jazz ensemble ungut Songs of Iceland

This is the sound of Iceland: rough and intimate, mysterious and hauntingly exciting. Songs about animals and criminals as well as being about love and tragic fate: „material from the very depths of folk tradition“ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

Icelandic expression „úngút“ means „to brood, to hatch (out), hence a new life“. And that‘s exactly what Salzburg based jazz ensemble úngút does: It opens musical paths with the traditions of authentic Icelandic folk music. The archaic and powerful sound seems to be directly inspired by the eruptive Icelandic landscape. The songs are driven by the tension between a life with nature and the desire for shelter, warmth, and feeling of security.

Rosa Baldursdóttor is a well known ambassador of Icelandic folk music. Her unique voice brings the songs to life and always tells stories immediately understood even without a word of Icelandic. With Songs of Iceland, she celebrates the expressive range of an intriguingly rich language.

Pianist and composer Peter Arnesen was a successful London studio musician, recording and touring with well known Rock, Jazz and Pop bands as well as being a founding member of The Rubettes („Sugar Baby Love“). In jazz ensemble úngút he presents a sensitive and thrilling approach to Icelandic music, transforming the songs into lucid jazz pieces.

jazz ensemble úngút

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - CD Review

„Anhörungsmaterial aus den Tiefen der Tradition.”