Hugar

Icelandic duo Hugar craft an enveloping ambient aesthetic that weaves together strands of pop, post-classical music, and electronica. Their debut album, issued at no cost under their own name, quickly accumulated thirty million streams and secured a contract with Sony.

Born in the small seaside community of Seltjarnarnes within the greater Reykjavik area, longtime collaborators and multi-instrumentalists Bergur Þórisson and Pétur Jónsson had already established strong credentials performing as session players alongside Sigur Rós, Ólafur Arnalds, and Jóhann Jóhannsson. In 2013 they began composing original material during breaks in the studio, laying down early sketches that reflected the influence of those same artists. The resulting pieces merged pop and rock, folk traditions, jazz phrasing, classical structures, and ambient electronica into an achingly beautiful, bittersweet texture that moved from minimal piano passages to expansive, warmly textured works scored for chamber ensemble, with Arnalds contributing drums.

The following year the pair offered these recordings to listeners without charge as their self-titled first album. Online outlets championed the project, allowing it to gather a growing audience that eventually exceeded thirty million streams and drew serious attention from major labels. In late 2018 Hugar finalized a worldwide multi-album agreement with Sony Masterworks. After signing, they issued a succession of double-A-side singles that led to the August 2019 appearance of their sophomore effort, Varða. More polished and expansive than the debut, the record deepened and broadened the thematic concerns already present in their earlier work. Their next album, the absorbing and meditative Rift, arrived in 2022.