Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Daniel Hjalmtysson

Daniel Hjalmtysson - Sleep Paralysis

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Interview with Daniel Hjalmtysson

What inspired the story behind “Sleep Paralysis”?

When I was young I had a very weird relationship with sleep. I remember having a lot of bad dreams, a fear of the dark, letting my imagination get the best of me as the dark played tricks on my mind. In Iceland we have a lot of darkness in winter so it can mess with your mind sometimes. The song is really about the state of hypnagogia and how dreams, in this case nightmares, can crawl into your bedroom distorting your perception of reality.

How does the song explore your childhood fears of the dark?

You can say the organs and the intro set it all up, turning off the light and being alone in the dark, in the silence. Terrified of falling asleep but then also scared of opening your eyes and looking around the dark as the shadows dance around the walls and, in many cases, a lot of disturbances growing up got mixed in. Trying to tell someone about how you felt in those situations was scary as you didn´t feel like anyone would understand and people would just get scared and creeped out. Turns out that wasn´t the case as my bandmate felt the same things growing up. I feel this connection to my surroundings when the lights go off. I feel like anything can be carved out of there, your mind just goes off in a sense and the trees start to whisper.

What was it like translating hypnagogia into music?

Not sure how it translated to those who´ve been affected by that state of mind but we feel it portrays in many ways the way we´ve felt. It´s like a darkness that follows you around, an old acquaintance that´s lurking. I could write a whole book about how it affected me as a child but I think the music and the song speaks for itself.

Which element of the track are you most proud of?

I really dig the way my band got this sinister groove together. The song kicked off as a verse during rehearsals and I feel the chorus is very powerful and pure.

How does “Sleep Paralysis” connect to the rest of A Piece of Broken Glass?

It´s the final song of the A side of the upcoming LP and kind of closes that chapter of the record. It´s a piece of broken glass like the rest of them. When writing this record I imagined breaking a big piece of glass and looking at the scattered shards, as the reflected the same environment in a completely different way. Even you. So the songs are the reflections in the pieces. This being a reflection of ourselves in a very vulnerable state of being a child, going to sleep, a theme that pops up now and again in the band, for a reason.

What emotions do you want listeners to feel while hearing this song?

If the song moves the audience in any way that’s good but honestly, we don´t really think about that when writing or releasing music. But we truly love it when our music finds its audience and is embraced by people around the world that might connect with what we have to say.

How has your sound evolved since Labyrinthia?

I think it´s grown and has gotten a bit more aggressive and broad. It feels like it´s gained a bit of confidence and we feel very good about it. A lot of Labyrinthia is about me getting sober and figuring things out where A Piece of Broken Glass is more about breaking yourself and the world around you into pieces, trying to figure things out. Mixing the relationship you have with yourself with what you feel about the outside world and the state of things.

What was it like collaborating with Hálfdán Árnason and Dagur Atlason in the studio?

As always it´s the best feeling about all of this, bringing the songs to my band. Both of them had a lot to do with this and I am always very grateful for their part in this record. What makes it such a fruitful process is the fact we can talk about what we feel, what we fear, what we long for and what we are without judgment and in a safe environment to work out our issues through creativity and playing music together.

How do you approach creating that icy neo-goth atmosphere in your music?

When this all started out, we didn´t really know how to stamp it. It was a bit of everything we loved about music in a pot. Our dear, late great Mark Lanegan, had a listen to some of our earliest stuff and as a mentor gave us some words of wisdom, carving out the “icy neo-goth” genre, which I feel was something that clicked. We don´t go into the studio or rehearsal aiming at doing that, it just pours out somehow but of course it´s influenced by a vast variety of bands and artists but first and foremost by what we feel and can interpret.

What can fans expect from your upcoming live shows in 2025 and 2026?

Its been a while since we got out there. Our last show in EU was at A38 in Budapest about a year ago so we look forward to bringing the new songs out. We have always admired our audience´s engagement of just being there with us and letting their emotions just ride the sonics. Whether it’s a slow song or a very heavy one, we want to play every show like its our last, pouring our hearts out as well as our music. We are planning shows for 2026 these days and encourage people to follow us up and join the club.