Icelandic indie-pop songwriter Kaktus Einarsson will release his second album ‘Lobster Coda’ via One Little Independent Records on October 25th. Amidst a collection of lush, electronic earworms, Kaktus has penned an honest account of his recovery from a sudden functional neurological disorder (FND) that required him to relearn how to use his motor functions, while also performing his duties as a new father. The album features appearances from School of X, Nanna (Of Monsters and Men) and Damon Albarn. In October, Kaktus will embark on a European tour supporting The Vaccines.
New single ‘Gumbri’ features the British artist and musician Damon Albarn whom Kaktus has known for many years. At age 15, Kaktus played trumpet on the Gorillaz track ‘Stop The Dams’. He later worked as an engineering assistant on Damon’s Mercury-nominated solo album ‘Everyday Robots’ (2012), as well as ‘Africa Express presents Maison Des Jeunes’ (2013). Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Kaktus said – “We were chatting about music and the future and when I played my demo of Gumbri, I joked that it might be a track he’d want to feature on. A few bars into the song, he looked at me and said “yeah, ok!” I already thought it was one of the best songs I had for the record, so to have my good friend and mentor joining me on it is a pure pleasure.”
‘Lobster Coda’ incorporates dreamy, glistening synth-pop and melancholic ambience, created through layers of atmospheric keys, percussion, and groove-laden funk bass. Kaktus details his journey following a stress-induced nonepileptic seizure that halted his brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of his body, resulting in losing control of his legs, arms and causing involuntary facial tics. Crucially, he spent months on a course of physical therapy while also trying to care for his children and his partner, that by his own admission he then needed to reconnect with. With an occasionally brutal candour, Kaktus’s new album is about taking the time to reflect and recognise changes that need to be made, to listen to your body, and to trust the process no matter how long it might take.
He explains; “We had bought a new house, and I was renovating that, I’d become a father of two with the birth of my young boy, and I’d entered a new kind of grown-up life, financially with the mortgage and emotionally, so the pressure had been high. I realise now that during this time I didn’t do any work on myself. It happened while I was at my dad’s exhibition, my eyes started to feel funny, my vision was blurred, and I basically had a panic attack. I ended up losing all power and with my father holding me. It was very painful, I had no control. It was in the ER room when I was told it was FND, which is a glitch between the brain and the nervous system. It’s where the neuro system learns a behaviour that it repeats in some kind of pattern, and the brain knows that it’s the wrong behaviour. And the body freezes. And then I couldn’t walk…”
“Recovery is ongoing to be honest. But I think this experience is almost like a test, it’s a mirror that I can hold up to the stress and pressures in everyday life. This kind of high intensity pressure, it’s not normal. I learned that recovery isn’t linear, there are good days and bad days, sometimes you get setbacks. Despite all of this, it’s a big relief that there wasn’t anything wrong with my spine, I didn’t have MS, or anything chronic. I was very lucky. I got a warning card. I remind myself of that, and every day is good”.
Overall, ‘Lobster Coda’ is about connection. Connection with yourself, the communication between body and mind, and knowing your own limits as well as overcoming adversity. It’s also about connection to others, nurturing relationships and finding balance. It’s about love for your friends and family, without forgetting yourself.
Kaktus Einarsson has led a remarkable musical life. Born and raised in Reykjavík, he was playing as part of experimental electronic act Ghostigital at the tender age of 10. In his post-punk outfit Fufanu, he opened hometown shows for Radiohead and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The band also supported Blur in Hyde Park, and stormed the festival circuit, appearing at the likes of Primavera Sound, Rock Werchter, Musilac and Down The Rabbit Hole. His debut solo album ‘Kick The Ladder’ was released in 2021, and later remixed by the likes of JFDR, Modular Project and Brandt Brauer Frick.
Photo credit:
Art credit: Hildur Erna Villiblóm & Shrey Kathuria
Tracklist:
- Lobster Coda
- Daze Gold (with School of X)
- Be This Way (with Nanna)
- Saka
- Heart Spell
- Koddi
- White Burn
- Gumbri (with Damon Albarn)
Music credits
All songs, lyrics and music written, performed and produced by Kaktus Einarsson
Additional writing on ‘Lobster Coda’ by Thibault Gomez
Additional writing on ‘Daze Gold’ by Rasmus Littauer
Additional production with various keyboard, guitar & percussion performances on all songs by Albert Finnbogason
Additional backing vocals on ‘Gumbri’, & additional production with various keyboard performances on all songs except ‘Be This Way’ & ‘Koddi’ by Thibault Gomez
Additional production & vocal performance on ‘Daze Gold’, & keyboard performance on ‘White Burn’ by Rasmus Littauer
Additional vocal performance on ‘Be This Way’ by Nanna Bryndis Hilmarssdóttir
Additional vocal performance on ‘Gumbri’ by Damon Albarn
Drums by Olafur Björn Olafsson
Vocal engineering by Kurt Uenala
Additional vocal engineering by Bjarni Þór Jensson on ‘Be This Way’
Feedback by Birgir isleifur Gunnarsson
All Songs Mixed by Stephen Sedgwick in London
Mastered by Heba Kadry in Brooklyn, New York
Recorded by Kaktus Einarsson in Reykjavik at Kaktus’s Studio Frakkland
Drums and various instruments recorded by Albert Finnbogason in Uslandia
Live dates
10th Oct – FR, Paris – La Cigale (supporting The Vaccines)
11th Oct – FR, Orleans – L’Astrolabe (supporting The Vaccines)
13th Oct – CH, Lausanne – Les Docks (supporting The Vaccines)
15th Oct – ES, Madrid – Sala But (supporting The Vaccines)
16th Oct – ES, Barcelona – Sala Apollo (supporting The Vaccines)
18th Oct – FR, Aix en Provence – 6MIC (supporting The Vaccines)
19th Oct – FR, Bordezux – Rockschool Barbey (supporting The Vaccines)
30th Oct – UK, London – Servant Jazz Quarters (album launch party)
