Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.11.2015, Side 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, tru­e 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
myself well with words, lyrics, poetry.”
The songs were written across the
course of the last year, and contain a
contemplative, intimate feeling that
came from the solitary writing as the
seasons changed. “I can time these
songs across the seasons, like a diary,”
says Jófríður. “But it also has that cir-
cularity of the seasons—it starts where
it ends, and ends where it begins.
There’s no conclusion, because I start
with a conclusion, and loops back to
it. So it’s about both the circle of the
seasons, and the other circle, of life.
That’s the big concept I’m working on
with this—the circling of everything.
You’ll hear when the record comes
that the lyrics have a story—I get inspi-
ration from the weather, and where I
am in the circle of the seasons. I’ll talk
about something that happened in the
past, when it was summery, but put it
in the context of coldness, and win-
ter, and feeling cold inside. It’s been a
year since I started writing it... it’s like
completing a circle.”
The most Jófríður
As remarkable as the songs themselves
is the different ways Jófríður has pre-
sented them live, based on the rolling
cast of her performance ensemble at
any given time. “I had Maggi [Magnús
Trygvason Eliassen] play the drums
with me at Airwaves,” she says. “Be-
fore this project, I’ve never played
with a live drummer before. I wanted
to play with very creative, experienced
drummers. I recorded some stuff with
Greg Fox from Liturgy, the metal
band—he does insane drone drums. I
also recorded with Shahzad Ismaily—
he’s just an insane drummer. And then
Maggi is very high level—he’s incred-
ible. I asked him to just jam on top of
the loops, and told him a little about
the structure, but we never got a really
good rehearsal—so I’m putting a lot
of trust in my players. And I give that
trust freely, because I love them and I
want their contribution. Maggi tears
things apart and lifts things to another
level. Then I have my friend Bergur
who holds things together—he’s the
glue. And then I’m the drive.”
But despite the freedom given to
her collaborators, Jófríður is firmly
in the aesthetic driving seat, and as a
result, this music is perhaps the “most
Jófríður” of her collected output so
far—there’s a tangible sense of quiet
intelligence, perceptiveness and subtle
sensitivity flowing through her new
music. “I do enjoy being 'in charge' with
this project,” she says. “I have so much
open space for randomness. I’ve played
once or twice a month since I started
doing this, because I guess people heard
about it and are excited to hear it. And
I can play alone—or I can ask literally
anyone to join me for a show.”
Better yet, these different inter-
pretations of the songs will eventually
be set down in the studio. “I want to
make alternative version of the mu-
sic—I don’t want to just do it the tra-
ditional way,” Jófríður explains. “And
I’ll do that as I start releasing stuff.
But it’s quite early to be talking about
it—I have a new Pascal Pinon album
on the way, and Samaris, and this GAN-
GLY project. I hope that the solo work
will gradually take over. But people are
so concerned with getting this big quick
breakthrough and getting this massive
moment in ‘the now.’ But I want to do
this project for many years to come, and
so I will have to build it very slowly and
steadily.”
This is also the first Jófríður proj-
ect to be written solely in English, a
decision she has very much enjoyed.
“English is a beautiful language,”
she smiles. “Icelandic is beautiful as
well of course, but the vocabulary in
English is crazy. I can pull, stretch,
expand, say things in so many differ-
ent, specific ways… I can really make
a sentiment that could be quite bland
come to life. For me that’s a wonderful
platform to experiment. I just want to
be honest in the lyrics. But also over-
specific—I try to say real things, but
also to make people find their own
stories inside the lyrics. I try to make
them memorable.”
And memorable they are. As we
say our goodbyes and head back out
into the city-wide party of another
wonderful Airwaves festival, I hope
it won’t be many more seasons before
this music makes its way to our record
collections, and perhaps makes the
winter feel just that little bit warmer.
Swimming
Through Seasons:
Jófríður Ákadóttir
has been quietly
working on a
poetic new
project
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