Pascal Pinon
Pascal Pinon is an Icelandic musical group comprised of twin sisters Sthildur and Jófrur Kadóttir. The kadóttir sisters (along with Halla Kristjánsdóttir and Kristn Ylfa Hólmgrmsdóttir) formed the group in 2009 when they were 14 years old. The name is a tribute to the early twentieth-century circus performer Pasqual Pión. Songs by Pascal Pinon are performed in both Icelandic and English. Tegan and Sara, Björk, Joni Mitchell, and Sinead O'Connor have all been mentioned as influences by the sisters. The main songwriter and singer is Jófrur kadóttir. She usually plays guitar, but she also plays clarinet and keyboards on occasion. Sthildur Kadóttir sings harmony and also plays keyboards, guitar, and bassoon. The group has performed in Europe and the UK multiple times (2010-2014, 2016, 2017), as well as giving concerts in China (2011, 2015) and Japan (2012). In 2017 Albert Finnbogason produced an album of Pascal Pinon songs with string arrangements by Ian McLellan Davis and vocals by Jófríður and Ásthildur.
Pascal Pinon, their self-produced debut album, was released in 2009. The Morr Music label reissued it in 2010. Pascal Pinon released their second album, Twosomeness, in January 2013. (produced by Alex Somers). Clash gave the album an 8/10 rating, and Allmusic writer Tim Sendra gave it four stars out of five. Sundur, their debut album, was released in November 2015. Reviewers praised the album after it was released in 2016. Sundur was named one of The Line's Fifty Essential Albums of 2016. It was named one of the top ten albums of 2016 by Play Repeat. Sundur was ranked 16th by New Noise Magazine in 2016. In 2020, their song When I Can't Sleep was used in the trailer for the Apple TV+ production of Here We Are: Notes For Living on Planet Earth.
Origin: Iceland
Genres: Folk-pop, folktronica, indie pop
Year of the start of operation: 2009
