The 22-year-old Jófríður Ákadóttir’s association with Iceland is betrayed by the number of characteristic accents that have sadly been scrapped in order to maximize the utility value of her artist name JFDR. Among Ákadóttir’s musical inspirations is of course the Icelandic half-goddess Bj …, no, ah wait—how was it, again? Björk is inspired by …? Aaah, okaaaaay. That’s how the Guardian saw it, so we’ll buy it, of course. But Björk isn’t the only one who’s come across the music of JFDR. Worth mentioning is the wonderful back story of a collab with sister Ásthildur in the duo Pascal Pinon (released by the Berlin label Morr Music’s undisputed Iceland experts) and her other projects, Samaris and Gangly. And yeah, we’d be cooking up quite a tale if we were to claim that JFDR’s music doesn’t sound “Icelandic.” Intricate rhythms gently break the underbrush; amiable chords lay like morning dew on the deep green moss; Ákadóttir’s voice flitters like a brightly hued bird across the cool, lush biotope. You could hear it like that, i.e. as you’d look at a treeless landscape, but you need not; even those without special affinities for Nordic melancholy will be pleased. In fact, this debut album itself looks to warmer, faraway lands—it’s called Brazil.

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