Die Post Rock-Band SOLSTAFIR und Schlagzeuger Guðmundur Gummi Óli Palmasson gehen fortan getrennte Wege. Das Gründungsmitglied der seit 1995 bestehenden Band aus Island verlässt die Band aus persönlichen Gründen. SOLSTAFIR wird bis auf weiteres als Trio weitermachen und live auf einen Session-Drummer zurückgreifen.
Statemment der Band:
It is with great pain but quiet respect, that we are making this official statement to inform you that for personal reasons beyond reconciliation, SOLSTAFIR and Guðmundur Gummi Óli Palmasson have parted ways indefinitely.
There are always two sides to every story. No one knows the whole story other than those directly involved. As is the case in any relationship, all parties play their roles in creating and ending it. Both parties have their versions, and often at times, the point gets lost along the way, buried in emotions.
The bottom line is, Guðmundur is no longer in the band, because of a deep personal conflict that involves all three remaining members and cannot be solved. He is well aware of this.
The decision to part ways was absolutely not something that happened overnight, and we are genuinely pained by the way things have turned out. If the three of us had felt there was any way of mending the damage and moving forward with Guðmundur, then of course we would have – and we did make genuine efforts to do so. That is the reason for our silence. Waiting so long to make a statement was wrong on our part, and for that, we apologize. There are so many personal levels to this split. It has been very difficult to find the words while still respecting our individual privacy, Guðmundur´s included.
Despite what we have read that appears to have been written in anger, bitterness, and seemingly spite, we continue to hold no ill will toward Guðmundur and sincerely want to thank him for all of his hard work and being such a huge part of the band for all these years. We acknowledge this fact every day and of course, he will receive his fair share. There was never any intention not to do this. We will never forget his role in SOLSTAFIR, which is why we remain silent about the reasons now and in the future. We can only hope you respect and understand this.
SOLSTAFIR will continue as a three piece with a session percussionist, just as we have since January of this year. We hope to see you all on the road and can only ask for your continued support.
With much love and respect,
SOLSTAFIR