Benni Hemm Hemm

by Marisa Brown
Benni Hemm Hemm, the Icelandic indie pop band fronted by Benedikt H. Hermannsson, first began to take root when Hermannsson, after a limited release of his solo SummerPlate EP in 2003, moved to Italy for a few months and began to write a new batch of songs. With a full band, including trumpet, bass, and flügelhorn, Benni Hemm Hemm issued their self-titled full-length debut on Iceland's Smákökurnar Records in September 2005, with reissues in Japan, Europe, and North America coming the following year with the help of P-Vine and Morr Music, respectively. In November of 2006 the group's second album, Kajak, recorded in just a few days at Sigur Rós's studio, came out in Iceland, and by May 2007 it had hit U.S. shores.