Isak’s Island released a brand new single and album. The single ‘Someone I’d Recognise’ was released on 5th May and is taken from the album ‘Fallen Anchors On The Sea Bed’ out on 26th May.
Isak’s Island is Norwegian songwriter and guitarist Aksel Undset, and musically nods at 60s and 70s songwriters such as Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen, whilst keeping its own originality.
Isak’s Island provides intimate and nourishing soundscapes that frames evocative and poetic songs. “Someone I’d Recognise” tells the story of a romantic relationship portraying a particular time in the streets and venues of London when Aksel lived in the City. The album was self-produced alongside Herman Wildhagen and features Aksel on guitar, mandolin, and vocals, Herman on pedal steel, partner Brooke Sharkey on vocals, Håkon Aase on strings, Leo Geller on bass and Åsmund Skjeldal Waage on vibraphone.
“Fallen Anchors on The Sea Bed” is his second album. Many songs deal with longing and acceptance of hope as part of the human condition, often accompanied by metaphors and imagery of the sea and nautic travel. This also is reflected in the music with its gentle, swaying, and ever-moving rhythms and melodies in the acoustic guitar, voices, and string arrangements. Shortly after the album’s completion, Aksel and Brooke Sharkey bought a boat to live on and are now swaying away in Oslo, Norway.
“I wanted to make a simple singer-songwriter album where the writing would be the focal point. It was important that the songs could be performed simply with guitar and singing in one take to make the recording process as simple as possible. I also wanted to incorporate more poetic writing into my songwriting and focus more on the text. I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to work with outstanding musicians on this album. They had breathed life into the songs and transformed them in a way I couldn’t imagine when I wrote them.”
Aksel Undset
The project was first launched with the space-rock EP “Peculiar Calls From Outer Space” in 2013, where Aksel played all instruments and produced the music himself. In the same year, Aksel moved to London and put together a live band for the project, which played many concerts around the city over the next few years. Since then, the project has moved toward the folk genre, released two more EPs and one album, and toured across the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, and Norway. The debut album, “Songs For Winter” was released in autumn 2021.
TRACKLISTING IS AS FOLLOWS:
- Prologue, the Sea 6. Winter, the Summer of the Soul
- Portals 7. Someone I’d Recognise
- Waves on the Shore 8. Autumn In Norfolk
- Boat Song 9. Fallen Anchors on the Seabed
- Old Memory 10. Epilogue, Self Portrait
LIVE SHOWS:
JULY
Wed 12th The Cornish Bank, Falmouth
Fri 14th Summer Arts Festival, Cullompton
Sat 15th St Andrew’s Church, Colyton
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https://www.isaksisland.com
