Filled with lots of great ideas and plenty of inspiration from their time in Iceland, Lanterns and Moon Holiday hit up Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavík to record new music with some fantastic local artists. Collaborating with the amazing Lay Low and Samaris, Lanterns and Moon Holiday have written home to tell us all about the experience.

Stay tuned to hear the fruits of their labour! In the mean time, you can check out music from Lay Low and Samaris HERE and HERE, and of course, revisit lots of great sounds from Lanterns and Moon Holiday to get your Northern Lights fix.

Lanterns and Lay Low:

Moon Holiday and Samaris:

Greenhouse Studios was the most perfectly Scandinavian studio- all polished wood and socked feet and zen vibes whilst the weather froze on outside. Working with Paul and Jon, some very energising sound wizards, and the fascinating talent of Samaris (Aslaug, Jofridur and Doddi) it was bound to be an exciting day for this lil’ Moon Holiday. Over several hours I learned about the old Icelandic poems that make up singer Jofridur’s lyrics, incorporated that into my own English lyrics, worked out some beats and bass lines with Doddi via LAN cable, and laughed a lot with the hilarious Aslaug, Samaris’ clarinet player. The result should be some otherworldly warped wind section with whispery bilingual vocals. But that’s all I can really say, it’s still a blur. I drank about 10 cups of coffee. I’m having a hard time leaving the vicinity of that beautiful studio too. I’d love to stay and record my next EP there!

My first experience playing outside of Australia came with great organisational responsibility (How many adaptors do I need? How will I get my gear on the plane?). I needed to ‘own’ my music, so as not to get intimidated and still be able to show people what I do with all of the feeling and inclusions, not just some travelling version of something that’s better when it’s comfortable at home.

I also loved meeting people over there and opening up the possibility of joining Airwaves another year in the future. Getting over to Iceland made me realise there’s value in making music, and people do give a shit! I feel a warm satisfied glow from the transit lounge McDonalds in Schipol Airport. Thanks FBi, thanks Airwaves and a general ‘Takk Fyrir’ to Iceland!

Lanterns and Moon Holiday farewell Iceland: