Karíus & Baktus
Karíus & Baktus (named after two evil tooth-faeries in a classic Nordic children’s tale) is a DJ/producer team formed by long time friends Raffaele Manna and Heimir Hédinsson. After spending their early years submerged in alternative and experimental rock music they discovered electro in the summer of 2005 and thus decided to deeply immerse themselves in the world of electronic dance music: the Icelandic underground favourite “Minimons” single was released in June 2006 when the duo had just started DJ’ing intensively in Reykjavík’s hottest bars and clubs (Sírkus, Kaffibarinn, Barinn, amongst others), progressively reducing their sound to minimal techno.
Ever since Karíus & Baktus have been producing singles, DJ’ing in most various venues (beach parties in Central & South America, cocktail bars in Milan, clubs from Boston to Frankfurt) and organizing underground minimal dance music events, often linked to the vibrant Icelandic art-life.
They have played at the G! Festival in the Faeroe Islands and at the infamous Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavík.
Currently their sound is mainly focused on groovy and catchy minimal techno, better labelled as microhouse, with frequent incursions in Latin-American and African rhythms; their music is also very much influenced by folk and traditional music from all over the world.
Constantly eager for fresh music that is emotionally evolving, Karíus & Baktus believe in minimal music’s power to emphasize trance instead of reasoning and to emanate spirituality instead of irreverence. Their openness for different musical cultures reflects their belief in music and rhythm as a primal and most immediate media.
