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biography / portrait

A three piece from Reykjavik, AMPOP are Biggi (guitars, vocals), Kjartan (keyboards), Jon Geir (drums). Those in the know will have first come across the band through their two critically acclaimed electronic based albums released in their homeland. The second of these 'Made for Market' was considered by many local critics the best Icelandic album of 2003. Their one supporter outside Iceland was unsurprisingly the late great John Peel. Keen to develop their sound the band bunkered down in their own studio and over time developed a more organic and song based direction moving away from the more electronic influences of their earlier material. The first examples of the bands new direction were demo versions of two songs, 'My Delusions' and 'Don't let me down', which saw the light of day in early 2005. These tracks were instantly picked up on by Radio 1's Zane Lowe who played 'My delusions' on several occasions and invited the band to play live on his show from Austin, Texas, during this years SXSW music festival. AMPOP played alongside The Bravery, Hot Hot Heat, The Blood Arm and Queens of the Stone Age as the only unsigned band. (source: www.myspace.com/ampopband)