Splendid: The introduction to the album sounds like field recordings of a windswept ocean. It really takes you there.

Múm: The wind sound is actually from -- it's quite funny, because we went to this isolated lighthouse, the same lighthouse we went to before our last album, before this. We found it that time, and we totally fell in love with it. And we were there for like six weeks recording in these isolated circumstances -- well, maybe not recording. We recorded some parts and we made some songs and worked on others -- just basically had fun and worked at the same time. And then we went on a tour. And then we came back to Iceland, and we were actually looking for another house to finish the recordings with the acoustic instruments. We were searching for another house close to Reykjavik, and we ended up in another lighthouse. It was an accident, basically. But it was exactly the type of house we were looking for. It was empty and free. And we spent five or six weeks there, recording, and it was one of the windiest places in Iceland. It was, of course, by the sea. We were recording a lot and working on the music there. And sometimes it would be really windy, and some of the windows would make this great wind sound. And we got so used to having it underneath the music that we decided it would have to be with it. It would have to be part of the album.

Splendid: So you actually made ambient recordings of the location, basically?

Múm: Yeah, we recorded one windy window. (laughs) We recorded this album by ourselves, in a house, because we didn't want to go to a studio for the recording process. We went into a studio, actually, for the mixing. But when we were recording we wanted to get more of a personal feeling. We wanted to kind of make it somehow more creative, because we thought it would fit us better. Sometimes the studio experience can be cold and scientific. And we'd been learning a lot for the last couple of years by doing this, so we know how to record things and do it our own way, and there is a lot on the album like this because we recorded in this house. We recorded it onto tape machine, and there is both open mic recordings and then maybe we recorded something through a speaker and played it through the speaker and recorded it again. So, we get these many layers of silence of the house. Of course, it's not total silence. People are doing something in the background, so you get loads of natural sounds with it that you can't really hear. But they're in there.

Splendid: That brings up something I noticed. You guys are known for putting odd textural elements into your music, but your earlier music was more digital processing. Now it seems you're moving away from that.

Múm: Not really moving away from it, necessarily. I think it's more -- like I told you, it's been an education of how to do things. When we made our first album, the songs were made while we were learning to use the electronic equipment. It's been going, gradually, like that. I don't think we're using less of it, necessarily. I think we are understanding it better -- its characteristics, and how it feels. A lot of the sounds and a lot of the songs we do, we couldn't do without computers or sequencers and stuff like that. Like you said, a lot of our songs are about these sound textures and sound in general. I think you can get a wider spectrum of sound by using these together, analog and digital technology.

Splendid: It's amazing, though, because the digital parts are almost invisible to me on this album. I can tell there are some elements, but when you listen to it, it doesn't say "This is electronic!"

Múm: No, it's not all of the time that we are using computers or electronic equipment. I think we sometimes use natural sounds for the process. When you use normal sounds but you want to make them kind of fictional -- not rational or not realistically sounding somehow -- you can manipulate them more with electronic equipment.

Splendid: You may have read this is the music press: A lot of people focus on the lullaby quality of your work. The bittersweet, melancholic aspects... Do you recognize these elements in Múm?

Múm: Yeah, I think I understand it a bit, but I don't read a lot reviews or stuff about us. It feels awkward to me somehow. (He laughs) I appreciate it, but I don't really get into it. I connect with it. I understand what people are talking about. For me, it's not necessarily a lullaby quality. I think that some of the songs -- for me at least -- the first couple of times you hear them, they are melancholic or sad. But that is a perspective that is likely to change over time, if you listen to them over and over again. Maybe it's something that doesn't work for a lot of people, but it works for me. With music, sometimes you hear it and find it sad at first, but then you change your perspective and you see hope in it. And you feel it kind of work the opposite way, somehow.

Splendid: Yeah, I recognize that there is also hope and the optimism that shines through in your music. You guys just seem to be really good at getting these types of emotions across to the listener. And it comes across as very pure. It's amazing. (Awkward heartfelt moment where the journalist tries to break things down further and fails miserably) Uh, I don't know what I'm trying to say, here.

Múm: I think I understand you, though. Yeah, like I said, we aren't analytical about our work. We are more emotional, and we try to put our own emotions in the music. Without logical reasons, we're not trying to do anything specific. We're just feeding our emotions into music the best way we can.

Splendid: I think that must be the best way to make a piece of art. Not everyone has the chops to do it that way.

Múm: Yeah, I don't know if it's the best way, but it's the way we found. And I think it's the important thing, to find your own way of creation. For me, it's not the only music I like. I like some superficial music, or music that's trying to be something totally different. It's just another way of expressing, I think.

Splendid: Well, Múm seems like a very special situation. The band is now just a trio, right?

Múm: Yeah.

Splendid: Gyöa, one of your original female members, left before this album was recorded. Was she missed?

Múm: Yeah, definitely missed, but not really... it's hard to tell. I think we took the decision when she left the band to get more people involved. Not necessarily placing them in the center of the band, but still using them as creative people who work in creative ways. Now, on this tour, we have three very important people who play with us, too. And they all play on the album. Yeah, she was missed, but I think it's just a natural way of growing. You just continue and do it in different ways. You find solutions. And actually, I appreciate it. I love it being more people. It's great when playing live to be more rather than fewer.

Splendid: Future albums will still center around the three of you?

Múm: Yeah, I think so now. But who knows? Maybe we will have loads of people joining the band in a year or two.

Splendid: It'll get a little crowded in the lighthouse, won't it?

Múm: (laughs) Yeah, but that's okay.

Splendid: Another really striking aspect of Múm is Kristen's vocals. How are they created? How does she come up with the lyrics and melodies? Does she put them on the music, after the fact?

Múm: I think it's, most of the time, something afterwards. Later. When we're creating songs, some songs kind of call for [vocals] and some songs don't really call for it. We sort this out later on in the process. And I'm really happy with it. She's become much more brave as a singer, expressing herself. On our first album, there was only kind of one song with vocals and, on the second, there were three or four. And now, much more. And, I think that has to do with her getting in better contact with her voice. And yeah, sometimes we work together on these vocal lines. Sometimes she comes up with them.

Splendid: It almost seems like her voice is another instrument in the mix. Is it treated that way?

Múm: Yeah, sometimes we might stick her voice into the song in a strange way and then she sings over it again. It varies so much between songs, and it's how we kind of go about it when we are recording and creating them. With this album, a lot of songs were treated in a very personal way: Kristen singing really low with the mic close, and trying out different lyrics and different lines.

Splendid: When it came to mixing the album, you went to Sigur Rós's studio. What's your relationship with those guys?

Múm: We've known them for quite some time. We're really good friends with them.

Splendid: There's this silly notion I have that Iceland is such a small country that all of the Icelandic musicians there know each other and hang out together. But I'm sure that's a myth...

Múm: No, actually not. That's actually quite close to the truth. (laughs) Of course, not all. But in a capital of ninety thousand people and with a downtown area that's walkable five minutes maximum between all of the bars and coffee shops, you get to know a lot of people. Especially when you're in some sort of a scene like this, people get to know each other. I think it's very general. I think it's a very supportive community, and people are very much helping each other, lending instruments, mics or whatever, and helping in lots of ways.

Splendid: The fact that you are from Iceland gets attention, probably because the Icelandic bands that make it worldwide are so unique. Does that reflect your music scene? Is it very individualistic?

Múm: Yeah, I think so. There are a lot of bands and musicians in Iceland that maybe haven't gotten noticed and maybe they won't be... but there are all sorts of crazy ideas going on. It gets really different.

Splendid: I think the world views Iceland as almost a pure culture, less tainted by the world's influences. Do you think there's any merit to that?

Múm: In a way, I think that's true -- but I think it's a very nice way to see it. I don't think it's that pure in a lot of ways, but maybe in other ways it is pure. I think for some Icelandic people, they sometimes think of Iceland as Little America. I hope I'm not being disrespectful to you, but it's in a negative way.

Splendid: No, not at all.

Múm: In the last 20 years, there have been a lot of American influences, and like the American base there... the Icelandic government begging the American government to keep it. America wants to get rid of it, but the government of Iceland wants to keep it.

Splendid: Well, I hear Iceland has a good club scene.

Múm: Yeah, it's nice. It's fun. But it's small, as well, so it's easy to get absorbed in a short amount of time. If you went to Iceland and you would like to get know the feeling of the country, I think you would have to start a weekend in Reykjavik and then two weeks in the country in the small towns. The true feeling of it is in the small towns.

Splendid: Does Múm have a celebrity status in Iceland?

Múm: In a way, yeah. But getting a celebrity status in Iceland is, I think, different than anywhere else. It doesn't take much to become a minor celebrity. We don't really sell many albums there, and we don't get played on the radio. We're not a part of the commercial music scene, the general music scene.

Splendid: But you guys must be making a living with Múm?

Múm: Yeah, kind of. The last two years, we haven't been working any jobs, because if you're in a band you have to travel a lot. You have to play and do gigs, and that's not good if you want to keep a day job. It's kind of impossible. But you don't need much to get by, and if you are doing something you love, you'll do it for anything.