Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.07.2010, Page 42

Geysir Fact #5
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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2010
Music | Interview
“For a Minor Reflection is a four-
piece, made of two guys with indie
tops, a man with glasses and a met-
alhead.”
When asked to describe his band, Kjartan Holm
of Reykjavík post-rockers For a Minor Reflection
certainly doesn’t swerve into abstract territory.
Some might find this surprising given the band’s
style of bombastic instrumental epics (belonging
to a genre occupied by ham-fisted ideologues
such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor et al.), but
over here at Grapevine we just found it refresh-
ing.
Indeed FAMR is an epic, swooning, mystic in-
strumental post-rock outfit that seems primed to
be all Inspired By Iceland™ and elves and glaciers
and stuff, that instead cites Blink 182, Coldplay
and the joy of playing live as their main inspira-
tions (rather than, say, “a waterfall” or “the sound
of the sunrise” or whatever). This is cool.
We called up Kjartan to discuss his band’s
sophomore LP, ‘Höldum í átt að óreiðu’ and their
upcoming release show. After telling us about
the band’s haircuts (he later went on to say that
if the band members weren’t playing music, they
would be running a hair salon), he tells us of their
roots: “The band started as a hardcore duo, then
transformed into an indie rock trio, after that a
blues quartet and then finally an instrumental
quartet with a fetish for noise.”
What inspired you to start making music?
And what inspires you to continue making
music?
What inspired me to start making music was
probably Mark Hoppus, the bass player for Blink
182. I at least started to play bass because of him.
We are still making music because it’s just natu-
ral. It’s all about feelings.
Who were some of your early heroes, and
how did your tastes evolve? Who do you look
up to in the present?
We all kind of drift apart when it comes to musical
tastes. I always wanted to be—like before—Mark
Hoppus from Blink 182. Guffi probably wanted to
be Chris Martin from Coldplay, Elvar a member
of [Icelandic ‘90s band] Ensími and Andri some
eyeliner rock star. The funny thing is that it all still
kind of applies to us today!
Tell us about your band name. What does it
mean? Is it quoting something? What is a
'minor reflection'?
This is a classic question. The name ‘For a Mi-
nor Reflection’ doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a
combination of random words we put together.
If I remember correctly it was Jói’s (the original
drummer) idea. If you don’t like it, blame him.
Why is your band name in English and your
album titles in Icelandic? It confuses us.
It’s in English because that way we would be fa-
mous more quickly ( joke). As I said, it’s just a
combination of random words that was put to-
gether. We’ve often thought about changing
it into an Icelandic name, but it’s a bit too late
for that I think. We name our songs in Icelandic
because we just like it that way. I think in some
way that you relate to them more if they’re in your
language.
Why don't you have a singer? Can none of
you sing?
We’re experimenting with vocals now. We just
haven’t given it a chance I guess. Guffi and I are
in a choir and Elvar has learned some singing, so
I guess we can sing a little. Not much though...
Tell us about your new album. Are you happy
with it? Does it have a theme of sorts, or a
message? What does the title mean?
Our new album was recorded in Sundlaugin (the
Sigur Rós studio) with Scott Hackwith, who was
the singer of Dig and has worked with the Ra-
mones among others. We are really happy with it.
It has more variety of instruments than the album
before, and only one song crosses the ten-min-
ute-bar, the rest are of a ‘typical’ length. The title
‘Höldum í átt að óreiðu’ would probably translate
as ‘Head Towards Chaos’ and doesn’t mean any-
thing really—it’s just a cool sentence.
you have been playing the world over for a
while now. What are some of the more mem-
orable shows you've done?
Probably some of the most memorable shows
were of course when we supported Sigur Rós
throughout Europe for almost a month. That was
kind of mind blowing. But I will always remember
when we played in Philadelphia and there was a
very ugly couple having sex in a sofa right next to
the stage. Nobody paid any attention to us, only
to the ugly couple!
I understand you're doing alright for your-
selves. Are you making a living off your mu-
sic yet? If not, how do you think you can ac-
complish that? Is it a goal?
We’ve been very lucky with opportunities to play
abroad. We have made a little name for ourselves
in some places in Europe and hopefully the States
will soon follow, but we all still need to have day
jobs. We’re only 21 years old; we’re just amateurs
in this business. I think the only way to make a liv-
ing of your music is just to work really hard. But of
course luck has something to do with it, just like
everything else.
For a Minor Reflection’s release show will go on at Iðnó
on Saturday July 24. Kjartan tells us it’s going to be “a
really cool show—lots of visuals, extra members on stage
and the whole thing” and urges us all to check it out.
Heading Towards Chaos
So this is what Chris Martin jamming with Mark Hoppus would sound like?
They say 'For a Minor Reflection' doesn't mean anything. So let's play a little game. E-mail your sug-
gestions as to what it COULD mean to the usual address. There might be some beer in it for you.
I decided to go to that terribly fucking
desperate Inspired by Iceland concert.
Saw the first two performers and left
as soon Hafdís Huld opened her mouth
to make some cheeky joke about the weather.
Decided to find the nearest bar, and fast, 'cause it
was pissing rain.
Stumbled into Highlander, very confused. Saw
some people I knew and it was like bumping into
friends in an airport in a foreign country. I really
liked it there, except the bartenders were fucking
incompetent. We decided to stay until the main
event, the dreamy Spiritualized. This time they
would be playing an acoustic set. I wasn't gonna
complain about that, since I'm getting rather
bored of seeing most of the bands that play here.
Eight beers later it stopped raining and on
we went. The concert was beautiful, but I kept
getting distracted by the lack of people there. It
was absolutely packed when it was pouring rain
and now there was barely anybody there. Hasn't
anybody heard Ladies and Gentlemen We Are
Floating in Space?
After the show the guitarist mentioned that he
wanted to score some dope. Luckily a guy I knew
had just gotten some in exchange for putting a
dealer on the guest list for a concert that was
taking place the next day. The band mentioned
that they'd love to play here again, possibly in
a church. I might set aside my principles and
attend if they were to play. Afterwards we went
to the ‘Inspired’ afterparty, which was taking
place at Austur. I'd been there once before but
spent most of my time on the roof. The service up
there was terrible. Couple of drinks later, it was
off to another party, this time at an Asian sports
photographer’s apartment. It was god-awful, but
he had vodka and Wu-Tang.
I don't remember what happened the next day.
Saturday I decided to check out new bars,
since Kaffi Grand was closed. It's amazing that
they sell large bottles of beer for only 500 ISK.
The bars I checked were Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
and the one next to it. I didn't look for the name.
Spent less then seven seconds at each. I couldn't
bear any more disappointment, so the logical
place to go to was Bakkus. It was wonderful
to see that KGB was the one DJing that night.
Always a pleasure to bump into that guy.
After a couple of shots I decided to head off to
Kaffibarinn with my friend Ben and some Danish
girls. Don't remember who was DJing there,
possibly Maggi Lego. The inevitable boredom
of watching everyone’s posing kicked in and we
decided to go back to Bakkus. Hooked up with
one of the Danish girls. Her boyfriend was outside
smoking. At closing time, I headed off to an after
party with some fine folks. I don't remember
much except that the owner of the apartment had
a Birthday Party 12” that I didn't own. I decided to
leave. Didn't take the Danish girl home either.
Not-So Dirty Weekend
The day to day life of a pro
Reykjavík hipster UNCOVERED
Hipsters | Frímann Frímannsson
Words
Haukur S. Magnússon
Photography
Julia Staples
“I will always remember when we
played in Philadelphia and there
was a very ugly couple having sex
in a sofa right next to the stage.
Nobody paid any attention to us,
only to the ugly couple!”