Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.01.2008, Page 16

16 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 01 2008 | Interview
Congratulations on topping our list for album
of the year.
Thank you. I was convinced, of course, like the
other two times I’ve put out a record, that this was
the best record in the world.
Naturally. Did you work on this album for
long?
Yes, we did have some time to digest this one. It
took us a long time to write the material and to
play it until we got rid of the rough edges, but we
recorded it in two sessions. First we recorded the
foundation during one weekend in a summer
house out in the country. A few months later we
recorded the overdub and vocals. Since this was
all done on the side, it took a few months to put
it all together. A weekend here and a weekend
there. I moved to the Faroe Islands to work just
before the album was released, so when it finally
came out, they recruited Reykjavík and Jan Mayen
to cover the songs for the release concert.
So you were living in the Faroe Islands? That
must have made it hard to play shows to pro-
mote the album?
Yes, I came home two months after the album
came out and then we really started to promote
the album with a new guitarist, Kolbeinn, who
joined the band then to replace Ólafur Steinsson
who moved to California before the album came
out. He just recorded the stuff and moved. His wife
made the artwork for the album, so it took some
time to get that done as well. We had grand plans
for a tour of the U.S. to go and visit Ólafur, but we
encountered so many delays that it didn’t pan out,
so that gave us more time to digest it. But, I think
also, the delays meant that once it came out, ev-
eryone was fully loaded and rearing to go.
How has the album been received?
Ridiculously well; at least I think so. Maybe be-
cause we play a lot of shows and give it our all
when we play, we have managed to build up some
momentum around us and this material. It would
be very easy to dismiss this album, so I’ve been
very surprised at how many people from different
directions seem to have caught on to it.
It is a little quirky and it did take me a while
to get into it, but it grows on you. Was this
something you set out to do?
This was just the material we had at hand, we
couldn’t really manipulate it much, so it wasn’t
very planned. It is just when people like us come
together to make music over a long period of time,
writing songs that may take a year to complete
and trying different parts together, it may sound
a bit odd at first, and it feels a bit odd when you
are writing it, but I think that is what we thrive on
as a band. To make music that you haven’t heard
anywhere else. Something that turns you on and
makes you say ‘damn, that’s strange,’ then that
is something we try to expand on. A lot of these
songs sound like ordinary pop songs to us, but
we stay with it because it may contain a harder
chapter later.
So you set out to do something a little off-
centre?
Yes, well, we allow what might surprise you. I don’t
know when it started, but we have all been in dif-
ferent bands before that played a little experimen-
tal music, but in this band, on this record, it just all
came together in a way that doesn’t sound too arty
or too pretentious, or just plainly too boring. This
is not an album that is written for the 1% that likes
to experiment. There is a lot of pop influence on
this record as well. But the main idea is to allow
the surprises to go in. But really, we owe it to our
friends Bjarni and Ingi who recorded and mixed
the album. This comes through on the record
because if you are dealing with ‘difficult’ or ‘off-
centre’ music and the sound is not good, then it’s
game over. But we were lucky to work with good
people.
Is there a new album on the horizon?
We have just applied for sponsorship from the
Icelandic Music Fund to record an E.P. with two
or three songs. We would prefer to record two or
three new songs rather than focus on a full-length
album just now. That might take us more time.
You released the album yourselves, didn’t
you?
We released it ourselves in cooperation with
Smekkleysa. They take care of the distribution
in Iceland. We have a little label that is called
Grandmother’s Records, which has previously
also released bands Sofandi and Graveslime, so
there is a tradition for using that name; we have
also produced shows under that name. But there
is no structure around it. There is no one working
for us promoting the album. But we are lucky that
[guitarist] Benni has been working for Smekkley-
sa so he is around the computer to maintain our
Myspace.com site. But I am really pleased with
the new label in Akureyri, Kimi Records, that is
an indie label that is still not too indie to put an
effort into what they are doing. I think it is great
that someone has the ambition to do something
like that. But this is just a very dysfunctional busi-
ness. I am just happy that I have not gone insane.
I am always convinced that we are making great
music and great records, but when you have made
a few records and nobody agrees, you start to
doubt yourself, so I am just really happy to hear
that somebody agrees with me.
Skátar hasn’t played many shows recently,
has it?
No, we played a lot just after I got home, for a few
months, and then around Airwaves, where we
were playing pretty much the same set we have
been playing for two years. Since we added Kol-
beinn on guitar, we have only been able to re-
hearse the set with him, although we have a lot
more material. We decided to take a little break
from playing live to be able to rehearse more
songs with him and write a few new songs. But
also, we just wanted to give other bands an op-
portunity to shine as well.
I wanted to ask you about the white overalls
you always play in, what is the deal with
that?
I am really the wrong person to answer that ques-
tion, because that tradition started before I joined
the band. I think the deal was that they wanted
to play in some kind of uniform, and this was the
most economical solution. Then it just sort of
stuck. The overalls are very warm, and we play a
lot better in them than without them, at least to
begin with. But we premiered new uniforms at last
year’s Airwaves: golden latex pants. We are very
pleased with them.
Text by Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
Markús
Bjarnason
“We have all been in different bands before that
played a little experimental music, but in this band,
on this record, it just all came together in a way that
doesn’t sound too arty or too pretentious, or just
plainly too boring.”
This year, Skátar and I Adapt came dead
even for the Grapevine Album of the Year
award. A Grapevine reporter sat down
with the frontman from each band to quiz
them about their award-winning records,
breaking up, and the pros and cons of
small labels.
Top of the Charts