Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.03.2008, Page 15

Ask the Slave is a band that has been around for a while, but recent
line-up changes seem to have brought the band back from a long
hiatus. This album consists of material that was mostly recorded
in 2005, and to some extent the age is already showing. The base-
line for Ask the Slave’s music seems to be the ‘80s grunge sound,
although peppered with influences from prog- and industrial rock.
At times, they evoke memories of Primus and even Living Colour,
without matching either bands artistry though. The problem that
faces Ask the Slave is the considerable discrepency between the
wealth of ambitious ideas that they bring to the table and their abil-
ity to execute them. If this band aquires the discipline to step on the
brakes and grasp the ‘less is more’ philosophy, their next release
could be very interesting. SBB
Despite recent break-ups of longtime veterans of the Icelandic un-
derground scene like Changer and I Adapt, there is no need to press
the panic button. Judging from the debut album of the young atmo-
spheric post-metallers Celestine, the Icelandic metal scene is ripe.
From the opening song, Despair And, Celestine evokes a chilling
grind built on heavy guitar sound, guttural vocals from one of the
most promising throats in the business, and a gradual devolution of
structure that parlays the required despair. Six songs in all (titled
Despair And, Witness The, Ruin Of, God And, Me; one is untitled),
this recording shows that Celestine has the potential to grab the
reins of the underground and make this scene their own. Recent
line-up changes promise to bring a further infusion of heavyness
that will make this band a force in live settings. SBB
Independent of its theatrical context, the soundtrack to Ökutímar
maintains ephemeral relevance. Lay Low’s five original acoustic
compositions, written in collaboration with the Akureyri Theatre
Company, appropriately fall into the background of a distant sto-
ryline, simple and un-intoxicating. Forboðin Ást, by far the record’s
most compelling track, propels the over-all acoustic quality into a
newfangled charm; Lay Low’s tender conviction is frank yet unosten-
tatious, and the track gracefully complements the play. The following
eight Dolly Parton covers are fun, straightforward and clean without
being banal. Lovísa’s vocal interpretation is not overly earnest, some-
what reconciling the fact that she lacks the dramatic twang distinct of
country music, but remains quite passive, bordering on trivial when
paired with equally demure instrumental accompaniment. For the-
atrical background music however, perhaps passive is appropriate.
The album can, at least, be appreciated as such, and will certainly be
enhanced by nostalgic reference to the play itself. VÞ
The debut full-length release of five-piece Rökkurró, comprised of
a group of friends currently enrolled in the Reykjavík secondary
schools MR and Kvennó, is a pleasant youthful exercise in krútt
classically-inspired pop. The sweet and ever-clear voice of Hildur
Kristín Stefánsdóttir rises and falls in soft melodious waves above
steadfast, lightly dramatic instrumentals in ruminations that, how-
ever, often have trouble sticking. The songs are as gentle as the front
cover illustration and title (“It’s getting cold tonight”) would sug-
gest, and sway playfully and harmoniously without clear bearings.
The album is, despite, demonstrates excellent musicianship and
does well to secure itself as a creditable first release. VÞ
Ökutímar
Lay Low
Það kólnar í kvöld…
Rökkurró
Kiss Your Chora
Ask the Slave
At the Borders of Arcadia
Celestine
CONCERT CD CD
CD CD
Did she just say what I thought she said?
That was the question on the lips of my fellow revellers as we
filed out of a Shanghai auditorium after Björk’s March 2nd concert.
During her finale, the stomping mad anthem “Declare Indepen-
dence,” the singer had pounded her bare feet, raised her hands, and
directly addressed her Chinese fans through anger-swelling lyrics
such as, “don’t let them do that to you,” “protect your language” and
“raise your flag.” When the backing lulled, Björk whispered against
the microphone, “Tibet, Tibet.”
Such a direct call for Tibetan freedom is a shocking gesture by
a visiting artist. Though many activists have argued that the region’s
spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is its rightful ruler, China has ruled
its westernmost region since 1951 and any discussion against this is
taboo. Indeed, although Chinese-language message boards lit up,
state-run media did not report on the incident.
Björk has come under fire for this specific song before. The
music video for “Declare Independence” may show Björk in a jump-
suit bearing the flags of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but in
Japan last month, she dedicated the tune to Kosovo’s struggle – a
gesture that angered the organisers of a Serbian music festival at
which she had been slated to perform.
In Shanghai, the controversial protest was a surprising finale
for a strong set that otherwise contained few surprises. The act
opened with the slowly-building “Earth Intruders” and moved for-
ward with a laser-show that clicked on during a heartfelt “State of
Emergency,” which played while Chinese security guards wearing
white gloves paced the aisles. Hits such as “Army of Me,” “Bachelor-
ette” and “Desired Constellation,” backed by the all-female Icelan-
dic brass band, Wonderbrass, satisfied Björk fans who had, on the
most part, never seen the singer before. Björk has only travelled to
China once before, playing in Beijing in the 90s.
Björk’s fan base in China is huge. Nicknamed “The China Girl”
in her youth, Björk is known to her Chinese fans as “Bi-Ya-Ke,” the
name they screamed at the 4,000-capacity Shanghai International
Gymnastics Centre which looked about 80% full, with seats going
for as much as US$210. The Chinese singer, Faye Wong, claims her
own success was based on a youthful desire to imitate Björk, and
some Chinese fans at the show even sported Björk’s trademark trib-
al face-paint. When, to acknowledge applause, Björk sweetly whis-
pered “xie xie” (Chinese for “thank you”), fans only applauded even
more.
In response to the media hailstorm surrounding her “Tibet
Tibet” call, Björk released a quiet statement: “I am first and last a
musician,” she wrote. “And as such I feel my duty to try to express
the whole range of human emotions. The urge for declaring inde-
pendence is just one of them but an important one we all feel at
some times in our lives.”
During the finale, the local fans around me belted out every
lyric: “Damn colonists/ Ignore their patronising/ Tear off their blind-
folds/ Open their eyes.” In Shanghai, the “Paris of the East” long
ago colonised by the West, the Icelandic singer’s lyrics could very
well refer to Tibet, as she pointedly argued, but they also said a lot
more.
By Adriane Quinlan
Björk
Reviews | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 03 2008 | 15
When: March 2, 2008Where: Shanghai
This exciting new multimedia exhibition tells the story from an island’s dramatic
birth from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean through its forty year history to the
current day – and beyond, glimpsing the future 120 years hence.

The exhibition explains the Government’s decision to submit an application
to UNESCO to designate Surtsey a World Heritage Site.
The Culture House - Þjóðmenningarhúsið
National Centre for Cultural Heritage
Hverfi sgata 15, 101 Reykjavik
Telephone 545 1400 www.thjodmenning.is
Open daily between 11am and 5pm
The admission fee grants entry to all exhibitions at the Culture House. Adults ISK 300. Senior citizens ISK 200.
Students ISK 200. Free entry for children 16 years of age or younger. Admission is free on Wednesdays.
SURTSEY – GENESIS. EXHIBITION AT THE CULTURE HOUSE