Afternoon guys! So one of my favourite indie/folk artists, Axel Flóvent, won me over since I've heard his gorgeous single, Beach, almost a year ago. Now I had the honour to ask him some questions so we could all get to know him a bit more! Check it out below and enjoy!

1    What inspired you to pursue a music career?
I’ve always wanted to be a musician so I’ve always worked on my music while I was studying. But not so long after I graduated, I signed a publishing deal that made it possible for me to start a career.

2    What are your musical inspirations/influences? And what drew you to this particular musical genre?
I’ve always been a fan of different kinds of genres, and had the need to create different kinds of music, and I couldn’t really work with all my ideas in the bands I was in because my band colleagues didn’t always agree with me so I  had to put them somewhere else, which became my solo project. I had a classical guitar that I wanted to use for it to be a little bit different, and it just evolved from that. I listened to a lot of Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes and I guess the fact that my brother made folk music did a whole bunch as well for my inspiration.

3    How was growing up in Húsavík? Were you always connected to music?


No, not at all. There is very little musical life in Húsavík. My friends and I had to create the very little we had and people didn’t find it interesting at all, so it just slowly faded away, and I couldn’t wait to move away, and I did soon as I could.

4    I’ve read that you’ve been in several bands. How did being in bands shape you as a solo artist?
It mainly helped me with knowing what direction I wanted to go with my music. So it had a great impact.

5    Let’s talk about your gorgeous single Beach. How was the working process behind it? Where did you find the inspiration to write such a beautiful tune?


I wrote Beach while living in the east of Iceland during summer 2014, in a place called Hallormstaður, which is basically just few houses inside a forest, I slept in a shed outside the house my mother rented off her friends that were on holiday over the summer, and I had my home-studio inside the shed where I almost spent all my summer – at least when I wasn’t working as a dish washer in the Hotel Hallormstaður! Beach is one of those songs that just came very naturally to me, and was just part of a few hours of great recording/writing session for me.


6    Out of the songs you’ve already released/written which means the most to you and why?

I have a few songs that I haven’t released yet that mean the most to me, but of all the songs that I have released, Nightlife means the most to me, because I’m still very emotionally connected to that one.

7    Your latest EP, Forest Fires, is so magical. What were the influences behind this project?


The influences behind the Forest Fires EP vary due to the songs being written during different time periods. All of the songs were written over the span of about two years and are all tied to people I have met over the last few years.


8    Are you planning any collaboration? Is there an artist/act that you would absolutely love to work with and why?


There aren’t any collaborations on the horizon as of now, but there are many artists I would love to work with, I would love to collaborate with Jack Steadman for example, from Bombay Bicycle Club, his working methods seem very interesting to me.

9    If you were given the chance to pick one artist/band to tour with which one would it be and why?

 Bon Iver, they have been my favourite band for a while now, and I’m never not in a mood to listen to them.

10    Do any of you have secret/special talents?


I really don’t, nothing I can think of, I was really into skateboarding when I was younger, but I wasn’t particularly good at it.

11    Name five things you can’t live without.


In theory I would probably just ‘NEED’ my guitar, and the rest would be a bonus, but the so called rest would probably be my computer, sound interface, mic and amplifier!

12    If you could be a superhero, what would your superpowers be?


I want to be able to shrink stuff temporarily so it would be easier to move them and then I could easily make them normal again! so, some kind of ‘Minimalizer’…

13    If you could change into an animal which one would it be and why? 
A Kiwi bird!, Because they seem to have things figured out.

14    What’s your favourite song of 2015 so far?
Apollo by Last Dinosaurs