ForceGhost is the output of one man so creative that he faced the need to release music under two different pseudonyms, thus created the cinematic, classical, and smooth ÍKORNI a decade ago, and then created the synthpop enigma that is Jerald Copp in 2022. Enter Stefán Örn Gunnlaugsson.
Based in the Icelandic Capital Reykjavik, Stefán Örn Gunnlaugsson is a musician and veteran producer with a varied, layered, and unique voice to his arrangement and compositions. Mainly driven toward the cinematic side of things, Gunnlaugsson is also inspired by modern folk greats Bon Iver and Rhye, which might show in his fragmented vocal arrangement that seems to intertwine through the rest of the instrumentation rather than standing in front of them as usual, a technique that Bon Iver is masterful at.
Mind you, ‘ForceGhost’ is not in any way similar to either Bon Iver or Rhye. Instead, ‘ForceGhost’ is a cinematic, grandiose affair of synths, classical-music chord movements, powerful electronica, and impactful production. Utilizing both his alter egos, Gunnlaugsson credits the cinematic, melancholic, and subdued parts to ÍKORNI, and the strong and heavy-hitting ones to his later alter ego Jerald Copp, maintaining a fresh contrast throughout the song that induces the arrangement with liveliness and a perpetual sense of motion.
Dazzling synths in a warm production tapestry are a mainstay of ‘ForceGhost’, whether via the input of the dancy Jerald Copp, or the darker undertones of ÍKORNI. ‘ForceGhost’ is a testament to the charming chemistry between them. It is as if they were one man.