Kimono (band)

kimono
Kimono at Sodoma, Reykjavik
Background information
Origin	Reykjavík, Iceland
Genres	Math Rock, Experimental Rock
Years active	2001-
Labels	Bad Taste Kimi Records
Website	Official Website
Members	Alison MacNeil Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason Gylfi Blöndal
Past members	Halldór Ragnarsson Thráinn Óskarsson

kimono are an Icelandic-Canadian math rock band, formed in 2001. The group consists of Alison MacNeil (vocals, guitars, production), Gylfi Blöndal (bass, baritone guitar and guitar) and Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason (drums and percussion). Blöndal is also a member of Hudson Wayne and Mr. Silla and Bjarnason plays drums Seabear and has performed on a number of other Icelandic independent albums.

kimono's most recent studio album, Easy Music for Difficult People, was released by Kimi Records on 4 December 2009. The album topped many "Best of 2009" lists with journalists in Iceland.

In 2011, MacNeil came out as transgender after having been in treatment for Gender dysphoria since late 2003.

kimono formed in 2001 in Reykjavik, Iceland, after the breakup of a post-rock instrumental band called Kaktus. Alison, who is Canadian, had moved to Iceland in the winter of 1999 and joined the band after answering an advertisement posted in Hljómalind, a now-closed independent record store in downtown Reykjavik that was a popular hangout for local bands. Some of the members of Kaktus continued in kimono including guitarist Blöndal, drummer Thráinn Óskarsson and bassist Halldór Ragnarsson.

Óskarsson left the band in 2003 to concentrate on his other musical project, Hudson Wayne, and was replaced by Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason (also of Seabear). The band recorded their first record, mineur-aggressif, with Óskarsson playing drums, but mixed the album with Bjarnason. The recordings for the album were started in Studio Geimsteinn, the home studio of Icelandic bass player Rúnar Júliusson. The band then worked further on the record with Curver, an Icelandic record producer who has worked most recently with Ghostigital and with Björk on her Biophilia multimedia project. Curver was assisted in the recording of the album by Birgir Örn Steinarsson of the Icelandic rock band Maus who is also titled co-producer. Recordings were finished in Maus's practice space and mixed in Curver's Studio Rusl in downtown Reykjavik.