Iceland’s Ageir coming to Ogden, Speaks with CMB

Tim Wenger | January 5, 2015

by Jenn Cohen

photo credit Jonatan Gretarsson

Asgeir, pronounced “Ow-s-gear,” has provided Iceland its fastest-selling album ever, and he’s coming to Denver to support his latest album, In the Silence,” this February. Asgeir answered a few questions for us, including how to pronounce his name, saying, “I think the best way to describe it would be to say, ‘Ow,’ as if you hurt yourself, add an ’S,’ then ‘Gear,’ as in the gear of a car. If you can roll your R’s as well, then you are onto a winner.”

At 22 years young, nothing prepared the dreamy Icelander, who hails from a 40-person town, to play to thousands of people at venues around the world. “I was used to playing music in front of people,” says Asgeir, “but not in the way I do it now, being the front man, so, no, not many things prepared me for that, and I didn’t really like singing and having to say something in between songs on stage–in front of so many people. It has been an amazing experience though!

“It’s been different from anything I’ve done in the past. Traveling around the world, seeing different places and faces every day. I’ve started to like what I do now, but wasn’t too excited about it in the beginning, always being away from home. So I wouldn’t say that my dream was always to travel the world and spend a whole lot of that time in airplanes or cars, but it’s something you get used to, and now I enjoy it and feel privileged for it.”

He’s returning to the U.S. on February 18, to support Hozier at the Ogden, and fondly remembers the first show of his 2014 U.S. tour. “I would probably say the most memorable show would be a show we did in Minneapolis, MN in June,” he says. “It was our first show on the tour, and the first time in Minneapolis. We really weren’t sure what to expect, but the show sold out a couple days before, and that night we had 700 people singing along! Needless to say it was a very warm welcome.”

Asgeir’s father is influential and supportive in his music. “He’s very happy that it worked out the way it did. He has always believed in the music [so] much, that he wasn’t even too surprised of how successful the album came to be. We might well work on something together for the next album as well.”

Tags: ogden theatre, jenn cohen, Asgeir, Iceland, Hozier