Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2009, Síða 34

Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2009, Síða 34
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 12 — 2009 18 Dr. Gunni just happens to be an extremely respected pioneer of Icelandic punk rock. His new album, Inniheldur, is all kinds of awesome. Get it at 12 Tónar. The History of Icelandic Rock music: Part 8 Icelandic Hippie Prog Metal It is the beginning of 1971 and yet an- other line-up for the premium hippie band Trúbrot is born. Trúbrot 3.0 has organist Karl Sighvatsson and drummer Gunnar Jökull back on board. The latest recruit, pianist Magnús Kjartansson, is still a member, and the old stalwarts from Hljómar—Rúnar Júlíusson and Gunnar Þórðarson—round off this five-piece powerhouse version of Hljómar. The idea of pop music as an artform had been in the air for some time, but few Icelandic bands had considered the mat- ter seriously. Until now. For months the nagging argument for Trúbrot had been: should we be entertainers playing cover songs for drunk people or should we try to do something more progressive? Early in 1971 that question was answered and the band had its most ambitious idea yet: to make a progressive concept album. This was a successful move, as the re- sulting album Lifun would be consid- ered one of the best albums in Iceland for years to come (still number 2 in the extensive 2009 poll—right behind Sigur Rós’ Ágætis byrjun!). Rehearsals for the album started in a garage on Laugavegur in January of 1971. To seal the artistic plan, every member brought a pail of paint with their choice of colour. All five colours were mixed in a bucket and the garage walls painted with the result. The band locked itself up in the garage and no women were allowed inside. Early on, it was clear that the al- bum would deal with “the course of an unnamed person, from the cradle to the grave, and the influence of the environ- ment on that person,” as the band an- nounced proudly when the project was premiered live that March. The album was recorded in London some months lat- er and came out in the summer of 1971. Lifun fulfilled all of Icelandic pop mu- sicians’ most ambitious dreams. The re- views were good and the album sold well. The album has thirteen interconnected tracks, and came in a hexagonal cover. The music is prog-metal of sorts, equally influenced by Led Zeppelin and Emer- son, Lake and Palmer. But what can you do after such artistic success, especially when you live in a place as small and un- populated as Iceland? That fall, Trúbrot was back to playing (MOR super light- weight hit) “Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep” for drunk kids. Back then, just as now, the only way out of the grind was international suc- cess. The band was optimistic and for a while it looked as the Fantasy label (home of Creedence Clearwater Revival) would sign Trúbrot. Nothing came of this. Dis- appointed, Karl Sighvatsson left yet again, but the band soldiered on, making the fourth and final record in 1972, Mandala. Although it is fine in parts, Mandala is quite drab as a whole. Not content with the album and with no idea what to do next, the band fizzled out early in 1973. The main rival for Trúbrot’s hippie crown was Náttúra (Nature). Formed in 1969 in the same cauldron that begat Trúbrot by singer Jónas R. Jónsson of Flowers, the band’s line up changed often and would total eleven members in all. For the first year the band played mostly cover songs, music from The Who’s Tom- my and Jethro Tull, for instance, but later original songs would become prevalent. As the hair grew longer and the smoke thicker, the music stretched in length and depth. Drunk kids were not always so re- ceptive to a 20 minute drum solo, though. The band had at least twice written music for their purported début—in 1970 and 1971—but twice the material was abandoned. In 1971 they were signed on to perform at the Icelandic staging of the musical Hair. The band then suffered a tremendous blow when all their instru- ments were destroyed in a fire when the legendary club Glaumbær burned down in December 1971. Glaumbær was situat- ed where the National Gallery of Iceland is today and was the definitive place for the young crowd during the late sixties and early seventies. The only Náttúra album, Magic Key, came out in 1972 with Shady Owens han- dling vocal duties and Karl Sighvatsson playing the Hammond and singing a bit. The band released the album themselves (like Trúbrot did with Mandala also in 1972). Náttúra’s album has never been re- leased officially on CD but many bootlegs exist and is a sought after item. Along with Lifun and Óðmenn ś double album, it represents the best of the Icelandic hip- pie years. In 1973, Náttúra performed the music for Jesus Christ Superstar. The band then quit when the show stopped. Progressive hippie music just wasn’t the thing anymore. Now it was time for the content free and silly seventies! Go to icelandprog.blogspot.com to lis- ten to all the records mentioned here, as well as other fine albums from the same period: Svanfríður’s What’s hidden there (hard rock from 1972), Mánar’s hippie rock debut from 1971 and Icecross leg- endary heavy metal gloom LP from 1973, along with later period prog and folk mu- sic. - DR. GUNNI By Dr. Gunni, based on his 2000 book Eru ekki allir í stuði? (Rock in Iceland). A revisited up- date of the book is forthcoming in 2010. 1. Náttúra in 1972, the line up that did Magic Key: Sigurður Árnason bass, Björgvin Gíslason guitar, Shady Owens vocals, Ólafur Garðarsson drums, Karl Sighvatsson organ + vocals) 2. Lifun 3. Magic Key Music | Review Árstíðir bring a bit of a free loving, hair-flowing feel with their début, living up to their reputation as modern-day Simon and Garfunkels. While the actual sound of the music fulfils my expectation of what that should sound like, all elegant acoustic melodies and tender ambience, their lyrics— particularly the English ones—let them down. Lacking in power and sincerity, Árstíðir sometimes give the feeling they are trying way too hard for S&G 2009, without really realising that they go most of the way there with their music. Moving away from comparisons, as a standalone piece of music the album is enjoyable purely for the songs—if you ignore the lyrics—and is a nice return to the sound of an era that’s been ignored by mainstream music as of late. -BERGRÚN ANNA HALLSTEINSDÓTTIR Cold Hands, the track, introduces matters and sounds like Cosmic Call have collectively eaten a bunch of U2 and Kings Of Leon albums and recorded their subsequent vomiting session. That alone pretty much guarantees it’s gonna be their signature tune and a huge hit. It’s obvious that the Akranes quintet are adept indie-epic songwriters with more than a hint of Angels & Airwaves about them—It’s OK, for one, could easily be from i-Empire. The Cure’s influence is prominent on the Love Cats-y workout Lightbulbs and the Cosmics delve into their Police catalogue for inspiration to the verses of Hangin’ On before going all shoegaze on our asses. Owls, meanwhile, displays a terser side to the band, a downbeat focus that reaches its zenith on the all-too-short Rhodes- jacked, bluesy Richard Ashcroft-ism of Fallin’—the lone violin plaintive in counterpoint to Sigurmon’s defeated vocal which is less cosmic than contemplative. -JOE SHOOMAN Árstíðir Cosmic Call Árstíðir (2009) Cold Hands (2009) arstidir Peace, love and brown rice. cosmiccallmusic Cold of hand, but warm of heart, Cosmic Call just want your love. +- +-

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