http://www.myspace.com/oddurmusic
Bio: Synergy Project 24th November – IDSpiral

Icelandic singer/songwriter and session guitarist. Acts Oddur has worked with, writing, touring and in the studio include Lamb, Adam Freeland, Alison David, Lou Rhodes, Nemo Jones, Joe Adams and Paper Twin. As well as his own solo stuff he has a band with Andy Barlow(Lamb), Dave Sanderson(The Hat), Ja Winder(Papertwin) and Nikolaj Bjerre(Lamb) called Hoof. A 6 track mini album of early acoustic recordings is due out early January 2007 and an LP with a full band sometime in the spring. The release date has not been decided . Musicians include Jon Thorne (Lamb), Nikolaj Bjerre (Lamb), Mike Symmonds (Alice Russell, Lou Rhodes) and many more. Oddur is signed to Lou Rhodes's label Infinite Bloom.



Emotion and experience are two qualities a songwriter can’t afford to be without. As the old adage goes, you write what you know, and a raw nerve, though temperamental, helps to moisten the quill. But what happens when jumbled, incongruent words gnaw at your insides, fighting to manifest themselves in a clear way? How do you coax something from within that doesn’t know how to come out?

“I spent most of my early twenties partying, getting wrecked, and not really being focused,” admits Oddur Mar Runarsson. “Living in squats and exploring the underbelly of life. Some people might think it’s a squalid existence, but it was important for me. I always knew I wanted to write songs, but I started to lose heart because I really didn’t feel like I had anything coming out.”

The eldest of two children born to a university lecturer and a primary school teacher, Oddur grew up in a small village on the east coast of Iceland. A wayward teenager, he was no stranger to trouble, and at the age of 17, entered a six-week rehabilitation program to help correct some of his behavior. Nothing deep and dark, mind you, just your standard small town indiscretions. Still, the urge to abscond his familiar confines was an irresistible force. Upon completing his program, Oddur moved to Denmark to enroll in a music course. When his parents moved to England—where his father would pursue a degree at Cambridge University—Oddur moved with them, vowing to continue the education he received in Denmark. But five months after his parents completed their tenure and moved back to Iceland, he returned with them. He found part time work in an abattoir, a job he held for six months before saving up enough money to return to England. This time he set his sights on London.

Oddur worked in construction and demolition, pulling in a few quid to subsidize his vagabond involvement in a few local bands, but it was a gig with singer Alison David at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in Soho that shifted the course of his musical career. Oddur got on with most of David’s friends, but he hit it off particularly well with one: Lamb’s Andy Barlow. After he returned from a six-month trip to India, Oddur received a call from Barlow. Lamb had just finished recording their third full-length, What Sound?, and needed a guitarist.

“I hadn’t given up on music, but I had no idea where to start,” admits Runarsson. “I didn’t have much to offer apart from vibe, okay playing and weird looks.”

Oddur joined Lamb in 2001, and remained a principle member of the group until they disbanded in 2004. It was the spark he needed to actualize his own musical expression. Since then, Oddur has worked as a session player and touring guitarist for Nemo Jones, Alison David, Papertwin, breakbeat producer Adam Freeland, and both Barlow and Lamb vocalist Lou Rhodes.

“Working with Lamb definitely shaped me up, dumped me in the deep end, and turned me into a professional musician,” he says. “I remember standing with the band on the side of the stage at the Forum in London at my first proper Lamb gig, and the noise from the crowd was just insane. The intensity and magic of Lamb gigs showed me how powerful and magical an hour-and-a-half concert can be. As a songwriter, I owe a lot to those guys for their belief and encouragement.”

Oddur’s guitar work covers a wide emotion spectrum, from gentle balladry to fervent, jump-up riffing. Influenced by the playing of John Renbourn and Scottish folkies Bert Jansch and John Martin, Oddur conjures up luminous melodies and vivid imagery with a patient playing style. His Fylde Alchemist emits an exquisite tone that resonates behind a light and soothing singing voice. His lyrics forego allegory in favor of simplicity.

“I’m definitely not a stereotypical chin-stroking folkie,” laughs Runarsson. “I’m massively influenced by folk, and it has a bigger place in my heart than most other music, but I’d like to think I’m a bit too rock to be a folkie.”

The songs on Early Daze are direct transmissions from the heart, and the deeper meaning is never too obscured. Written while Oddur was in Egypt, “Jesael” exudes an impulsive sense of romance with a straightforward accompaniment of guitar and xylophone. Shades of frustration and disappointment color “What You Wanted You Chose” and “Call You Up,” as Oddur lets his finger-picking dictate the pace of his confessions. But of all the songs on this introductory acoustic EP, none embodies his journey to discovery like “Freeman,” where he sings, “I am a free man today, I do what I please. It gives me a reason to live. I get what I need.”

These are the fruit of fresh inspiration, newfound creativity, and most importantly, new experiences. Runarsson has commandeered his own destiny.

“I guess I needed to live life to a certain extent so I could start talking about it,” he smiles.