Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.09.2015, Síða 41

DINNER
6 COURSE MENU
STARTS WITH A “REFRESHING“ SHOT
OF THE NATIONAL SNAPS BRENNIVÍN
FOLLOWED BY A BITE-SIZED TASTE OF PUFFIN
OCEAN PERCH
Slow cooked ocean perch, beetroot purée, spicy
butter, serrano ham, beetroot
MINKE WHALE
Shallot vinaigrette, crispy Jerusalem artichokes
SEA TROUT
Yuzu mayo, truffle mayo, crispy quinoa, apple
PLAICE
Samphire, green asparagus, blood orange, lime beurre blanc
RACK OF FREE RANGE ICELANDIC LAMB
Lamb fillet, leeks, pickled onions, browned celeriac, baked
carrots, spinach and dill cream
Dessert by pastry chef Axel Þ.
CHOCOLATE ROSE
Chocolate mousse, raspberry gel, Sacher layer
7.990 kr.
Austurstræti 16 101 Reykjavík apotek@apotekrestaurant.is
ICELANDIC GOURMET MENU
Freshly caught seafood and free range lamb – with a modern twist
FROM 17:00
apotek.is
Amtmannsstíg 1 • 101 Reykjavík • +354 561 3303 • www.torfan.is
experience
classical cuisine
each song, reading into the symbolism
and structure. That sort of dedication
isn’t something you
can take for grant-
ed.”
He says a lot of
the songs have clear
correlations to what
was going on in
his life. “Dark Wa-
ter,” for example, is
about his alienation
from the band; “See
Hell” focuses on the
cycle of violence;
and “Wait For Me”
is about how time
doesn’t stand still
while you’re away.
Even though
the songs have very
specific connota-
tions for Arnór,
what amazes him is
how people relate to
them. He mentions
an example, the opening track with
the aforementioned Tartini tone—that
same effect is then also found in the
final track, but in reverse, where one
note breaks away into multiple smaller
ones before fading away. Arnór says
when he hears these sounds, he thinks
of anger building up, of destruction—
while bandmate Þórarinn thinks of life
being created, of beauty. “Either way,”
he says, “it’s about beginnings and
endings.”
The biggest stage
Once the album had been mixed, mas-
tered and released, Arnór says they
started working on staging as big an al-
bum release party as they could. Much
like they had done with ‘A Long Time
Listening’, they wanted to play the
entire album on a stage that could ac-
commodate all their collaborators and
session players. “We knew we needed
something bigger than Húrra or Gau-
kurinn,” he says, “so we thought: ‘Why
not just get Harpa’s
Silfurberg?’”
It was no small
undertaking, and
they struggled to
make the money add
up—but the show
was all but sold out
shortly after the
720 available tickets
went on sale. “We
want to give people
the opportunity to
hear these songs the
way we want them
to be heard,” he says.
“We’ll never get this
opportunity again,
you know, so we re-
ally want to make it
count.”
At the time of
writing, the band
is busy rehears-
ing. When asked if they can repeat
the opening and ending Tartini tones
live, Arnór says they’ll definitely be
there. “It’ll be the whole album, in se-
quence,” he confirms, “from track one
to fourteen.”
On the subject of what’s to come,
he says Agent Fresco have an exten-
sive European tour confirmed and a
US tour currently being booked. And,
of course, they’ll play at Iceland Air-
waves.
He hints at that their next album
might focus on empathy and apathy,
but he won’t know for sure until the
final note has rung.
9
Genre Defying
On the subject of genres and where
Agent Fresco fits in, Arnór takes a
moment before commenting that
Iceland doesn’t really have scenes.
“When you’re in the States and you
go to a rock show, you’ll get a lineup
of similar rock bands. Same goes for
hardcore shows, or reggae,” he says,
“but in Iceland it’s all connected. If
you go see Agent Fresco in Iceland,
we’ll probably be playing with [punk
rockers] Reykjavík!, [reggae kids]
AmabAdamA, and [hip-hop act]
Úlfur Úlfur.” Arnór adds that this
makes playing in Iceland easy, as
Agent Fresco can fit in with anyone,
but that bookers have their work cut
out fitting them onto an internation-
al roster.