Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.03.2016, Síða 46

The Next Big Thing: Young Musicians
Spread Their Wings At Músíktilraunir
“Nobody is born an artist. You need
to practice, and have a venue to do
so.” So says Ása Hauksdóttir in her
calm and soothing voice, in between
sips of a double cappuccino of her
own making. Ása is the head of youth
centre Hitt Húsið’s cultural depart-
ment, and is in the middle of organ-
ising the upcoming Músiktilraunir
(“Music Experiments”), Iceland’s an-
nual Battle of the Bands competition.
The competition has been held
every year since 1982 (except 1984,
due to a teacher’s strike), and past
winners have gone on to define Ice-
landic music. The 1994-5 winners,
Maus and Botnleðja, were the front-
runners of the 90s punk scene. The
1999 winners Mínus gave hardcore a
much-needed facelift, as did 2000’s
winner, XXX Rottweiler Hundar,
to Icelandic hip-hop. And many of
today’s most popular homegrown
bands, including Mammút, Agent
Fresco, Of Monsters and Men, Sa-
maris, and Úlfur Úlfur (then Bróðir
Svartúlfs) are past winners.
In Ása’s mind, this empowering
competition does more than high-
light the future of Icelandic music:
it’s the reason many of the bands
start in the first place. The contest
has become a staple of the music cal-
endar, and sees some 40 new bands
sign up each year, all drawn from the
grassroots.
Ása has been a part of the com-
petition since 2003, and in that time
she’s seen many of the trends that
have fed today’s scene. She mentions
the shift from English to Icelandic
lyrics, and the increased presence of
women over the past decade. “Lately
there have been a lot of singer-song-
writer types like Axel Flóvent,” she
continues, “and an increased number
of electronic artists.”
Raising the
next generation
The competition takes place in Har-
pa’s Norðurljós over five evenings,
with the winners crowned on the
final night. Ása explains that each
night sees some ten to twelve bands
take to the stage, before which they
get a primer on STEF (“The Perform-
ing Rights Society of Iceland”), how
to sound-check, and the importance
of a good stage plan, as well as tips
on how to protect their hearing and
so on.
“Our goal for the past decade has
been to give all of the contestants the
opportunity to work in a professional
environment with good stage hands,
sound, lights, and organisation,”
Ása tells us, “as well as offer them
the chance to network with other
up-and-coming artists. Most of the
bands have never performed with
stage monitors—we want to get them
out of their garage and to a place
where they can create good music.”
At each of the elimination rounds
the judges pick one band and the
audience another to progress to the
final night. “Just advancing is recog-
nition in itself,” Ása says.
On the final night, which is broad-
cast live on the radio station Rás 2,
the panel picks the top three bands,
as well as handing out prizes for best
songwriting, guitar player, and so on.
The top three winners get twenty
hours in a studio with a sound engi-
neer and a spot on the coveted Ice-
land Airwaves festival roster.
“Whether people win or not isn’t
the point,” Ása emphasises. “It is, like
my colleague says, more of an oppor-
tunity to test your flight feathers.”

Músiktilraunir is hosted on April 2-5,
with the final competition on on April
9. Tickets are 1,500 ISK for the pre-
liminary shows and 2,000 for the final
night.
The deadline to register new bands is
March 14 on www.musiktilraunir.is.
SHARE: gpv.is/tilr
WORDS: Gabríel Benjamin
PHOTOS: Art Bicnick, Gulli
a
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