Song of the Day: aYia - Water Plant

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we are featuring songs by Icelandic artists performing Iceland Airwaves 2016.

aYia - Water Plant (MP3)

Today's featured song is "Water Plant", a 2016 single by aYia, released by The Bedroom Community.Each year that we return to Iceland to attend Iceland Airwaves, we wonder who the next great new bands will be - not if there will be any, because we've already learned that Iceland is one of the most artistically prolific places in the world. This year, one of our favorite discoveries is aYia. We don't yet know much about this Reykjavik-based trio or ever who their members are, but their debut single, "Water Plant", today's featured song, immediately blew us away. Moody yet kinetic, the electronically produced melody dips and rises majestically, as the vocals soar into the ether. Listening to "Water Plant" is truly an out-of-body experience difficult to describe, so we'll let the band do it:

I​t is about the in​-​between moments, when you suddenly have no clue of where you are​ ​and what is happening. And wanting this solid feeling of something real or constant but everything is ephemeral. But then one cannot do anything but drift, and wait and see what may come, although there seems only a liquid wasteland to await you. It is a very powerful feeling but also kind of scary.

"Water Plant" is aYia's first single, and it comes from The Bedroom Community's HVALREKI, a series of digital releases named in Icelandic for "beached whale", a boon to early villagers, and hopefully a treasure for all who listen. You can find the first HVALREKI single, with Valgeir Sigurðsson & Nico Muhly, here. And look for more from aYia on their Facebook page. For now, watch the official video for "Water Plant" below.

Also, be sure to listen, and watch, KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast from Kex Hostel in Reykjavik. We're also broadcasting live video on our Facebook page.