Iceland’s VAR is debuting a new 4-song session on Audiotree. The performance consists of the tracks featured on their recent ‘Live at Orgelsmidjan’ EP, (studio versions of which appear on the band’s critically acclaimed 2020 LP ‘The Never-Ending Year.’) and was filmed at Orgelsmidjan, Iceland’s only pipe organ workshop, which also serves as the band’s practice space.
“After releasing an album and having no chance to play it live, we felt like we had to do something to give people at least a little taste of us playing these songs live,” says Júlíus Björgvinsson (vocals/guitar/keys). “VAR has always been about playing live and we always give everything we have to make the tension between us and the audience both peaceful and powerful. But since we could not play it live for people, we decided to make these live videos of us playing the songs at the organ workshop where we practice. We got our producer Eiður to do the sound for the videos and when he sent us the audio files Arnór brought that idea of releasing a live EP, because people had been asking us to do so. We were happy with the sound Eiður got from the session and how far it is from how the album sounds. It’s powerful, it’s raw and it’s honest. And that is VAR.”
