Biggi Hilmarsson is a composer and writer with the band Blindfold, who release their album Faking Dreams in August.
M Online caught up with Biggi.
1. You’re Icelandic but based in London, what difference is there in the music scenes?
The London music scene is so much bigger and has more variety to it, whereas the Icelandic scene is more concentrated with fewer musical directions. Everybody knows everyone in Iceland and people often collaborate and help each other out which is fun!
2. You have a new album with the band Blindfold, can you give us an insight into the writing and recording process?
When writing songs we usually have a basic structure to begin with, then we play around with guitar effects and different sounds to gives it the ‘Blindfold sound’. During recording sessions we tend to close our eyes and play whatever comes - nothing is too certain or too structured, we like to play around with small notes or melodies and build on them, almost like scoring a film. We’re all a bit geeky when it comes to recordings and technology, we like using vintage gear and instruments to colour the sound and make it warm and musical.
3. What song are you most proud of on the album?
I enjoy all of them in different ways. Most of the lyrics are quite personal and express a different chapter in my life. I remember being very proud of Fit You when it was in the making. It’s a very intimate song about all the people you never get to know because there isn’t enough time to in this fast paced, crowded world.
4. You were in the band Ampop, who garnered the John Peel seal of approval, are you still making music?
Yes, but we’ve been on a break for a while now. We’ve done so much together musically and did so well with the past couple of albums – I’m sure we’ll do another album together at some point in the near future, you never know?
5. You recently submitted a song for the Deepa Mehta film Heaven on Earth, how did that come about?
During my two years in Glasgow, I had a neighbour I hung out with from time to time. He happened to be a film editor and we often went out for beers together. It was through him that I ended up submitting the track, which Deepa Mehta really enjoyed and ended up using it.
6. How do you choose which songs are better suited to your various projects as a solo artist, band member and soundtrack composer?
I’ve always made various types of music because I’ve worked on so many different projects - from writing and producing records to making music for films, theatre and commercials. I am always writing. It might be a pop track or romantic waltz one day and the next, a symphonic track. Every day is different and that’s what I love about being a musician, all the diversity.
7. Your music has been used in IKEA and Nike campaigns, do you feel part of a new breed of musicians taking advantage of sync licensing?
I wrote original music to the IKEA campaign, whereas the NIKE was a sync. I really enjoy doing original scores, but sync licensing comes in handy as a bonus every now and again!
8. What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Blindfold will probably be touring in follow up to the new album. I’ll also be working on a couple of films and plan to being on my debut solo album. Lately I’ve been writing symphonic/theatrical music with a friend up in Glasgow, where I mix different elements like pop and orchestration. I am very excited seeing how that project evolves – it may well turn out to be a ‘film score pop album’.
www.biggihilmarsson.com
www.myspace.com/theblindfold