Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.07.2008, Blaðsíða 6

6 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 09—2008
INTERVIEW By Haukur S. MagnúSSon — pHoto By ÓlaFur JÓnaSSonOPINION
Galtarviti: it's pretty remote.
Galtarviti is the name of an aban-
doned lighthouse on the outskirts
of the West Fjords. It’s just as
remote as it sounds: it can only be
reached via a four-hour hike, or
by boat, when the tide is right. It
has no Internet, no cell phone con-
nectivity and getting a decent latté
there is damn near impossible.
And we are all invited!
“Galtarviti is a really creative place. I don’t care if
calling a place creative sounds all new-agey and
weird, it’s true. Maybe it’s being surrounded by the
oldest mountains in Iceland, maybe it’s the isola-
tion. The place definitely has something to it.”
Gunnar Tynes of the band múm (Iceland’s third
most beloved musical export) is explaining why he
likes to make music at the aforementioned aban-
doned, isolated lighthouse. Galtarviti has played
somewhat of a role in his band’s history, and they
have recorded some of their best work while in ex-
ile at the lighthouse. While it may seem odd that
an artist would feel defensive of his opinion that
a peaceful spot in the countryside is conducive to
creativity, it is important to remember that mem-
bers of múm probably get asked about magical
elves and nature more than most. And that he had
what some believe to be a near-elf experience at
Galtarviti at one point.
As you read this, Tynes will be a more than
week into a month-long stay at Galtarviti. And if
you are musically inclined, not averse to hiking or
boat rides and have some vacation time on your
hands, you should go and join him there and help
construct an album that’s meant to raise funds for
necessary repairs and improvements on the Galtar-
viti facilities.
Along with one of Galtarviti’s landlords, Ólafur
Jónasson, Tynes will stay there until July 25, record-
ing the aural outpourings of whoever happens to
pass through (and a lot of established musicians
and artists have already committed to a visit). He
will then assemble the recordings into a coherent
whole, to be released in benefit of Galtarviti early
next year. The Grapevine met up with Tynes and
Jónasson on the eve of their departure to Galtarviti
and got them to tell what they plan on doing this
summer at Galtarviti, and why.
Creating a haven for artists
“It’s really basic,” says Jónasson. “We’ve been plan-
ning to make a benefit album for Galtarviti for a
long time, just assembling songs from some of our
friends and well-wishers onto an album and selling
it for a profit. When Gunni got the idea of making
it into a collaborative effort, where we would in-
vite good people to contribute and help us brew
up something special in a session, we jumped at
it. Hopefully we can release it as early as next Eas-
ter, maybe at the Aldrei fór ég suður festival. That
would be ideal.”
When asked what the proceeds of the album
will be spent on, Jónasson explains all the work
that needs to be done to get it into shape. “We’ve
been working on repairing the place for a long
time. We’re always doing some sort of short-term
repairs, and we feel it’s necessary to bring it into
proper shape once and for all. There’s a lot that
goes on there during the winter, the weather gets
crazy. The roof has blown off once and several win-
dows have broken from storm-action, in the short
time that we’ve had it. So the idea is to get Galtarviti
into the best possible shape so it can serve as a ha-
ven for artists, musicians and writers who want to
escape the city to work on their art. And a lot of art
has been made there; the former lighthouse-keeper
wrote at least nine novels in his occupancy. It’s a
sin that more people don’t get to experience a stay
there, and we aim to mend that.”
Given the severe isolation Galtarviti offers, the
place is still remarkably accessible, and therein lies
part of its charm. You can either get there by boat
from Suðureyri (a 20 minute drive from Ísafjörður,
which is a 45 minute flight from Reykjavík) or via a
2-4 hour hike from Skálavík (a 40 minute drive from
Ísafjörður). “It’s really like being on [isolated tourist
haven] Hornstrandir, except you’re closer to civili-
sation. We recently found that the GSM network
had reached Skálavík, the next fjord over, but we
are fortunately still out of its reach,” says Jónasson.
Turning übermensch
Accessible as it may be, getting there is still no pic-
nic as Tynes relates: “We once had to leave a har-
monium organ up on the middle of the mountain
on the way there during mid-winter, we couldn’t
make it the whole way on account of the snow.
Fortunately it was well packed, so we managed to
bring it to safety in the spring. That hill, it’s called
Piano Hill now. Bringing instruments there is defi-
nitely easier said than done. We’ve sometimes gone
there before embarking upon a world tour. After
ferrying all of our instruments and stuff to Galtarviti
you turn into a kind of übermensch, suddenly load-
ing amps and drum kits between venues isn’t such
a big deal. You get loaded with energy.”
*Why do you think that is?
“You’re just alone in the universe over there. Each
day seems to stretch out into infinity and you man-
age to fit everything into it,” says Tynes. “The whole
concept of day is kind of outdated in Galtarviti
during the month of July. You can only tell passing
time by the tides, if at all. And that makes a huge
difference, but there’s also a sort of energy that’s
hard to put into words. Let’s just say that getting
people to come for the first time can be hard, but
getting them back is no problem. Maybe it’s the
fact that your left hemisphere is busy with meet-
ings and macchiatos and planning tomorrow while
your right hemisphere only wants to exist and cre-
ate and enjoy life. And when you visit a place like
Galtarviti, the left one is forced to relax. You can’t
plan anything, and you can’t worry about anything.
And that’s a great feeling.”
Jónasson finally tells us that many consider the Gal-
tarviti area to be the richest habitation of elves in
Iceland. “I can’t offer any proof, but it is a different
place. Óskar Aðalstein [Guðjónsson, writer/light-
house keeper who stayed with his family there for
24 years, from 1953-1977] said that one of the hills
contained a symphony orchestra of them. But I’m
yet to hear it.” And Tynes concurs: “I haven’t really
given much thought to elves. But the only time in
my life that I’ve had “strange things” happen to me
was when múm was here for the first time, in 2001.”
He then relates a lengthy story involving the plau-
sible possibility of elfin intervention that he will
surely recount once you visit him at Galtarviti.
Those interested in visiting Galtarviti to help create
what’s bound to be an interesting work of music can
make arrangements to do so via galtarviti@gmail.
com. They check their e-mail every couple of days.
For a newcomer, Reykjavik’s small size and even
smaller downtown makes feeling like a local all
the much easier. Once you start knowing a few
people, you will see them walking down Laugav-
egur, sitting next to you at a restaurant or working
at your favourite store. It really has that small town
charm where you feel like saying, “Howdy neigh-
bour!” Except that you will be laughed at.
I remember when I first moved here, the first
thing that made me feel like Reykjavik was my
home was the constant bumping into the people I
knew. I was telling a friend of mine how seeing so
many recognisable faces constantly made me feel
warm and fuzzy. “Really. Well it’ll get old sooner
than you think,” was his reply. He told me he was
late for meeting me because while he was walking
he kept on seeing people he knew. I said, “Well
that’s because you like to be a skateboard-wield-
ing social butterfly. Or it’s a pretty creative excuse
for making me stare at the street lamp for thirty
minutes.”
That night I went out to Kaffibarinn and
bumped into a girl I had met that week. Again I
said, “I love these spontaneous gatherings!” This
chin-pierced sprite replied, “It isn’t so fun for us.”
She began pointed out different people in the bar
she knew and how if someone isn’t a close friend
you don’t really say hi unless you literally have
them face-to-face. And sometimes you don’t know
when to say hi or not and you just look at each
other and if your gazes meet, you smile.
Now that I have been here longer, I am not ir-
ritated yet but I sure as hell know what my friends
meant. Running late to the bank, I inevitably walk
into a friend. Someone does you wrong and sud-
denly they are everywhere. I had a photographer
take some pictures of a model for a store. She
never gave them to me and ignored my e-mails
but had the beautiful pictures plastered all over
her Myspace. Of course I would run into her again
and again and every time she gives me the look of
a deer in headlights. The worst part is the X factor.
You break up with somebody and you can’t avoid
seeing them. I’ve had friends recount stories of
pining indoors for months for fear of bumping into
their ex and his/her new lover. One friend even
left the country. He needed to get fresh air some-
how.
Even though it can get irritating, it’s better
than living in a big city where you schedule in
your friends because you never get to see them.
So, howdy neighbour!

Everyone’s Invited!
Gunnar Tynes and company want YOU to take a hike and strum a chord or two
We once Had to leave a HarMo-
niuM organ up on tHe Middle oF
tHe Mountain on tHe Way tHere
during Mid-Winter, We couldn’t
Make it tHe WHole Way on ac-
count oF tHe SnoW.
There’s a Whole
Lot of Bumping
Going On
By alexandra Hertell