Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2011, Side 64

12 Grapevine Fancy Airwaves Special Go to www.airwaves.grapevine.is NOW!
interview | by Bob Cluness off-venue | by Steinþór Helgi Arnsteinsson
Valdimar, The Creator! WHAT ARE WE DOING AT I8 AND HAVE WE
GONE ‘EFFING MAD’?
Now you may have noticed that Ice-
land’s favourite pleasure rockers, Reyk-
javik!, have just released ‘Hellbound
Heart,’ the first track from their at-the-
time-of-writing untitled third LP. But
their guitarist Valdimar Jóhannsson, the
man behind those fresh hooks and fist
pumping harmonies has been a busy
man lately. Along with recording with
Reykjavik!, he’s produced the second
album from noise artist AMFJ, ‘Bæn,’
is working on the debut album from
Lazyblood, the side project he runs with
his partner, dancer Erna Ómarsdóttir,
as well as producing music for dance
pieces such as ‘We Saw Monsters.’
On top of that, he’s also become a
dad for the first time!
We braved the smell of used nap-
pies to find out how he does it.
i notice a lot of harmonising in your
new tunes, which is sort of new for
you guys. how did that happen?
Bóas and I sat and discussed it for a
long time; we wanted to do proper
vocalisations. Lots of backing vocals
and overdubs. You know, a lot of ‘90s
“Aaaaaaa, Ohhhhhhh” type sounds.
With your last album, ‘thE blooD,’
your working description was
‘slayer.’ With this album, what was
the direction you wanted to take?
I think at the back of all our heads we
all wanted to make the same album.
We’re massive fans of the band Ride,
and for a long time in our youth we
would hang out and listen to their
albums forever and ever. We all just
wanted to make a Ride album basically!
I think we got closer to that with this
album than the previous ones.
I do though think that now’s the
time for us to be making an album like
this, an album with us putting more
thought, into it. With ‘The Blood,’ we
wanted to take the energy and make
a LOUD album. Which we did. I admit
that I find it difficult to listen to it for
a long time. I can only take it in ten
minute chunks.
you’ve stated Ride, the lemon-
heads and Deftones as reference
albums in your production What ele-
ments from those albums were you
hoping to incorporate into yours?
With Ride, for obvious reason, the
vocals and overall sound that they had.
The track ‘Leave Them All Behind’ is
just amazing. With the Lemonheads,
I’ve always liked the drum sounds in
the early albums, when there wasn’t so
much acoustic guitar. And Deftones?
Well, it’s Deftones isn’t it? ‘White Pony’
is their best album in my opinion.
now, you’ve branched out, produc-
ing amFJ’s latest album, ‘bæn.’ how
did that go down?
Well it was a very different experience
for me as it was my first proper glimpse
into noise music. I thought when he
came to me with the rough tracks, it
sounded quite interesting. With those
tracks, I would look for the really inter-
esting pieces, and accentuate those.
We also did a lot of experimentation, in
making a new sound.
it sounds very different from his
first album, a lot more rhythm and
structure.
Yeah, and he was also really easy to
work with. Normally when you show an
idea to an artist, they’ll be a bit ‘Meh,
I don’t know,’ because it’s their music,
their baby. But with AMFJ, I’d come to
him with an idea on a track and he was
always like ‘Right! Yeah! Let’s go for
that!’ Like on the track ‘Retoría,’ where
we doubled up his usual affected vocals
with just his bare voice. I really liked
the idea of having a dry, rasping vocal
underneath because I like the way
his voice is. He’s the Icelandic noise
preacher man, like the Icelandic priests
when they’re toning.
so what’s happening with lazy-
blood at the moment?
I should be done mixing the Lazyblood
album by December so it should be out
sometime in the new year. Then I´ll be
mixing the EP Lazyblood did with Reyk-
javik!, ‘The Tickling Death Machine,’
which we’ll be doing next January.
We’re looking to take that show to
Japan and Australia next year.
you’re also now a dad. Congratula-
tions! a chip off the old block?
Cheers. Yeah, he did his first crowd
surfing when he was six months old,
in his mother’s belly! And he was a
week late when we went to the recent
HAM album release concert and Erna’s
waters just about broke!
Crikey! Does the fact that most of
the members of the band are now
fathers change how you all put your
music together?
Nah, I don’t think so. Actually we’ve
always been child friendly. We’ve played
gigs for kids and they’ve loved it! They
love the energy. You don’t have to
make ‘kid’ music for kids. Kids just love
proper music. You don’t have to have
silly lyrics or a stupid voice for them to
like it.
so there’s you’re not becoming pol-
lapönk just yet?
[laughs] No, not yet.
My name is Steinþór. I live with two
other nice chaps, Atli Bollason and
Aron Steinn Ásbjarnarson, at In-
gólfsstræti 8, 101 Reykjavík. That’s why
our quarters are often referred to as “i8”
(not to be confused with the i8 Gallery
although the gallery was initially located
at Ingólfsstræti 8, hence the name. That
was long before we moved here, and it
was based on the floor below us).
Our flat is pretty neat. It has three
bedrooms, one living room, a kitchen
and of course a bathroom—only it
doesn’t have a bath, only a shower, and
a toilet. Frankly, this apartment couldn’t
be more central in terms of Reykjavík
nightlife. Ok, maybe the public toilets at
Bankastræti núll are more central, but
they’ve now been filled with concrete.
Therefore, the demand for some
kind of get together at our place, or
an afterparty as most of us will call it,
at 4 or 5 or 6 in the morning during
weekends—and sometime weekdays—is
towering. And often, we will surrender
to these demands, as we take great
pleasure in filling our apartment with
joviality, happiness and good spirits.
That’s why the idea of creating some
kind of eccentric happening during
the most joyful weekend of the annual
calendar came to us naturally.
We decided to create a house party,
with live acts in our living room. The
preparation only took two days, we
just contacted our favourite bands,
asked our neighbours for permission
and wound up with a pretty exuber-
ant programme. The music will bleed
nicely into the streets, other rooms of
the apartment and the afternoon. The
theme is sort of that we are having a
party, except there’s a live act, not just
music coming from the stereo. We want
people to enjoy the company of others,
not just the music. Sitting on a bed,
drinking brewskis and telling the story
about that weird fellow you met in the
queue the night before, while the music
resonates through the hallway from the
living room is, in our opinion, the most
optimal of circumstances.
So, are we mad? We just love having
fun, that’s all. No, that’s an understate-
ment; we fucking love it!

• OFF VENUE
AMERICA MEETS ICELAND
Reyka Vodka in partnership with Iceland Airwaves is proud to present 3 American bands performing at
Iceland Airwaves. Check them out during the festival and enjoy Reyka Vodka – offi cially The World’s Best
Tasting Vodka* at Reykjavik’s hottest bars and clubs.
REYKA VODKA BReAKTHROUGH AT
ICELAND AIRWAVES CONTEST
WWW.REYKA.COMPlease drink Reyka responsibly. Takk! (that’s ‘Thank You’ in Icelandic)*Awarded International Wine and Spirits Competition’s 2011 Vodka Trophy
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
YACHT
• Hresso • 7:00 pm
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Caged Animals
Idno • 10:30 pm
Thursday, October 13, 2011
YACHT
NASA • Midnight
Friday, October 14, 2011
Caged Animals
• Hresso • 4:00 pm
Friday, October 14, 2011
Young Magic
NASA • 9:40 pm
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Young Magic
• Reykjavik Downtown Hostel • 7:00 pm
Reykjavik!’s erstwhile guitarist Valdimar Jóhannsson breaks out into production of all kinds...
pRoGRammE
Friday 16:00-20:30
Berndsen
Hermigervill
Oculus
President Bongo (GusGus) w/ Högni
Egilsson & Earth
Rabbi Bananas
Snorri Helgason
Sykur
Thórunn Antonía
Saturday 15:00-20:30
Fallegir menn
Hjaltalín
Kippi Kaninus
Kreatiivmootor (ee)
Lím Drím Tím
Nonnimal
Rich Aucoin (ca)
Thulebasen (dk)
Æla
+ Owen Pallett (ca), Glasser (us)
and more