Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Blaðsíða 16

Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Blaðsíða 16
16 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 7 — 2015 Despite his chosen setup, Logi has respect for those who invest their energy in traditional DJ techniques. “I went to see Introbeats one time at his studio, to record some bass on a track,” he re- members. “He was going downtown to DJ, and he took the decks there in flight cases. It was a lot to move around—it took three guys. He was so dedicated to how he was going to play. He didn’t have to bring all that stuff, but he was going to do it just the way he wanted.” Sunna Ben is another young DJ who cut her teeth playing at Prikið. “Prikið on a busy night is just insane,” she says. “It’s one of my very favourite things to do, playing out hip-hop and R&B on those nights. I also play there with my partner in crime Þura Stína, under our joint DJ name SunSura. Those nights are always awesome.” The digital setup was a natural fit for Sunna. “I just Googled what was the best DJ software,” she says. “The inter- net told me Traktor, so I set out to learn how to operate that. Later on I got my tiny Numark Mixtrack Pro 2 controller, and that’s all I use to this day. It’s very compact and light, and does everything I need it to do. I love being able to throw it into a tote bag and head off to play a gig, easy breezy.” Spreading the love Two of the newest kids on the block are DJ duo Anna Ásthildur and Kría Daníels- dóttir, known as DJ Myth & Lazybones, respectively. “I had this controller I’d bought in the States,” says Kría. “But I was shy and too lazy to do something with it. That’s where the name came from. Then Anna said, ‘Let’s just book a gig.’ Sometimes you just need the pressure. So she booked us something, and I was like: ‘Shit! Okay, let’s do this!’” Their first slot was at the newly opened Palóma bar. “It didn’t have a crowd yet really,” Anna recalls. “We played some really empty Thursday nights, but it was good to have time to feel out how everything worked. Then we started doing these nights called Rafnæs, with guest DJs from different bands like Curver from Ghostigital or DJ flugvel og geimskip, and it just took off.” Anna and Kría have a shared taste in deep house and mellow electronica. “We’ve been holding back our dance set,” laughs Kria, “because we kinda don’t feel like people are ready for it!” But they pumped it up for the final night of Har- lem bar’s existence—a potentially quiet Wednesday that became a rowdy fare- well party. “Björk was there, she came over and asked us to turn it up,” says Anna. “That was the first time we were like, 'Wow, people are actually really lik- ing this!'” The two started playing partially be- cause of their frustration with the city’s existing nightlife. “There was nowhere that had both good music and a vibe that we liked,” says Anna. “We would go to Dolly, which has great music a lot of time, but everyone would be banging into each other... sometimes you just can’t dance there. There’s no love! Instead of cold- ness and harshness, we wanted to bring more warmth and softness into the elec- tronic sound.” Kría nods in agreement, adding: “I feel like we’re emitting a deep care in the music we play.” The godfather One of the town’s most established DJs is Árni Einar Birgisson, aka Alfons X. Árni is also the booker of Kaffibarinn’s week- round DJ schedule. “My first bar gig was in the summer of ‘92, in the place that was the precursor of Sirkus,” Árni says. “It was owned by the guy that eventually started Kaffibarinn. Sigga Boston was working the bar. It was kind of a forma- tive place for the downtown scene as it is today. Then around the year 2000, a bar and club called Thomsen appeared. It was amongst the first places to pay the DJs. I went suddenly from not really get- ting paid, to making good money. It be- came a full-time job.” Árni mostly plays house, but he’s no purist. “If you can mix a 140bpm dub of a 30-year-old Talking Heads track into a house set, then it’s house music,” he says. “I don’t like it when people play 40 tracks from 2014 or 2015 at all. I like the texture you get from mixing it up. In 2002, I was playing straight-up house, but in 2004, indie and dance were clashing togeth- er—stuff like The Rapture and Hot Chip. That was a big year for music. The Rap- ture played Airwaves around that time— they were queuing for Sirkus, and ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ was playing inside, and they still couldn’t get in...” Even before the boom, Árni remem- bers Kaffibarinn having a high profile amongst tourists. “In my first years here, people were reading about Kaffibarinn in magazines,” he says. “There’d be these groups of 17-year-old Germans who real- ly had no place here. We’d start by playing a half hour of really aggressive hip-hop, and call it 'clearing out the Gore-Tex.'” Over the years, Árni has realised that having a broad range is a useful trait for a DJ. “There’s a certain skill in DJing for a sitting crowd,” says Árni. “I think it can be immensely satisfying. You need to spend a lot of time listening to music for that. You need to play out something dif- ferent.” Keeping on Margeir Steinar Ingólfsson is Iceland’s best-known DJ. Whether crowd-surfing over the Blue Lagoon, performing with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, or playing show-stopping locations like the summit of Mt. Esja or the Eiffel Tower, Margeir is someone who seems able to continually produce moments of magic. “I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel around and do what I love,” says Margeir, skyping in from an island in Thailand. “I mean... when I got my first DJ job at 16, my mother said “you will never earn any money from this.” And maybe I agreed with her. But I didn't care —this was something I wanted to do.” Margeir started in the early 90s, when he answered an ad for a DJ in Ho- tel Borg, honing his craft over the next two years as their resident DJ. “My love was always for electronic music,” he says, “but the people weren't ready! So I guess I considered my role to be a kind of a men- tor to the people on the dance floor. And basically, I still think I am in that role. I was always trying to push electronic music to the people. Sometimes the pro- moters weren't happy, so I tried to use my charming smile to convince them it was the next big thing,” he laughs. “And, well... I guess it was.” Still very much at the top of his game, Margeir remains humble. “I guess I have always been very ambitious,” he says, “and I just don't have a stopper. I always try to go to the next level. It doesn't al- ways succeed. But, I’m planning parties this summer in some crazy locations...” Also a dedicated follower of yoga and meditation, Margeir has also been playing some small events at Dansverk- stæðið. “The shows don't have to be big to be special,” he says. ”I’ve been playing for the yoga crowd, when 40-50 people come and do yoga, then dance like crazy, and finish with some meditation. Conscious clubbing! It's the next big thing!” So after over twenty years manning the decks, Margeir still bears a deep love for DJing, and an urge to try out new things. “Really, I'm just happy if I can make people dance,” he finishes, “and I’m even happier if I can join them.” 3 4 53 76 8 9 The DJs 1 DJ Yamaho, aka Natalie G Gunnarsdóttir 2 Introbeats, aka Addi 3 DJ Katla, aka Katla Ásgeirsdóttir 4 Óli Dóri 5 DJ Myth & Lazybones, aka Anna Ásthildur & Kría Daníelsdóttir 6 Alfons X, aka Árni Einar Birgisson 7 DJ Margeir, aka Margeir Steinar Ingólfsson 8 DJ Sunna Ben 9 Logi Pedro “It’s hard work! You’re making this noise, relentlessly, for five, six, seven hours straight. You always have to be on your toes. When I’m playing, I have fun, sure—but I’m constantly working. People don’t see that.” - DJ Katla
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