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Sólstafir Post Video for “Miðaftann”

solstafir (Photo by Bowen Staines)

Must be getting on winter as thoughts return to Iceland’s Sólstafir and their 2014 Ótta (review here). I expect that will be the case for years to come and regardless of whatever the band does next, since some albums just stand in for a certain time, place, etc., and Ótta was such a winter record. Its black and white progressive feel finds new manifestation in a video for the subdued piano piece “Miðaftann,” and perhaps unsurprisingly, the desolate atmospherics of the clip suit the song perfectly.

I wouldn’t exactly call it subtle in terms of visual metaphor, a stranded sailor carrying a white flag across an empty volcanic landscape in hope of finding his salvation somewhere, presumably anywhere that might hold life, screaming and grinding his hands into the black dirt along the way, but as a set-piece, its nod to The Seventh Seal feels appropriate, and while the band don’t appear, the cinematic value of the work holds the viewer in place to find out where and how the narrative will end. Spoiler alert: the ending is in color.

To go with the new video, Sólstafir just announced a string of UK/European dates for May 2016 in which they’ll play Ótta in its entirety, with full string and piano arrangements. You can find the info for that tour, as well as some comment from the band on the song and the director on the video, as well of course as the video itself, all below.

Enjoy:

Sólstafir, “Miðaftann” official video

Enigmatic Icelandic rock band SOLSTAFIR have seen the release of a new video for the track “Miðaftann”. The video, directed by Harri Haataja and Vesa Ranta, is streaming now.

Regarding the video, SOLSTAFIR guitarist/frontman Aðalbjörn Tryggvason comments, “The track is about wandering in darkness. Playing chess with Death, getting burned by salt, drowning in the ultimate wave of sin and returning back home by using moonlight as navigation.”

Video directors Harri Haataja and Vesa Ranta comment, “They told us a real-life story about a sailor who lost his crew at sea and was stranded to shore as the only survivor,” the directors write. “He proceeded to find his way to town and [along the way] he found a barrel filled with water. But the water was frozen, so he had to punch through the ice with his bare hands to fight the dehydration. Eventually, after a long journey, he found his way to town and survived.”

May 2016: Ótta in its entirety – complete with strings and piano – followed by a selection of fan favourites from Solstafir’s history.

14 May 16 London (UK) Islington Assembly Hall
15 May 16 Paris (FR) Divan du Monde
16 May 16 Haarlem (NL) Patronaat
17 May 16 Hamburg (DE) Gruenspan
18 May 16 Leipzig (DE) Taubchental
19 May 16 Aarau (CH) KiFF
20 May 16 Wörgl (AT) Komma
21 May 16 Wien (AT) Arena
22 May 16 Praha (CZ) Palac Akropolis

Sólstafir on Thee Facebooks

Season of Mist

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