The pseudonym of Icelandic singer/songwriter Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, Júníus Meyvant incorporates strings, horns, and synthesizers into his cinematic indie folk. Led by his raspy, soulful vocals, Sigurmundsson's music often evokes the soft rock and blues-rock of the '70s. His first album, Floating Harmonies, was released to great acclaim in Iceland in 2016. Raised on isle of Heimaey, part of the Westman Islands off of the southern coast of Iceland, Sigurmundsson was enrolled in a music school briefly as a child but stopped playing any instruments after he was expelled. Years later, in his early twenties, he came across an old guitar at his parents' house and soon started using it to write songs. He tried writing for a band at first but ultimately adopted the alias Júníus Meyvant to perform the songs himself. He signed with Icelandic label Record Records for his debut single, "Color Decay," which was released in 2014 and included on a 2015 eponymous EP. Icelandic Music Awards for Best Single and Newcomer of the Year followed in 2015, a year which also saw Júníus Meyvant tour Europe and the U.S. His full-length debut, Floating Harmonies, followed in 2016 and won Pop Album of the Year at the 2017 Icelandic Music Awards. Working with engineer Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson (Erlend Øye, Ásgeir), he then returned to the studio to record his second album, Across the Borders. It was released internationally by Glassnote Records in 2019. ~ Marcy Donelson