Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.03.2009, Qupperneq 9

REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 3—2009 | 9
MEzzOFORTE
Founded in 1977 under the influence of
Earth, Wind and Fire and Weather Report,
jazz-funk fusion pioneers Mezzoforte
was the first Icelandic act to reach inter-
national success when the single Gar-
den Party from their fourth LP, Surprise,
Surprise, reached no 17 on the British
singles chart in 1983. In the wake of their
success in England, the band garnered
considerable following and toured exten-
sively worldwide, playing as many as 150
shows one year. Now, 30 years and eleven
albums later, the band still ignites fusion
enthusiasts around the world when they
reunite for the occasional performance.
Key recordings:
Dreamland/Shooting Star; Surprise, Sur-
prise; Nothing Lasts Forever.
THE SUGARCUBES
When members of Icelandic punk/post-
punk cult classics K.U.K.L., Þeyr and
Purrkur Pilnikk joined hands in 1986
to form the new wave band The Sugar-
cubes, it was obvious that Iceland wasn’t
big enough to contain them. After being
spotted by influential UK radio DJ John
Peel, the band's debut LP, Life's Too Good,
reached no 14 on the British Charts, and
54 in the US, following the success of sin-
gle Birthday. The Sugarcubes went on to
tour with U2 and headline shows across
the US and Europe. All three Sugarcubes
LPs reached the top 20 in the UK and
four singles reached the top ten in the
US, with the aptly named Hit reaching
the top of Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
The band parted ways in 1992, paving the
way for...
Key recordings:
Life's Too Good, Stick Around for Joy
BJöRK
Following the break-up of the Sugar-
cubes, their lead singer, a puny woman
named Björk who had a habit of blowing
everyone away with her vocal chords,
decided she wasn’t done making music.
Her debut album, the cunningly named
Debut, exceeded a million copies sold in
the US and reached double platinum in
the UK. With 13 Grammy nominations, an
Oscar nomination, and two Golden Globe
nominations to her name, Björk remains
one of the most respected and popular
artists in the world and her recent tour
in support of her latest release Volta saw
her fill stadiums worldwide.
Key recordings:
Debut, Post, Vespertine, Volta
SIGUR RóS
Formed in 1994, Sigur Rós did nothing
but add to the image of Iceland as the
last frontier of the eclectic and eccen-
tric. Their debut album sold sparsely, but
the sophomore release Ágætis Byrjun,
slowly went on to become a commer-
cial and critical success. The follow up,
( ), was not as accessible, but gathered
much attention for its eccentric lyrics (or
lack thereof), delivered in a made up lan-
guage called Hopelandic. in 2005, Takk...
became the band's most successful re-
lease at the time, debuting at no 27 in
the US and reaching double gold sales in
the UK. Their latest album, the 2008 Með
suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, saw the
band depart from their ethereal and mini-
malist post-rock sound towards more
playful pop melodies. It is the bands most
successful album, reaching no 15 on the
Billboard Top 200 and 5 on the British
Chart list.
Key Recordings:
Ágætis byrjun, Takk..., Með suð í eyrum
við spilum endalaust
A BRIEf hISTORy
Of ICElANDIC
hIT-MAkERSGRAPEVINE EXPOSES
SORDID ‘MUSIC TRIP’ TO
‘SCANDINAVIA’S SODOM’
A whO'S whO Of ThE NORwAy TRIP!
BY SVEINN BIRKIR BJöRNSSON
THE BOHEMIAN
THE FAKE NARCOLEPTIC
THE NORWEGIAN
THE FAKER
THE AVIATOR PUNKER
THE LADIES MAN
THE SOCIALITE
SHADOW MAN
THE DANDY
THE FOXY
LADY
THE ECONOMIST THE DIVA
THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN
Furry Högni's beard is actually an
elaborate double-chin cover-up!
Gylfi actually has no eyes - tries to cover up
by bogus narcolepsy claims!
Jón Ingvi's secret Norwegian roots uncovered!
Rhythm-king Haraldur's party
animal front a sham!
Axel is hiding his punk-rock past
while secretly training to be an
aviator! Ólafur Arnalds is obsessed with
blondes!
Sigga Toll demands extravagant
backstage amenities!
Suave Þorbjörg prefers partying
down to homework!
Sexy Hjörtur secretly training to wreak
havoc on UK economy...!
Hard-man of Hanoi Logi actually real sweet
once you get to know him!
Guðmundur Óskar is sick of being
in THE ECONOMIST's shadow Retro Stefson star Þórður
Jör (19) spends untold
$$$ on fashion!
Rebekka's sultry
alter-ego runs
amok!
metal. I wound up giving someone a demo tape of my work, and that
lead to me being asked to compose an intro to an album by [German
hardcore outfit] Heaven Shall Burn. Now, it wouldn’t have made sense
to have metal guitars and drums as an intro to a metal album, so I cut
them out.”
The intro piece was to arouse some interest in Ólafur’s work, and
he was soon offered a record deal on a small German label. “So I made
an album and started playing shows. It was all kind of random, but it
seems to have worked out OK.”
GlACIER PORN
Ólafur is cheerful this Saturday afternoon, and he has every reason
to be. The previous night’s show was deemed a total and complete
success by the by:Larm daily newspaper’s critic, who waxed ecstatic
about it in a gush of near-pornographic adjectives worthy of early Sigur
Rós reviews, all glacial this and majestic that. “It’s kind of embarrass-
ing reading such reviews,” says Ólafur, “but I am of course happy and
thankful that people dig my work and like to rave about it.”
He reminisces about his beginnings. “I think people were initially
interested in me because I was this punk kid trying my hand at classi-
cal music, which is usually confined to a different type of crowd and
venue and played by different types of people. At least they dress dif-
ferently. I played small dive bars and clubs and came on wearing jeans
and a t-shirt – there was this whole crowd of people that wanted to
experience the type of music I make and maybe felt comfortable doing
so in their own environment, as opposed to snooty concert halls.”
We talk about some of the places he’s played. Poland is his all time
favourite country to perform thus far. “It’s kind of strange and really
heart-warming. People there just appreciate the music so much, it’s
incredible. I got mobbed leaving a venue there. The shows sell out
instantly. I don’t know, playing there and watching the crowd react
made me think that maybe us Westerners have become spoiled by all
the music that we’re continually exposed to. It’s like they appreciate
it more in places like Poland. I was kind of envious of that, because I
remember how it felt.”
We are joined at our table by members of Retro Stefson and Hjal-
talín, fresh from an Oslo sightseeing trip. “It’s a rather dull and com-
mon looking town,” Hjaltalín’s Högni remarks. “The people are very
nice, but I find it hard to get excited about it.” Meanwhile, Retro Stef-
son’s Haraldur and Þorbjörg debate whether to go on a sleighing trip
the following day. Someone apparently told them that you can take a
train to the top of a local mountain, rent a sleigh there and ride to the
bottom. Sounds like a sweet deal. Ólafur excuses himself to go do his
soundcheck and the rest of us sit around picking at pizza crust, engag-
ing in random conversation.
All is well in Oslo, Norway.
POSTSCRIPT: A MINDlESS ChEERlEADER SPEAkS!
Ólafur Arnalds, Hjaltalín and Retro Stefson are all ridiculously accom-
plished musicians by any standard. They have all left big marks on
Iceland’s musical landscape and now seem destined to move on to
further successes, be they artistic, commercial or both.
This is awesome in and of itself, not the least since they are all
humble, hardworking and down to earth people – the very opposites
of the types Icelanders seemed to celebrate during “the dark years”.
If anyone is going to rebuild the nation’s reputation abroad, it’s these
people and the values they’ve been upholding all along: values of di-
versity, camaraderie and friendship that our crop of young musicians
seem to honour.
As an avid follower of – and participant in – the Reykjavík music
scene over the last few years, what strikes me the most about all of this
is the realisation that I could have followed any number of our musi-
cians to Oslo and reached pretty much the same conclusion. There’s
Skátar, Mammút, Agent Fresco and Hraun. We’ve got Weapons, For
a Minor Reflection, Rökkurró, Celestine Sign and Sólstafir. Forgot-
ten Lores and FM Belfast. Singapore Sling. Deathmetal Supersquad. I
could go on all day.
Of course, not all of these will attain Sugarcubes-style worldwide
notoriety and chart success. Maybe none of them will make it past
their second LP. But that doesn’t matter. The fact that these young peo-
ple have in them the confidence and stamina to carry on their creative
endeavours so relentlessly and the breadth of vision to make up such
a diverse and vital scene is what matters.
This sounds like a bunch of hype, I’m sure. I’m probably coming
off as a sort of indie-rock Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, a mindless cheer-
leader or lecherous PR person pining to stay relevant by gushing
meaningless expletives at a hearty rate. But I know it’s not and I know
I’m not. I believe in this, and so should you.
PHOTO BY HöRÐUR SVEINSSON
Clowning around with public money.