The Reykjavík-based soul quartet Moses Hightower released their debut album, Búum til börn (lit. “Let’s make babies”), on July 5, 2010.
Recorded and mixed by sound wizard Magnús Øder of Benny Crespo’s Gang and Lay Low fame, the 10 track album is “unlike anything else in Icelandic music” (Fréttablaðið), an open-ended mish-mash of 70′s soul, with a dash of neo-soul, dub and Icelandic 50’s pop thrown in for good measure. Projecting the same relaxed, feel-good vibe as the carefully crafted music, the lyrics on the album also garnered accolades from critics.
Talented musicians join Moses Hightower on the album and for their live performances: Backing vocals are sung by Dísa, Sigríður Thorlacius, and Ragnheiður Gröndal, all celebrated solo artists, as are Óskar Guðjónsson and Samúel Jón Samúelsson, who provide the distinctively mellow combination of tenor saxophone and trombone.
Quickly carving out a steady presence near the top of national radio charts and garnering universal accolades from critics, the “brilliant” (Morgunblaðið) album enjoyed strong sales, and at the end of 2010, it fared well in the inevitable comparison with other Icelandic releases that year. A panel of 73 Icelandic musical experts named Búum til börn the 6th best album of the year in the annual round-up of weekly newspaper Fréttatíminn, it was shortlisted for the annual Kraumur award, and nominated for the Icelandic Music Awards in the categories Album of the Year and Lyricists of the Year.
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