Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.11.2015, Síða 40

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Þingholtsstræti 5 - tel: 595 8535
Enjoy our wide variety of feature cocktails
inspired by the spectacular view from SKÝ.
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Top floor CenterHotel Arnarhvoll - Ingólfsstræti 1 / 595 8545
RESTAURANT
ÍSAFOLD
The preternatural Jófríður Ákadót-
tir, well-known for her work with
Samaris, GANGLY and Pascal Pinon,
twice showcased her new, in-develop-
ment solo project. At the second show,
in front of a room of cross-legged
festivalgoers on the floor of Hotel
Alda’s cavernous lobby, Jófríður’s per-
formance immediately silenced the
burble of conversation into a stunned,
pin-drop hush. Her delicate, minimal
guitar notes and quietly impassioned
singing style felt like having poetic
secrets whispered into your ear. Aug-
mented by some wonderful, sensitive
drumming by virtuoso percussionist
Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and some
subtle synths and effects from a small
ensemble that included her father, com-
poser Áki Ásgeirsson, the songs blurred
together in the best possible way, hint-
ing at a considered, coherent, formi-
dable new body of work on the horizon.
I catch up with Jófríður the next
day to talk it over, finding her eating
soup at Bryggjan Brugghús after a
Saturday afternoon off-venue perfor-
mance with her moody electronic-
pop trio GANGLY. She’s in good form,
chatting and joking with a group of
friends, in the heart of the Airwaves
mood. Having seen her play these
songs with three completely different
bands (including notable collaborators
such as Mr. Silla and Úlfur Hansson),
and under a few different names in-
cluding “JFDR" and simply “Jófríður,"
I ask if all her recent performances are
representations of the same project.
“Yeah, they are,” she confirms. "I’m
still working on the name. It’s been
JFDR, and it’s been Jófríður… it’s actu-
ally quite hard to name yourself! Your
parents give you your name, and then
suddenly you have to rename yourself
again! But hopefully I’ll find it soon.”
Strange loops
As the set at Hotel Alda progressed,
lyrical themes emerged, including
change, loss, personal growth, rep-
etition, and sweeping musings on the
nature of… everything, really; like the
purposeful marking out of a philoso-
phy on life via a song cycle.
“They are very personal songs for
me,” Jófríður explains. "I know it’s a
cliché, but I put a lot of work into the
lyrics. The lyrics are poetry—I look at
it that way. I normally hate it when
someone says things like that, that
their work is more like composition
than songwriting, and their lyrics are
more like poetry, but whatever—it fits,
here. I’ve always been able to express
Swimming
Through Seasons:
Jófríður Ákadóttir
has been quietly
working on a
poetic new
project
Hidden deep amongst all the extravagant blowouts, grand orchestral performances, strobe-
lit dance parties, face-meltingly blood-splattered metal shows and twitching, apoplectic bro-
ken-beat DJ sets of Airwaves, one small, humble, quiet show came close to topping them all.
Photo Timotheé Lambrecq
Words John Rogers
8
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