Singapore Sling

Singapore Sling

Singapore Sling is a Reykjavík, Iceland-based shoegaze and neo-psychedelia group that forms in 2000 and remains active. The project is centred on singer-songwriter and guitarist Henrik Björnsson, with guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson involved from the start. Although Björnsson is described as the sole official member and the main musician on recordings, the live and studio lineup changes over time.

Style and influences

The band’s sound sits within shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, noise pop, alternative rock and rock and roll, and it is often compared to The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Serena Maneesh. Björnsson has also described the music in deliberately ironic terms as “a cross between Simon and Garfunkel”.

Recording history

Singapore Sling’s debut material grows out of Björnsson’s 8-track demos, one of which later becomes “Overdriver”, the opening track on the first LP. By 2016 the group has released eight studio albums and a best-of compilation. Their debut album includes a cover of The Standells’ 1966 garage rock song “Dirty Water”, and they also record The Monks’ “I Hate You” for the 2006 tribute compilation Silver Monk Time: A Tribute to the Monks.

Live work and related projects

The band supports The Brian Jonestown Massacre on North American tours. Björnsson also joins Dead Skeletons from 2008 and forms the duo The Go-Go Darkness with his wife, Elsa María Blöndal. Other members linked to the live lineup include Ester Bíbí Ásgeirsdóttir on bass guitar and Björn Viktorsson on drums; Viktorsson previously drums for Dean Sean and also works with Glasgow-based electro/psyche act The Cheesemongers.