Reykjavík Grapevine - 28.08.2015, Side 47

The Nordic House Reykjavík is a vibrant Nordic cultural
institution with exhibitions, a library, shop and one
of the best restaurants in Reykjavík, Aalto Bistro.
The building is designed by the internationally
acclaimed finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
Open everyday from 10–17
Visit www.nordichouse.is for more information.

Book a table: www.aalto.is
Sundays – wednsdays 11–17
Thursdays – saturdays 11–21
The Nordic House
Sturlugata 5, 101 Reykjavík
Tel: 5517030, www.nordichouse.is
Enjoy food
Enjoy books
Enjoy culture
Enjoy the
Nordic House
Norræna húsið
The Nordic House
THE HOUSE AT EYRARBAKKI

Árnessýsla folk museum is located in Húsið, the House, historical home
of the Danish merchants built in 1765.
Húsið is one of the oldest houses in Iceland and a beautiful monument
of Eyrarbakki´s time as the biggest trading place on the south coast.
Today one can enjoy
exhibitions about the story
and culture of the region,
famous piano, shawl made
out of human hair and the
kings pot, are among items.
Húsið prides itself with warm
and homelike atmosphere.
The Maritime museum is
close by where the beautiful
twelve-rower Farsæll is the
largest item.
A glimpse of the past lives of
Eyrarbakki´s villagers is what
meets the eye of the guests.
Opening hours: May 1st - September 30th daily 11.00-18.00 or by an agreement
Tel: +354 483 1504 & +354 483 1082 | husid@husid.com | www.husid.com
The House at Eyrarbakki
Experience the best of Icelandic design
in Reykjavík’s oldest house

Kraum - Aðalstræti 10, Reykjavík - kraum.is

i c e l a n d i c d e s i g n
Let’s start at the beginning. How
did ‘Milkywhale’ happen?
I’ve always been interested in the con-
nection between music and dance in my
pieces. I studied in Amsterdam at this
crazy dance school—the kind where peo-
ple ran around naked screaming “What
is postmodernism?!” You know? We had
a writing course, but my teacher had just
broken up with his boyfriend and was like
“I feel like writing love songs.” So instead,
we had five weeks of songwriting, and af-
ter that he paired some of us together to
form a house band. We played, and the re-
ception was amazing. As dancers, we were
like, “Wow, we’ve never gotten this type of
reception before.” Music—people really
connect to it instantly.
So that’s how it started—the music. I
wanted to do my own thing, and I’d want-
ed to work with Árni for a long time. We
linked up, and then started collaborating
with the writer Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. My
job was to act as a medium between her
and Árni, and we finished all the songs in
ten days, which is super-rare.
Extreme sports
So “love, trampoline exercises,
whales and pop music,” is pretty
difficult to visualise! What exactly
is ‘Milkywhale’ about?
‘Milkywhale' is a choreographed con-
cert. Árni and I started to talk about how
we were tired of going to see bands play
because it’s always the same setup, the
same lights. We wanted to make a concert
where we could decide everything.
So my singing alter ego Milkywhale—
she’s kind of this lonely whale that strug-
gles to survive, and does so through music
and singing. That’s the fun thing about this
piece. You put an audience that is coming
to see a theatre production in the perspec-
tive of the audience at a pop concert. Like
sitting in their seats, watching as a theatre
audience. So we play with that.
The songs are really amazing. It’s su-
per-pop.
Is there a narrative?
No, there’s not really a narrative, but all
the songs connect thematically. They are
based on loneliness, about wanting to be
normal but not really managing. There are
lyrics like, “I wanna be mainstream, not a
gulf stream.”
It is a solo piece, so you automatically
start to wonder, who is this creature on
stage singing and dancing alone in her
own world? So if you want to, you can find
a narrative, but if not, you can watch it like
a concert.
Is it hard to mix something like that
with modern dance?
Well, contemporary dance today is like
the extreme sport of the theatre world,
you know? Because until a short time ago,
people were like, “Hmm this isn’t really
theatre, just put it in the dance category.”
So we ended up with all these crazy per-
formances that didn’t have any notion of
dance in them, but that’s what I really like
about contemporary dance. There’s room
for so much creativity.
In theatre, people come to look and
meditate on what is happening on stage, to
see and think. But at a concert, people just
come to listen and enjoy. I am new to this,
talking to the audience and manipulating
them. It all combines.
You just played Innipúkinn and the
Reykjavík Dance Festival. What’s
next?
We just released a music video, and will be
at Iceland Airwaves. ‘Milkywhale’ started
off as a theatre and dance production, but
has kind of turned into a music project.
Árni and I liked the sound so much that
we want to perform it as much as we can.
I hope we can play more concerts. For me,
that’s the dream. I really enjoy it.
I’m also trying to get Árni on stage! I
want to bring my shy musician onstage
with me.
Ok, I gotta ask: what’s your favou-
rite ‘Milkypop’-esque cheesy pop
song?
Oh my gosh, that’s a difficult question.
Right now, honestly, I am always dancing
to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You”…
[laughs]
Like Spinal Tap or Dethklok, Milkywhale is
not a real band—but it is! It’s a performance
piece that’s now coming to life. Confusing
yes, but you know, as they say, life imitates
art.
What Is A Milkywhale And
Why Should You Care?
Getting to the bottom of Reykjavík’s
latest dance-theatre-band-project!
One might not normally associate love, trampoline exercises, and whales with pop music.
Still, that is exactly what you’re going to get from ‘Milkywhale’, a modern dance-theatre-con-
cert-piece-band that just premiered at the Reykjavík Dance Festival. The work is a collabora-
tion between choreographer Melkorka Sigríður Magnúsdóttir and Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson
of FM Belfast. We sat down with Melkorka to discuss the project.
Photo Magnús Leifsson
Words Hannah Jane Cohen
7MUSIC
INTERVIEW