Army of Me

I'm about ready to explode! I seem to be having some sort of creative burst and I need to write (fine, type) it all up before I go nuts, so here goes.

So we've just had this years Winter Solstice, A.K.A the shortest day. This day comes on 21st December every year and it usually kick-starts a lot of complaining from the general British public - I guess we'd have nothing if not the weather to talk about. I actually find the Winter Solstice quite exciting though. The shortest day can only mean the days are about to start getting longer again, right? Although I think Winter is under-rated. So the trees are bare and it's a bit grey at times but there's some real beauty to be found too. Especially if you look up.

I've got some soul-searching to do, so I've taken some inspiration from the Winter skies and decided to go on a solo mission to Iceland for my birthday in March. Weirdly John Grant was on 6 Music this afternoon and did an hour long show called 'Songs from a Darkplace'. It was about how Iceland is a hot bed for creative talent. It was a wicked show with guests like Bjork and Damon Albarn talking about their experiences of this dark island of fire and ice that sits atop the world. Needless to say, it's cemented my decision to go.

I've always been fascinated by Bjork. My Dad used to have a few of her albums on tape back in the day, I'd never heard anything like it! She  was experimenting with unusual instruments and was never afraid to try something against the grain. Like any music that goes against the status quo, her first solo album 'Debut' wasn't well received at first - it came at a time when the music industry was swamped with men playing guitars. But today I think it has more relevance than ever. Instead of looking back to the 90s for inspiration, new artists should look to the innovative way that Bjork used disparate genres to a record without losing her sense of identity. I think this is something that Icelandic artists generally do very well.

I learnt today that John Grant actually lives in Iceland, and owes a lot of his creative abilities to his inspirational surroundings. Damon Albarn wrote 'Beetlebum' during his stay in Reykjavik (in my opinion, one of the finest Blur records) and Led Zeppelin wrote 'Immigrant Song' when they did part of a tour there in 1970 -

"We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow" - Led Zeppelin.

It sounds as though the beautiful landscape coupled with long, dark Winters brings out your creative side. Get me there!

A close friend of mine went to see Bjork in concert in Reykjavik a few years ago and raved about it. He said he'd take me there to see the Northern Lights and do some partying in the city but sadly he died last year and we never got to do it. So Benji, I'm gonna live up to our promise.