Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.03.2009, Síða 8

8 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 3—2009
GRAPEVINE EXPOSES
SORDID ‘MUSIC TRIP’ TO
‘SCANDINAVIA’S SODOM’
GOOD MORNING, NORwAy!
A fortnight ago, the Grapevine hitched a ride with cover stars Retro Stefson, Ólafur Arnalds and Hjaltalín as they
made their way to Oslo, Norway. Their mission: to perform
at the annual by:Larm Nordic showcase festival and charm
the socks off Scandinavian booking agents, talent buyers and
journalists. Our mission: to document the acts and their trip
as best we could while spending as little money as possible in
the most expensive city on earth.
The bands accomplished their task, and then some. And
we failed miserably and raised our overdraft, along with our
glasses. (Here is a sound piece of advice: If you ever find your-
self in Norway’s capital post-your nation’s total economic col-
lapse, do not under any circumstances offer to get the next
round in. In fact, quit drinking altogether and try to bring
along bring canned goods for sustenance. Even breathing
seems expensive and wasteful in Oslo).
whAT MAkES A hIT
It’s Friday morning, 1 AM, and most of Hjaltalín are busy mix-
ing drinks in their hotel room. Earlier that night, the band per-
formed a triumphant set at a packed venue in downtown Oslo,
after a long trip over from Switzerland where they reportedly
played some equally triumphant sets at equally packed ven-
ues. And spent a day skiing in the Alps. So it’s only natural
that they need to wind down with a drink or five – they are
hard working bunch of musicians and deserve their leisurely
moments.
It’s still kind of problematic, as in less than five hours they
are expected to make their way to TV2’s recording studios to
perform a song at the stations morning program, God Morgen
Norge (“Good morning Norway”). They are a merry bunch
and seem to get along quite nicely; in between generous sips
of vodka they record parodies of old Icelandic classics on
their laptops and trade various stories of mischief. During a
lull in the conversation, I ask bassist Guðmundur Óskar what
he thinks makes a hit song.
“I believe the content of the lyrics is incredibly important,”
he tells me. “For a particular song to gain an audience, it needs
to speak to people on some level, I think. It doesn’t necessarily
need to have a deep message or anything, but people have to
be able to connect with a song if they are to invest in it. And of
course it has to have a nice melody as well. That goes without
saying.”
No strangers to hit songs, Hjaltalín’s début, Sleepdrunk
Seasons, received heavy rotation on Iceland’s radio sta-
tions upon its 2007 release. Their heartfelt cover of Páll
Óskar song ‘Þú komst við hjartað í mér’, released last June,
subsequently cemented the band’s status as Iceland’s hot
young things. Simply put, it was THE popular song of 2008,
and was awarded official status as such at the recent Ice-
landic Music Awards. And true to the bassist’s belief, sing-
er Högni was to explain the Icelandic lyrics (that revolve
around finding true, life-changing love) at a length each
time they played the song in Norway. The strategy seemed
to work, as the Norwegian audience seemed deeply en-
gaged in their performance, many of them choosing to
take it in with their eyes closed and mouths open.
NEIThER SPECIAl NOR UNIqUE
“That song scored us a lot of wedding gigs. Still does. We
sort of knew we had a hit as soon as we were done record-
ing it. It had that sort of feel,” singer Högni tells me through
his drink, grinning. We move on to discuss how the band
has been received in their international outings, and how
“Icelandic music” is perceived internationally. “There
seems to be some sort of agreement going that everything
coming from Iceland is somehow ‘special’ or unique. Peo-
ple expect the music to be all dreamy and weird. I don’t
know what that means, really. Hjaltalín isn’t like that. We
play rather basic pop music with some additional instru-
ments. If we’re in any way special, it’s because we create
our music with more craftsmanship than many of the out-
fits going that maybe operate more by feel or instinct. It’s
more thought out. but there’s nothing really ‘special’ or
‘unique’ about us. We play basic pop and we like it.”
The husky voiced singer/composer (a dedicated stu-
dent of music, Högni does arrangements for many Icelan-
dic bands in his spare time) laughs and excuses himself
from our conversation. There are jokes to be told, hymns
to be sung. As I make my way out of Hjaltalín’s hotel room
at around 2 AM the party shows no signs of letting up.
“That God Morgen show was probably the one of
hardest thing any of us have done in our lives,” they tell
me the day after. Still, they made it through OK and judg-
ing by the large crowd at their second show, they seem to
have made a fine impression.
MORE MICkEy MOUSE ThAN MöTlEy CRüE
Backstage at MONO that night, the youngsters of Retro
Stefson are giddy and cheerful after winning over a sar-
dine-can of a crowd with a kick-ass display of powerful
showmanship, youthful vigour and some great songs.
Drummer Gylfi, sporting long johns and a huge grin,
dances around the room while tall, dark and handsome
bandleader Unnsteinn Manúel calmly analyzes their per-
formance. Already a fiercely ambitious, disciplined and inven-
tive musician at the tender age of 19, Unnsteinn is very clearly
headed for big things. As are the rest of them, for that matter. “I
think this was a good one,” he says all thoughtful to no one in
particular. “We really got into the groove... yeah, it was good.”
And he is happy.
Retro Stefson is a tight-knit group of friends and seem very
comfortable around one another. The core group has been
together since forming in 2005, when the members were aged
13 to15. They quickly gained a reputation through their MyS-
pace and playing shows pretty much anywhere that would
host them. Their 2008 debut has received many an accolade
and considerable radio play; right now the world seems to lie
at their feet.
Back to MONO: the mood backstage is more reminiscent
of a summer camp all-nighter than any debaucherous display
of rock and roll I can recall – more Mickey Mouse than Möt-
ley Crüe. The kids entertain themselves with games of rock-
paper-scissors and the trading of inside jokes; they clearly
didn’t come to Oslo to party, although they are having fun.
“We came here to play,” Unnsteinn tells me. “It’s a relief to be
done with the shows, but it’s also kind of a bummer. I would
have enjoyed doing one more.” His younger brother, cool as
ice 17 year old bassist Logi Pedró, nods his head in agreement.
They should not fret, however, as the reception they received
at the festival seems to guarantee Retro Stefson will be playing
quite a few shows in Norway real soon. We get up and make
our way out to the snowy streets of Oslo, as Ólafur Arnalds’
first by:Larm show is about to commence.
During our walk, the subject of the weekend’s sched-
uled by:Larm shows comes up and it’s clear the band have
researched the festival’s programme heavily. A plan is laid out
for the next couple of days, one that entails taking in Ólafur’s
show as well as sets by Lindström, Whitest Boy Alive, Betasa-
tan and many, many others. by:Larm is an exceptional music
festival that somehow manages to remain relevant and excit-
ing while featuring Nordic acts exclusively – no mean feat.
Music lovers that they are, Retro Stefson are intent on getting
their money’s worth.
hEAVEN ShAll BURN AND hEll’S kITChEN
At the age of 22, Ólafur Arnalds is already a widely regard-
ed composer in many circles. Operating under a strict DIY
work ethic and the M.O. of “Breaking classical music out of
the tweed jacket and loafers and putting it into a t-shirt and
trainers”, Ólafur has built a solid fan-base throughout Europe
and the US over the last three years. In 2008 alone, Ólafur
performed a total of 121 shows everywhere from Pittsburgh
to Porto, selling out impressive venues like London’s Barbican
Hall. He is very clearly on a roll.
At the age of fourteen, Ólafur – then the drummer of sev-
eral metal and hardcore outfits – started experimenting with
classical composition. “I was initially really into film scores,
wanted to do something similar and thus started composing
stuff on my computer,” Ólafur tells me over a pretty mean
pizza at Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, a popular media hangout
in Oslo. “It wasn’t purely classical in the beginning, I had
guitars and drums and stuff in there – it was symphonic
BY HAUKUR S MAGNÚSSON - PHOTOS BY HAX
Hjaltalín arrive safely in Norway. They still complained alot,
being the primadonnas they are.
Hjaltalín's Hjörtur (far left) is to lazy to stand while he per-
forms.
Hung-over from the night before, Hjaltalín confusedly
mistook this storefront for their venue.
Retro Stefson caught backstage in underwear shocker!