Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.12.2015, Page 18

18 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2015
Kolabrautin is on
4th floor Harpa
Reservations
+354 519 9700
info@kolabrautin.is
www.kolabrautin.is
A dinner at the elevated fourth floor of Harpa concert hall
is a destination in itself. Relax and enjoy the best Icelandic
produce complemented with a spectacular panoramic view
of Reykjavík and the surrounding horizon.
For a special evening
with a view like no other
if the boys are kidding or serious. The
group originally made skate films
before they started creating hip-hop.
“The name came from a trip,” Prins
Puffin says, “during which [fellow
Shades member] Elli Grill drew a pic-
ture of a potato smoking, with Shades
of Reykjavík coming out of it.”
The collective recently released two
new videos, “Drusla” and “Elli Grill
og Leoncie”—the latter featuring fa-
mous Indian/Icelandic artist Leon-
cie. Both songs are off their upcoming
album, which was finalized on the
very day we spoke. Prins Puffin seems
exhausted, but that’s only natural,
considering the boys do everything
themselves—from the album art-
work, to mixing, to mastering. “We’re
even releasing it on our own label,”
Prins Puffin tells me proudly. “It’s all
from scratch.”
Sturla
Atlas
(Pronounced Stir-la Atlas)
Members:
Sturla
Logi Pedro
Joey Christ
Young Nazareth
Listen to:
“Snowin”
sturlaatlas.com
The 101 boys of Sturla Atlas began col-
laborating together quite a bit earlier
than their June 2015 mixtape release
might indicate. “Me, Jói, and Logi
were all in a rap group together when
we were like eight,” Sturla says with
a smile. “Last April, Logi and I made
some songs as sort of a present for our
flatmates.” He shrugs. “We ended up
liking them, so I guess the ball just
started rolling after that.”
The first thing they decided was
that they would sing in English. “We
have a lot of love songs,” Sturla says,
discussing the group’s lyrics. This
summer, they alternated between
spending long hours in the studio
and spending long hours partying in
downtown Reykjavík. “We got pretty
weird at times,” Sturla tells me. “You
write down some random shit, and
it might not make any sense, but that
doesn’t matter because, in the end,
the whole thing will come together
and speak for itself.” Sturla Atlas’s
smooth and silky hip-hop does speak
for itself. Their beats, overlaid with
Sturla’s buttery voice, are lovely.
“I love this scene,” Sturla says near
the end of our conversation. “I love
how big it has become.” He smiles. “I
just love the passion.”
Vagina-
boys
Members:
???
???
Listen to:
“Elskan af
því bara”
soundcloud.com/vaginaboys
The Vaginaboys representative I
spoke with insisted on wearing a
white mask throughout our Skype
meeting. His camera was pointed at
an extreme angle, so I could barely
even see his eyes. “I don’t want peo-
ple I don’t know to know me, you
know,” he says. “Me, personally, I’m
not that into the fame aspect of the
music business.” Because of this,
all of Vaginaboys’ members remain
anonymous. They never appear in
public without their patented masks,
furthermore obscuring their voices,
whether they’re performing or be-
ing interviewed on live radio. “We
are maybe five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten?” unspecified Vaginaboy says. He
can’t even tell me how many people
are in the band. “Somewhere around
there?”
But Vaginaboys’ eclectic nature goes
far beyond the band’s outward ap-
pearance and secretive nature. Their
take on modern hip-hop is slow, soul-
ful and R&B-tinged—innovative, ar-
tistic and entirely their own. “They
are mainly love songs, but they have
kind of double meanings,” Vaginaboy
Ingocnito tells me. I ask for an exam-
ple: “Some of them are kind of explic-
it,” he says. “They talk about fingering
girls and stuff. ‘Fingering them to
sleep.’ That’s one of the lyrics.”
Vaginaboys seem to reside in a world
of their own. “I don’t really follow
the local hip-hop scene,” he admits.
The group is planning to release some
songs with English lyrics in the com-
ing months, he tells me in closing, also
hoping to play some shows abroad.
“That would be a dream.”
Auður
(Pronounced “Auth-uhr”)
Members:
Auðunn
Listen to:
“South America”
soundcloud.com/audurmusic
“I remember being a kid, and my
nephew showing me [Iceland’s
breakthrough hip hop outfit] XXX
Rottweiller and I was like ‘Woah!’”
Auðunn, the man behind Auður, tells
me. “I was so surprised that you could
say all that stuff they were saying. I
was really flabbergasted.” Through-
out our conversation, Auðunn con-
Snatcher. But with all the news about
processed meat causing cancer, Sau-
sage Snatcher has moved on to differ-
ent tubular items. Now, Bjúgnakrækir
steals lighters and lipstick. If you tend
to leave your purse unattended or your
lighter on the table whilst doing shots
at the bar, take note—it might not be
there when you get back.
“I would watch people in the bar,”
says Bjúgnakrækir. “If a woman left
her purse unattended, I would root
through it. I wouldn’t take money or
anything—I took makeup, usually lip-
stick. If guys left their jackets lying
around, I would steal their cigarettes or
lighter. Then I’d stand at the other end
of the bar and watch. They’d always be
so confused, searching through their
purse or jacket. When I stole them, I
would pretend to get sick and rush to
the bathroom to inspect my treasures
and laugh to myself.”
Let this be a lesson: DON’T LEAVE
YOUR SHIT ALL OVER THE BAR.
DECEMBER 21
On the ninth day of Christmas, Win-
dow Peeper comes to check out what’s
going on. In your house. From outside.
Yep—it’s Gluggagægir, who likes to
see what kinds of naughty things you
get up to when you think you’re alone.
Now, we’re in the age of camera phones
and internet shaming, so you’d think
folks would be more careful about their
behaviour, especially in public—a les-
son sometimes learned the hard way.
So be glad Gluggagægir doesn’t take
photos. It’s just burned into his mem-
ory. Forever.
“I was walking down
Skólavörðustígur, drunk,” says Glug-
gagægir. “Just checking shit out, you
know? I decided to start taking some
back alleys to get an idea of what was
going on behind the scenes of drunken
merriment. I saw a guy just standing
there, staring into the sky. I thought,
‘Typical tourist, looking for the Au-
rora’. But as I got closer, I realised that
his eyes were closed. I kept creeping
closer. I was curious… like a cat. Fi-
nally, the guy put his hands behind his
head, and I realised he was getting a
blowjob. That was when he noticed
me, and started talking to me. The guy
sucking his dick looked up at me, but
was quickly guided back to the task
at hand. I stood there having a smoke
whilst talking to the blowjob recipient.
But other than getting sucked off by a
dude in alley, he was pretty boring.”
Let that be a lesson: SEX IS SOME-
THING TO DO AT HOME.
DECEMBER 22
On the tenth day of Christmas, you’ll
definitely see Gáttaþefur, Smell Sniffer.
He’s always had a nose for mischief and
fun—the ‘Icelandic nose’ that Reykja-
vík rapper Tiny talks about. This snif-
fling menace has managed to snort up
a lot of confidence—but following your
Icelandic nose can have its downsides.
You can end up living the moment to
the point of sabotaging the future.
“I’d just finished a show,” says Gát-
taþefur. “We bought a bottle to take
with us, and picked out eight good-
looking girls, inviting them down to the
studio for an after-party. Everyone was
making out, and we drank all night—
when it was over, a friend came to pick
me up, but the car got sideswiped by
a cab. It span around three times—he
was all bloody. I tried to hit on the
police officers when they arrived, but
they just sent me away and didn’t even
give me a ride home. It wasn’t our stu-
dio, and we wound up cleaning it for a
week.”
Let that be a lesson: YOU HAVE TO
GO HOME SOMETIME—AN AFTER-
PARTY CAN TURN A GREAT NIGHT
INTO A BAD ONE.
DECEMBER 23
On the twelfth day of Christmas, be
on your guard! Ketkrókur, the Meat
Snatcher, is out causing chaos. Ket-
krókur loves to steal food, but his meat-
hook is too conspicuous these days,
so he makes do with a cupped hand.
Meat Snatcher’s affinity for meat has
turned to dairy as well, particularly ice
cream—a popular sugar rush for the
inebriated.
“I’d been drinking all night,” says
Ketkrókur. “I needed to eat something.
My friend and I went into 10-11, opened
up the freezer, and spooned ice cream
straight into our mouths with our
hands. After stuffing our faces, we put
the lid back on the pail and put it back
in the freezer. We stole some salty li-
quorice on the way out, too.”
Let that be a lesson: UMMM… AL-
WAYS INSPECT ICE CREAM BE-
FORE YOU BUY IT AND, AGAIN,
DON’T GET DRUNK AND STEAL
FROM 10-11.
DECEMBER 24
On the thirteenth day of Christmas,
keep a close eye on your candles! Ker-
tasníkir, the Candle Beggar, is look-
ing to throw shade on your festivities.
Currently, he steals candles to wax up
skate spots around town, combining
thievery and vandalism. Because skat-
ing brings together people of all ages,
Candle Beggar often gets a chance to
lead fledgling 101-rats into dark terri-
tory.
“There used to be this kid who’d
follow us around,” says Kertasníkir.
“He was about thirteen. He was a skate
wunderkind, so we’d let him come to
our studio and smoke joints with us.
His grandmother hated this. She’d al-
ways phone around to find him. One
day, when I returned from working at
sea, my friend had decided to dress up
like a woman. He’d shaved his legs and
put on makeup. It kind of freaked me
out—he looked really good. I kept star-
ing at him. We were in the studio, when
the kid’s grandmother basically kicked
in the door looking for her grandson.
She’d heard her grandson was with my
(cross-dressing) friend, and called out
his name. He stomped over to her in his
high heels, and she asked him, ‘How
old are you?’ He replied, ‘How old are
you?’ And they just did this back and
forth until the grandmother finally
left.”
Let this be a lesson: LET KIDS GROW
UP AT THEIR OWN PACE. NOT EV-
ERYONE NEEDS TO BE FUCKED UP
TO HAVE FUN.