Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2011, Page 32

31
The Viking Tavern In Reykjavík
restaurant & bar
VÍKINGAKRÁIN - HAFNARSTRÆTI - TEL+ 354 861 7712 WWW.VIKINGAKRAIN.IS
Let’s talk Iceland
The history of Iceland
in one funny hour
shown every day at 8pm
Viking market
Handmade Icelandic
design for sale outside
open when the weather allows
Opening hOurs
Every day from 11:30 – 23:00
Fridays & Saturdays from 11:30 – 01:00
Sundays from 11:30 - 22:00
Uppsalir - Bar and café
in the heart of the old city center
Uppsalir | Aðalstræti 16 | 101 Reykjavík | Tel. 514 6060 | dining@hotelcentrum.is
Relax after a busy day in town.
Excellent food, healthy and
light choices and of course
several choices of desserts!
happy hOur
From 18:00 - 19:00
Pond
City Hall
A
ða
ls
træ
ti
Tj
ar
na
rg
at
a
Pó
st
hú
ss
træ
ti
Kirkjustræti
Austurvöllur
Austurstræti
Vonarstræti
EX
PO
·
w
w
w
.e
xp
o
.is
WHALE
WATCHING
EXPRESS
TOURS
SPECIAL
Make the most
of your day!
We
offer free

pick-up
in the
Reykjavik
area!
Call us
+354 892 0099
or book online
specialtours.is
HOW
TO BOOK?
Takesonly 2-2
hours
PUFFIN
WATCHING
The Puffin Express adventure
is an inexpensive and
charming option for everyone.
Five times daily: 8:30, 10:30,
12:30, 14:30 and 16:30.
Only
20
Euros!
Spend more time whale
watching and less time
waiting.
Say the keyword and
save 10% of your whale
watching adventure:
Grapevine Special Offer.
Takes
only 1
hour
Sea Angling Trips also
available daily at 18:00.
APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OKT
10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00
14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00
17:00 17:00 17:00
15 JUL – 15 AUG 20:00 20:00
WHALE WATCHING TOURS
„That was marvellous!
We saw many whales
and dolphins. Fantastic.“
-Samantha
Music | Review
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 9 — 2011
The latest composition from S.L.Á.T.U.R
member Guðmundur Steinn Gunnars-
son is a strange, almost impenetrable
beast with avant-garde plasma running
through its veins. Everything about this
composition is unorthodox, from the
use of numerous stringed instruments
and unconventional tunings to create
an imaginary 56-string harp instrument
( just what IS a Langspil by the way?),
to the varying 3 note riffs and time
intervals throughout.
The end result is one febrile chaos,
with its continuously changing rhythms
and tones. The first movement feels a
lot like several inner monologues all
churning inside your head until a doc-
tor provides a sedative two-thirds of
the way through as the dissonance and
clutter begin to fade.
After several listens, you do begin
to tease out individual tunings, nuance
and structures. But it feels a bit like a
piece that’s to be endured more than
enjoyed, and for a lot of people who
are used to normal Western melody,
structures and rhythms, they’re likely
to find this perplexing and frustrating.
- bob cluness
Guðmundur steinn
Gunnarsson
Horpma
www.slatur.is/gudmundursteinn
An intense listen, but not for
everyone.
While Jóhann Jóhannsson’s status as
a musician and producer in Iceland is
assured, his soundtrack albums in the
past, while sounding “nice”, suffered
from a lack of depth and emotional
resonance that can leave you cold.
However with his latest work, ‘The
Miners Hymns’, he captures a real feel-
ing of fury and bereavement.
Written as the score to Bill Mor-
rison’s film about the destruction of
mining communities in North East
England, Jóhannsson eschews the
usual instruments associated for mel-
ancholy (strings) and instead taps into
the power of brass, which has a strong
cultural and political significance in
the area.
Jóhann utilises his knowledge of
space and atmosphere from his ambi-
ent work to create the sound of ghosts
from a windswept industrial past com-
ing back to haunt the present with a
warning (think Ingram Marshall allied
with The Caretaker). When the force
hits on ‘An Injury To One Is A Concern
To All’, it has the grandeur of Holst
with the attack of Sunn o))). Despite
the despair, the hope and confidence
of the final track, ‘The Cause Of La-
bour Is The Hope Of The World’, walks
us out of the dark into the light with its
heart-aching harmonies.
With the ´The Miners Hymns’,
Jóhannsson has made music that
radiates strength, anger and a strong
political conviction not seen in his
previous work. Essential listening.
- bob cluness
Jóhann Jóhannsson
The Miners’ Hymns
www.johannjohannsson.com
A eulogy to the cause of the
working man.