason?
All these bands and artists that you mention in your question are probably the reason why the music industry would focus on a small island like Iceland. They have paved the way for other musicians and for that we are thankful. But why there are so many bands and why there are so many good bands we don’t know!
Is there a special „islandic“ approach to music?
Maybe we just believe we can do anything because we are so few. And also it’s awkward if you sound like the band in the next garage so maybe we have a stronger drive to sound different. Maybe and maybe not but this could be a good theory.
What question did I forget to ask and could you answer it?
What is your favorite desert? Créme brulée of course!
