Sjonni's Friends
When Sigurjon ‘Sjonni’ Brink sadly and unexpectedly passed away on January 17th this year, his wife and friends had to get together urgently to decide on their next move. They came to the joint conclusion that Sjonni would have wanted his song to remain in the competition, so they agreed they would carry on and perform Coming Home in his memorySix of Sjonni’s closest musical friends collaborated and made this happen without giving any real thought to the idea that they might actually also win the ticket to Düsseldorf. Guitarist Vignir Snaer Vigfusson produced the song along with Sjonni; drummer Benedikt Brynleifsson and piano player Palmi Sigurhjartarson also played their part in the end result as they were Sjonni‘s co- members in the recently formed band Rokk. The other three friends who took on this project also have a long history together: Guitarist Gunnar Olason had played gigs on and off with Sjonni for many years; bassplayer Hreimur Örn Heimisson was a long-term friend, and singer Matthias Matthiasson has worked with Sjonni both on and off stage.
Gunnar, Vignir and Benedikt have all participated in Eurovision before; Gunnar as part of TwoTricky in Copenhagen 2001; Vignir played guitar with Birgitta in Latvia in 2003 and co-wrote Selma‘s entry in 2005; Benedikt was in Eirikur Hauksson‘s band in Helsinki 2007. Furthermore, Vignir, Benedikt, Gunnar and Hreimur performed with Sjonni when he presented his song Waterslide in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, the Icelandic Eurovision preselection contest, in 2010. All of them have considerable experience in singing and making music - this is their own special way of honouring their friend’s memory.
This is a group of six individuals who have one thing in common. Palmi is the old and wise one, Hreimur is the innocent and sincere one, Matthias provides the comic relief, Benedikt is the good-looking, cheerful one, Vignir is the silent, mysterious type and Gunnar is the bad boy. Together they are Sjonni‘s Friends.
