
Icelandic indie/alternative/pop songwriter Kaktus Einarsson has aired his new single “Gumbri” featuring The Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn.
The track is taken from his upcoming second album ‘Lobster Coda’, due out October 25 via One Little Independent Records. Pre-order it here.
With an occasionally brutal candour, Kaktus’s new album is about taking the time to reflect and recognise changes that need to be made, to listen to your body, and to trust the process no matter how long it might take. Besides Damon Albarn, the record also features appearances from School of X, and Nanna (Of Monsters and Men). In October, Kaktus will embark on a European tour supporting The Vaccines.
Kaktus and the British artist and musician Damon Albarn has been friends for many years. At age 15, Kaktus played trumpet on the Gorillaz track ‘Stop The Dams’. He later worked as an engineering assistant on Damon’s Mercury-nominated solo album ‘Everyday Robots’ (2012), as well as ‘Africa Express presents Maison Des Jeunes’ (2013).
Commenting on the collaboration, Kaktus explains:
“After one or two margaritas on New Year’s Eve, we were chatting about music, the future and playing some demos. Before my demo of Gumbri came on, I joked that it would be a track he’d want to feature on. A few bars into the song, he looked at me and said “yeah, ok!”. I didn’t think much of it for a few days, until Damon’s studio manager called 4th of January and asked me for the stems. I already thought it was one of the best songs I had for the record, so to have my good friend and mentor joining me on it is a pure pleasure”.
Watch /listen below.
Upcoming Live Dates
10th Oct – FR, Paris – La Cigale *
11th Oct – FR, Orleans – L’Astrolabe *
13th Oct – CH, Lausanne – Les Docks *
15th Oct – ES, Madrid – Sala But *
16th Oct – ES, Barcelona – Sala Apollo *
18th Oct – FR, Aix en Provence – 6MIC *
19th Oct – FR, Bordezux – Rockschool Barbey *
30th Oct – UK, London – Servant Jazz Quarters (album launch party)
*supporting The Vaccines