Icelandic twin sisters Jófrídur and Ásohildur Ákadöttir keep things quiet. Even if you were to ask their classmates about the Ákadöttir sisters, for a long while you would never have known the two are one of Iceland’s brightest new music acts. Still in their teens, Jófrídur and Ásohildur have masterfully crafted a brand of lo-fi pop that certainly reflects their youth, yet carries a maturity beyond their years. Jófrídur took some time to answer our questions hot on the heals of their self-titled debut album out on Morr Music this past December.

Apes on Tape: For music fans unfamiliar with your music, how might you describe it?

Jófrídur Ákadöttir: It’s low-fi, indie, acoustic pop that is made in my bedroom. It’s so quiet because I’ve always been so afraid that somebody will hear through the walls. I think you can somehow hear that in the music.

AOT: As twins, do you see a lot of confused fans expecting Pascal Pinon to be just one person? And do you guys try to play off the twin aspect with your vocals or recording?

JA: No, not really, we never really think about it as a twin project. It just developed into that. We started out as four band members but then the other two didn’t want to be in the band anymore so me and Asthildur decided to continue just the two of us.

AOT: Who’s older? Are there any bragging rights issues there?

JA: I’m 7 minutes older and much bossier. We argue sometimes but at least we are being honest to each other.

AOT. I was reading a bit about Vogar, the town where you recorded. It sounds like a tiny town of around thousand people. Did you have any connections there or was it just an isolated place? How was that experience?

JA: Yes, our father’s cousin has a house there, it’s called Hlaðan and has been used as an artist residency and such. The town is very small and not too interesting but it’s cute and the house we stayed in is really beautiful.

AOT: You bridge the Icelandic-English gap with your music, with songs in both languages. Since Icelandic lyrics probably limit your audience, does that affect your song-writing process?

JA: No, not at all. I write songs in whatever language feels right. I also have a lot of fun translating the Icelandic lyrics because I feel like I’m revealing some mystery to the foreigners.

AOT: Are your influences mostly Icelandic, like perhaps amiina or Sigur Ros? Or have artists from all over shaped your sound?

JA: We get inspirations from where ever around really. Amiina and Sigur Rós are great artists but we were really inspired by Tegan and Sara when we were starting the band, and more recently ólöf arnalds.

AOT: When you won the Icelandic Music Awards’ Newcomer of the Year in 2009, was that a complete surprise? Is there a lot of musical competition in Iceland?

JA: We actually never won, it was a band called sudden weather change. But it was very pleasant to be nominated as we didn’t see it coming at all. I don’t know if there is much competition in the Icelandic music scene but if there is any then it’s very positive.

AOT: I’ve heard that the Icelandic music scene is fairly dominated by electronic music, perhaps because there’s so much darkness and people spend lots of time dancing in clubs. Is that true at all? What else is coming out of Iceland right now?

JA: This is a very interesting theory and there might even be some truth in it. But there is a lot of everything going on here really. Dance music, indie music, classical music, hip hop music and so on.

AOT: Looking back at your very humble beginnings, did you ever expect to be where you’re at now? And do you want to keep pushing your music careers further?

JA: When we started we had no idea what would come so this is all a lot of fun. Right now we have no idea what we are going to do but we would love to work more in music, both pop and classical music.

AOT: How do you say “really great music” in Icelandic?

JA: Virkilega frábær tónlist

Pascal Pinon: New Beginning by morrmusic