Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.05.2010, Blaðsíða 15

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Issue 5 - 2010 www.grapevine.is
go WHALE WATCHINg
After being seriously set back by some volcano-action, the
artists of the Bedroom Community finally embarked on their
most elaborate and ambitious project to date a couple of weeks
ago – the Whale Watching Tour. The group, comprised of Valgeir
Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Ben Frost and Sam Amidon, have been
travelling all over Europe. Aside from a few volcanic snags here
and there, they‘ve been knocking audiences off their asses at every
stop. The Grapevine called up Valgeir Sigurðsson five minutes
before he hit the stage in Switzerland to chat about the tour and
its impending final show at the National Theatre of Iceland in
Reykjavík this May.
“The tour’s been amazing,” says Valgeir. “After finally making it
through the clouds of ash – and having to reschedule the first four
shows – it‘s been great.”
Oddly enough, the Whale Watching Tour is travelling through
Europe on a bus called Moby Dick. “It’s a total coincidence, and a
pretty funny one at that. It’s a big white bus, it’s pretty cool, and the
name is appropriate.”
We hear the concert you are throwing at the National Theatre is
one of your most ambitious ones yet. We hear you‘ve got something
special planned. Can you tell us about that?
We will have Daníel Bjarnason playing with us, which was only
possible in Iceland, so that will be pretty special. We have also
re-arranged some of the material and we will try out a lot of new
stuff. We never play same programme twice, so this will all come
together in this last show. We have been documenting the tour and
the process of working together on film – in fact the show we’re
about to play tonight is being filmed – so it will be interesting to see
after.
Has this tour brought on any further plans together or new projects
you will do?
We are always working together! One of the exciting things that will
happen is that we‘re going to be working with new artist, Puzzle
Muteson. We‘ll be recording an album with him when we get
back.”
So get excited people. Reykjavík will be lucky enough to get
the final culmination of the living project that‘s been the Whale
Watching Tour and that is nothing to shake a stick at. This bunch of
artists command some serious respect, and we get to witness the
grand finale – in the freakin’ National Theatre of all places...
16
May