Vil

The story of Vil begins in a charmingly run-down Reykjavík backyard in October 2015. After ten days of musical experiments, this is the place where Maria Bay Bechmann and Julius Rothlaender hold an intimate headphone concert to present their first songs: four crackling pieces, mellow and moony. Soon there is the shy decision to start a band, and new songs just keep on coming, seeming to write themselves during encounters in Maria's home in Denmark, Julius' little studio in Iceland, or a visit to Berlin. Many miles and concerts follow, in Copenhagen, Berlin and Reykjavík; there are support tours for Einar Stray Orchestra and Hannah Epperson, as well as appearances at Fusion Festival, Iceland Airwaves and Reeperbahnfestival in Hamburg. In the midst of turbulence and chaos, Maria and Julius are always trying to better understand their cosmos: one of a fragile yet healing nature, accompanied by a longing for invisibility and silence. Eventually, the duo retreats to a green home in northern Denmark to record their debut album. Mens vi falder stille, mixed by Paul Evans and mastered by Valgeir Sigurðsson in Reykjavík's Greenhouse Studios, is a contrast, a hideout, a shelter from modern restlessness. The ten songs are circling in stillness, inviting the listener to explore and question the space they inhabit: they are a musical approach towards silence. The music lets go; it falls, stands still and pauses, offering a glimpse behind a door into the room you are wishing for. As one audience member put it after a Vil concert in Berlin “This music is a bowing invitation to the audience's dreams.“ Mens vi falder stille was released March 24th, 2017 via Berlin based label ListenRecords.