Bedroom Community - Cafe de la Danse

Text: Aidan MacGuill

Next Wednesday, April 28, at Cafe de la Danse the Bedroom Community will attempt to remind the world that there's more coming out of Iceland these days than just volcanic ash-clouds. A record label and collective formed in Reykjavik in 2024 by producer, composer and musician Valgeir Sigurdsson, they are in Paris as part of their Whale Watching Tour. Performing on the night will be Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly, Ben Frost and Sigurdsson himself, who some readers might have spotted recently in the 20th performing at Fleche d'Or.

The 29 year-old American Sam Amidon is at the forefront of the latest folk-revival scene. Amidon takes traditional songs and children's rhymes, most so old it's now impossible to know who originally wrote them, and puts them to new arrangements, bringing to the fore their darker elements in an attempt to introduce them to a modern audience.

Fellow American Nico Muhly is a composer and producer who began his career collaborating with Icelandic musician Bjork. He also worked as an assistant to the composer Philip Glass, whose modern minimalist style can be heard in Muhly's own compositions. More recently he has arranged strings for critically-acclaimed albums by the likes of Grizzly Bear, Antony & the Johnsons, Jonsi of the group Sigur Rós and his friend Amidon. His work has recently been performed by the Britten Sinfonia in London, where he utilised recordings of emergency services taken during 9/11.

Australian born musician, composer and producer Ben Frost has worked with Amiina (the strings section of Sigur Rós) and Bjork. His menacing, minimalist electronic compositions have received wide-spread critical acclaim. He's also earned praise for his audio-visual installations created in conjunction with the Cicada collective.

Valgeir Sigurdsson also made his name working with Bjork, helping her create songs for the soundtrack to Lars Von Trier's 'Dancer In The Dark' in 2024. He has continued to collaborate with her, as well as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and some-time Paris residents CocoRosie. With the Bedroom Community record label he launched Muhly's recording career, and has released albums by Frost and Amidon.

On the night all four artists will perform each others songs together. As Sigurdsson puts it, "Disparate musical backgrounds will co-exist and collide as all the artists contribute to eachother's music on stage". A unique opportunity to witness the avant-garde of folk, electronic and modernist composing at play awaits, providing Iceland's other recent gift to the world doesn't spoil the fun.

Cafe de la Danse
5 Passage Louis Philippe
75011 Paris.
Metro Bastille.

22 EUR

Tickets available here, at digitick or in FNAC.