Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Síða 18

18
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2014
Iceland | -ophilia
Dominique Lameule is a self-confessed, bona-fide Ice-
landophile. The 38-year-old Frenchman-slash-German
has travelled to Iceland at least once or twice per year for
twelve years running, owns upwards of 180 albums of Ice-
landic music, and has attended the Airwaves festival more
often than most locals. Like many an Icelandophile we’ve
encountered at Grapevine through the years, Dominique's
interest was spurred by exposure to a local band or artist—
in Dominique’s case, it was the Gusgus hit “Believe” that en-
tranced him back in ’97 (by now, he proudly counts mem-
bers of that very band as his friends).
As an outsider constantly looking in for
more than a decade, Dominique believes
he has gained precious insight into the
nation’s recent and ongoing evolution.
And he is very interested in sharing his
observations, as he has indicated in no
uncertain terms for a while.
For our tourism-themed issue, we
thought we’d take him up on the offer.
Believe
We begin with some background. Domi-
nique says he currently works as a prod-
uct engineer in Heidelberg, Germany, but
is quick to add that he considers Reykja-
vík his second home. “I come here as of-
ten as I can,” he says. “I’ll visit the friends
I’ve made through the years, and try to
attend as many shows as possible.”
After “Believe,” Dominique’s Iceland
affair started proper in 2002, when he
came over for a six-month internship.
“The best thing that happened was that
I got an Icelandic flatmate,” he says.
“Through him I learned a lot about the
country, was introduced to people, made
connections, and had a really good time.”
He feels Icelanders for the most part
greeted him with open arms, and notes
that at no point did he feel left out for not
speaking the language.
During that time, in between work-
ing and socialising, Dominique became
enthralled by the local music scene,
regularly attending shows by some of the
heroes of the day (he mentions acts like
Trabant, múm and Quarashi) and some-
times DJing at 101’s then-hippest club, 22
on Laugavegur (where Kiki and Bravó
now stand).
Dominique says that one of the things
that most appeals to him about Iceland-
ers is how interconnected they come off,
and how willing they seem to help outsid-
ers, as well as one another. As a token of
appreciation for the various acts of kind-
ness and help he has received, Domi-
nique has in turn helped promote Iceland
at every opportunity, for instance by con-
stantly encouraging the listeners of his
radio show to attend Iceland Airwaves,
and arranging for Maggi Lego of Gusgus
to perform at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Another life
As open and wonderful as he finds Ice-
landers, Dominique can’t help but worry
what the future holds in store for them.
“I’m too German,” he says, “I like to be
organised and what I do is think what
will happen in a year’s time, in two years,
in five years, and then consider the differ-
ent possible outcomes. I always wonder
when the next bubble will come along.”
Along that line, he reminisces about
the difficulties he encountered in find-
ing a place to rent in 2002, because all
the flats were listed for sale (at bargain
rates, too). He draws a comparison to
Reykjavík’s current rental crisis, which is
spurred by altogether different reasons:
homeowners renting their flats to tour-
ists at extortionate rates. “Many proper-
ty owners have dollar signs in their eyes
right now,” he adds, “and I don’t think it’s
under control—it’s happening too fast.”
Despite the housing concerns, Domi-
nique acknowledges many positive
aspects to the current tourism boom,
particularly that there once more seem
to be enough jobs to go around. “I know
many of my friends really enjoy working
a lot, and working has a lot of meaning for
them, and I’m happy for them. But, it’s
not all good. The hotels being built in the
city centre aren’t for Icelanders—they’re
for tourists.”
When your lover's gone
Nostalgic, his mind wanders to the past.
He starts recounting idyllic memories
of the Reykjavík music scene he experi-
enced in 2002, when he could see all his
favourite bands perform on any given
weekend. Dominique’s nostalgic moment
quickly turns sour as he starts lamenting
the departure of two of his most trea-
sured venues, Faktorý (formerly Grand
Rokk) and Nasa, which were shut down
to make room for new hotels. It is appar-
ent that this upsets him greatly. “There
is a very noticeable lack of good places to
stage proper shows at in 101 Reykjavík,
and it is affecting the culture. These days,
if I want to attend a concert, I’ll most like-
ly have to go to a festival.”
In light of these
recent developments,
Dominique says he
was thrilled when
The Best Party won
the 2010 Reykjavík
municipal elections,
trusting that a politi-
cal party comprised
of musicians and
artists would seek to
reverse the trend. “I
thought they would
transform Reykjavík
into a hotspot for cre-
ative people,” he says,
“where bands could
play good concerts
in good spaces and
grow even more as
artists.”
While this was ul-
timately, and unfor-
tunately, not the case, Dominique retains
his optimism for the city centre, citing
some of the new venues that have popped
up lately. “Húrra is the best new music
place in town,” he says, “but you could
easily have three to four more places like
that in downtown Reykjavík.”
Very important people
One of Dominique’s biggest concerns
for the Iceland of 2014 is that its current
crop of visitors might be missing out on
what he feels makes the country truly
magical: forging a connection with ac-
tual Icelanders, which he again describes
as an incredibly open and warm people.
“Starting off with an
Icelandic flatmate
introduced me to
the fascinating inner
workings of the soci-
ety and the culture,
and this is what ulti-
mately keeps me com-
ing back.
“I really feel ev-
eryone who visits
this beautiful country
should meet Icelandic
people,” he says, “but
tourists nowadays of-
ten approach Iceland
as if it were a safari
ride. They hop on a
bus, are herded to the
beautiful sights, get
their obligatory pic-
tures of the Golden
Circle attractions
before being sent back home on a plane.
They don’t get to experience the country
as it really is, at its best.”
He adds, in closing: “We don’t know
what Iceland will look like five years
from now, whether it will continue being
as famous and interesting as it’s consid-
ered today. If the tourists up and leave,
there needs to be something left of down-
town Reykjavík beyond empty hotels.
The culture needs a space. The powers
that be would be wise to bear in mind
that the music scene played an essential
part in raising awareness of Iceland and
attracting visitors in the first place, that
it is still a vital part of the country’s ap-
peal, and that it needs support and room
to grow.”
Dominique
Believes
The constant outsider reflects,
by request

Words by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin
Photo by Julia Staples
THE NUMBER 1 MUSIC STORE
IN EUROPE ACCORDING TO
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SKÓLAVÖRÐUSTÍG 15, 101 REYKJAVÍK AND HARPA CONCERT HALL
"I know many of my
friends really enjoy
working a lot, and work-
ing has a lot of meaning
for them, and I’m happy
for them. But, it’s not all
good. The hotels being
built in the city centre
aren’t for Icelanders—
they’re for tourists."
Dominique is a self-described Ice-
landophile and owns 180 Icelandic
music albums
Dominique works as a product
engineer in Heidelberg, Germany,
for the advertisement and creative
sectors
Dominique