Solstafir frontman shares first single from post-rock project Isafjord - listen to Falin Skemmd here!

Icelandic duo Isafjord in black and white

(Image credit: Agúst Atlason)

Sólstafir's Aðalbjörn 'Addi' Tryggvason has teamed up with former Pain Of Salvation guitarist Ragnar Zolberg for the cool post-rock project Isafjørd. You can stream their brooding first single, Falin Skemmd, below – they say it's about, "freeing yourself from a toxic relationship and moving on to a brighter future.”

The Icelandic duo met on the road with Ragnar recruited to play live session bass for Sólstafir. They've turned their craft for cool, cinematic sounds and passion for melancholic music into the album Hjartastjaki, which is out on December 2 via Svart. Its songs – apparently inspired by everyone from The Beatles to Fields Of The Nephilim and Godspeed You! Black Emperor – were recorded at Ragnar's home in a Norwegian forest during a cold Nordic winter and many were written in a single day.

Sólstafir released their most recent album, Endless Twilight Of Codependent Love, in 2020. They're due to return to the UK in February 2023 where they'll play five shows as part of their scheduled tour with Katatonia.

Ready to hear more? Check out Isafjørd's Falin Skemmd below!

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.