Hipsumhaps

Raised in Reykjavík’s satellite town of Álftanes, Fannar Ingi’s music project Hipsumhaps first caught Icelandic ears in 2019 with an impassioned call for simpler living and finding happiness in small things like going to the pool by yourself. This is where Hipsumhaps excels: with lyrics that are not too serious and not too frivolous, not too sincere and not too ironic.

The electronic soundscapes of early singles ‘Lífið sem mig langar í’ [The Life I Want] and ‘Honný’ [Honey] launched Hipsumhaps up the charts and earned debut album ‘Best gleymdu leyndarmálin’ [Best Forgotten Secrets] six nominations for the Icelandic Music Awards. Those sounds took the back seat to fuller pop/rock arrangements on Hipsumhaps’ well-received sophomore album ‘Lög síns tíma’ [Songs of their Time, 2021] which yielded hits like the earnest ballad ‘Á hnjánum’ [On My Knees] and the highly satirical ‘Meikaða’ [Make it]. The ad-saturated video of the latter firmly reasserted the ever-looming question for Hipsumhaps’ fans: “Is this guy being serious?”

His more-than-leaning into adult-contemporary sounds on new album ‘Ást & praktík’ [Love & Logistics, 2023] doesn’t make it any easier to answer. Mostly written in Aarhus, Denmark, the bulk of the songs wittily map the territory where most adults live out their life, torn between romance, career and homemaking. “Should I worry that I’m becoming boring as hell?” he croons on early number ‘Á ég að hafa áhyggjur?’ Luckily for Fannar, there’s no need to panic.