For Paddan’s Sigtryggur Baldursson, “Splash” is one of those tracks that had a “clear line” from start to finish. “It’s built on a groove that reflects our influences from the electric funk jazz of the early ’70s, which we both spent hours listening to in our early teens in Kópavogur,” says Baldursson, referencing longtime friend and collaborator Birgir Mogensen. “The song became an ode to those times.”
Well before Paddan, Baldursson and Mogensen were part of experimental collective Kukl, made up of survivors of an intensely creative early-’80s punk scene captured in the 1982 documentary Rock In Reykjavik. Baldursson went on to play drums with fellow Kukl members Björk and Einar Örn Benediktsson in the Sugarcubes. A bassist and classically trained guitarist, Mogensen worked with Killing Joke. The two finally came together as Paddan about a decade ago and are just getting around to releasing their self-produced debut EP, Fluid Time. Look for it May 10 on Lovitt Records.
With a few exceptions, the pair handles just about everything on the bracingly original Fluid Time, save for a programmed modular synth on a few tracks and a guest appearance or two. “We were fortunate to have our friend Eiríkur Orri (Ólafsson) bring his trumpet to the ‘Splash’ recording session,” says Baldursson. “That resulted in a memorable performance.”
We’re proud to premiere Paddan’s “Splash.”
—Hobart Rowland
