Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2007, Page 19

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I’m quietly kicking myself for not having paid
attention to Celestine earlier. What tightness
they might lack in the live setting, they more
than make up for with their ear shattering
intensity. For pure unadulterated heaviness,
theirs is definitely the level for which to aspire
to. The drummer is a man with the mission of
breaking cymbals and bursting drum heads,
while the singer seems to be going through
some sort of primeval catharsis. Meanwhile,
the guitarists belt out riffs so thick and harsh
they defy adjectives. Equipment failure
plagued the band throughout the set but
was quickly mended. The end result resembled
what you’d get by filtering slower Converge
tracks through a sieve of early Isis.
Once Celestine were led away for angst
therapy, Hardcore mainstays I Adapt took
the floor. With Metal usurping the Icelandic
Hardcore scene, this quartet might be your
last resort to getting a pit started in Reykjavík
city, that is if you have any time to spare
from observing singer Birkir’s own private
and personal pit performance. The guy goes
at it like a prize fighter slugging it out with an
imaginary foe, as he gurgles water between
rounds and spits it out on the soon to be
drenched hardwood floor.
With their possessed front man leading
the charge, the band does what Hardcore
bands are supposed to do – express furious
anger through loud outbursts of aggressive
aural punishment, while possibly cramming
in some social commentary between songs
– and they do it well.
After the night’s only pit broke out dur-
ing the last I Adapt number – with which
the whole crowd sang along – the evening’s
headliners took a long time setting up, giving
the audience ample time to up its collective
blood alcohol level. Iron Lung, despite being
a mere duo, are the loudest thing I’ve wit-
nessed since Artimus Pyle graced Grand Rock
some years back – an achievement thundering
through four digit amp wattage.
Their press release referenced power vio-
lence, grindcore and fastcore among other
things, but what my long suffering ear drums
detected was mainly short bursts of Crust.
Touring with a set list featuring 14 songs that
strive for the one minute mark, you’d best
cultivate a good sense of humour and really
milk the stage patter, which their drummer/
singer does while throwing out jokes about
his own weight problem and commenting on
their Golden Circle daytrip.
The performance was a thing of beauty,
although more of a shock and awe kinda
thing than a deft recitation of quality musi-
cal pieces. In the end Iron Lung felt like a
humorous/furious gimmick and not so much
a band bent on serious emotional expression
through a shared love of musical form.
Weight Issues and Gimmicks
Text and photo by Bogi Bjarnason
Who: Iron Lung, I Adapt, Celestine
Where: Barinn
When: May 9, 2007
When I hear the term “World music” I au-
tomatically think of Nick Hornby’s negative
connotation. He used the word describing how
lame his next door neighbour was: “Ray was
into whatever world music that was trendy at
that time.” But when I think of my experience
with world music it has been one of enlighten-
ment and joy. Great artists such as Femi Kuti
and African Black Mamboso come to mind.
What Hornby was implying with his remark
is that even though something is foreign and
exotic it doesn’t mean it is any good. I was hop-
ing for a musical spiritual experience among
all the Rays in attendance that night, sipping
their red wine and trying without success to
forget they were middle-aged.
Konono N°1 is an unusual African band
that has gotten critical acclaim in recent years.
Best known for their usage of the unusual
instrument likembé, also known as a thumb
piano, the founder of the group Mawangu
Mingiedi discovered a novel way to mic up his
likembé using magnets from old car parts. Join-
ing Mingiedi were two other likembé players, a
singer, and three drummers who use Kongos,
drums and pots and pans.
Walking into the hall of the art museum I
could feel the history of the Kinsasah people
gushing from the sound of their traditional
African music mixed with the sound of likembé,
which reminded me of the sound from Nin-
tendo computer games. The female singer
was grinding her mic stand like their was no
tomorrow and I felt it was a shame that concert
promoters hadn’t supplied a straight mic stand
which would have gone much better with her
dancing. The male singer played bass likembé,
while dancing and singing at the same time,
and you could watch each one of the drum-
mers in awe.
People loved the music, which was some-
thing you can’t really imagine until you hear
it. It was hypnotizing, real and inspiring. It
was a contagious happiness that even the
rhythmless crowd could feel. People tried to
keep their cool and resisted the urge to dance.
It was repetitive music the way it should sound
– powerful and pure. In the end, this gathering
of uptight middle-aged people lost control.
Everybody was dancing like a four year-old
school girl on PCP.
After the band left the stage people were
exhausted from their ass shaking ceremony,
but managed to put together their hands and
get an encore. The band reformed one by
one, building up tension as each instrument
laid like a brick in the heavenly wall of sound.
Mingiedi, the Jimi Hendrix of the likembé, had
been standing still all evening only moving his
thumbs. Now he walked on stage dancing,
shaking his hips like a twenty year old porn
star in a music video. “What a cool dude!” I
could hear many people utter.
I had asked for a musical spiritual experience
but I got so much more. In the end, Konono
N°1 had every rhythmless freak dancing. Hurray
for the arts festival for making squares dance.
Nubean Nintendo
Text by Helgi Valur Photo by Skari
Who: Konono N°1
Where: The Reykjavík Art Museum
When: May 11, 2007
Energy for life through forces of nature
www.bluelagoon.com
Pay Attention!
If you never leave Laugavegur to do your
downtown shopping, you might easily miss it
– Hljóðheimurinn Sangitamiya or, as it’s collo-
quially known, “that music store with the sitar
in the window.” And when you first walk in,
instruments such as gongs, kotos, didgeridoos
and sitars are the first things you notice. The
store’s most popular item is the xylophone,
but this store also features smaller and equally
overlooked instruments such as jaw harps,
kazoos, tin whistles and bamboo flutes. You
get the impression that in the very near future
we’ll be seeing some of these instruments
gracing the stages of Reykjavík’s clubs.
The store is a long time favourite among
Reykjavík kindergarten teachers and people
looking for different kind of birthday presents,
but it is also frequented by members of the
symphony orchestra, while Björk has been
known to shop there as well.
Sangitamiya is not an exclusively high-end
store. There are the aforementioned kazoos,
jaw harps, xylophones and bamboo flutes, and
even some instruments for children. Particularly
addictive are the ‘swing straws’ – flexible plastic
tubes that produce different tones when swung
through the air at different speeds – and the
‘boom wackers’, which are plastic tubes that
produce different tones when struck on the
ground.
So, if you are searching for that special
sound for your band, Sangitamiya is the place
to look.

Hljóðheimurinn Sangitamiya
Sangitamiya, Corner of Klapparstígur and Grettisgata, 101 Reykjavík
Essential oils can be added to the water of these steam
vaporisers, which are both practical and decorative. The
aromatic smell, the steam and the sound of running wa-
ter produce a calming effect. Green Apple also stocks
fruit-shaped vaporisers for children with asthma.
Green Apple, Laugavegur 20, 101 Reykjavík
Sangitamiya, which means “nectar music” in Sanskrit,
stocks a wide range of musical instruments, including these
colourful African nut shakers. Traditionally worn on the
ankles by women who are performing dance, they make
for a fun gift.
Sangitamiya , Corner of Klapparstigur and Grettis-
gata, 101 Reykjavík
7,900 – 10,500 ISK
2,100 ISK
Who would want to play with some fictional Super-
hero character when you can buy an Albert Einstein
action figure that will easily kick Spiderman’s ass in
any one-on-one battle just by using his brains? This
wacky gift for kids and adults alike is sold at the con-
cept shop Kisan.
Kisan, Laugavegur 7, 101 Reykjavík
1,250 ISK
Musical instrument store Sangitamiya sells instruments
from across the globe including Africa, India, China and
Australia. There are plenty of small instruments such as
these ocarinas and wooden fish which make perfect
gifts for children.
Sangitamiya , Corner of Klapparstigur and Grettis-
gata, 101 Reykjavík
1,700 ISK
Funky t-shirt store Ósóma has added these colourful
ties to their range. Described by the designer as being
“for people who don’t like wearing ties,” they come
in various colours and patterns – including the store’s
logo: the Ósóma sheep.
Ósóma, Laugavegur 27, 101 Reykjavík
2,300 ISK
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