Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.05.2016, Síða 29

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C H •
A P R I L • MAY •
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Ever since the release of bangers
such as ''Spenfrelsi'' (''Nipple free-
dom'') and ''Hóra Kapítalismans''
(''Capitalist’s Whore''), the rise of
Krakk & Spaghettí—Reykjavík’s
newest rap clan—has been unstop-
pable. The group started out by
competing in a contest to write and
perform the worst song. “We were
in second place, so we thought to
ourselves, hey, we’re not that bad—
we’re only second worst!” Margrét
recalls, to the laughter of her band-
mates Atli and Þorgerður.
Þorgerður, a pink-haired rapper
currently studying music produc-
tion under the tutelage of veteran
rap duo Úlfur Úlfur, is the founder
of Krakk & Spaghettí. Atli, her boy-
friend, makes the beats and is study-
ing music mixing at the moment.
The cheerful third wheel, Margrét
Aðalheiður, is the band’s graphic de-
signer as well as a rapper.
Þorgerður and Margrét aren’t
only rappers but also angelic choir-
singers. They classify their rap as
cute, with their professed main
goal being to not take themselves
too seriously. As Margrét says,
“Generally, we’re all total buffoons.”
“And we want to add more silliness
to the Icelandic music scene,” Þorg-
erður adds. (They have a habit of fin-
ishing each other’s sentences.)
Tiny Space In Space
The band invites me up to their
attic. The tiny space is filled with
plants, teddy bears, old magazines
and music equipment. Atli makes
coffee while Margrét and Þorg-
erður pet a lazy cat. We get down to
the story of how it all began.
Þorgerður: “I wanted to use my
Christmas vacation to rap, mostly
to be funny on Twitter.”
Margrét: “Then me and Þorgerður
got totally drunk at a party and we
wrote a song together called 'Krakk
og Spagettí, Magg og swagettí.’ Ev-
erything in our life has happened
because of Twitter—such as our
collaboration with Kött Grá Pjé.”
On a whim, Krakk og Spaghettí
invited rapper Kött Grá Pjé to col-
laborate with them via Twitter.
They perhaps didn’t expect him
to say yes, but he did—with the
results speaking for themselves.
They’ve also asked Emmsjé Gau-
ti if he would share the instru-
mental version of his smash hit
''Bara ég og strákarnir'' (''Just me
and the boys'') so that they could
make their own version, ''Bara ég
og skátarnir'' (''Just me and the
Scouts''). The band is still waiting
on his reply.
Kött Inspiration
The group agrees that Kött Grá Pjé
is one of their biggest inspirations.
Collaborating with him was there-
fore one of the band’s highlights,
as well as having him perform an
intimate set at Þorgerður’s 21st
birthday party. They say Reykja-
víkurdætur also had a huge impact
on them, acting as role models for
girls looking to break into the Ice-
landic rap scene.
The band has performed off-ven-
ue at Iceland Airwaves, alongside
Reykjavíkurdætur at the women’s
rap evening, as well as at Húrra’s
#Freethenipple event. When asked
about their favourite gig so far, the
band names the Dude festival in
the one-horse town of Djúpavogur.
They performed at Langabúð, a
small bar they proudly filled with
drunk people.
Krakk & Spaghettí’s songs can
be silly, but also tend to focus on
the issues which matter to them.
''Spenfrelsi'' is a song they wrote
in celebration of #Freethenipple, a
campaign close to them, as signi-
fied in their iconic topless spaghet-
ti photograph. ''Trúarjátning'' is a
political song about religion and
children’s confirmation in Iceland,
while ''Hóra Capitalismans''—well,
the title speaks for itself.
M: “We mostly write about stuff we
find funny or important. Although
we may be acting silly and having
fun, there is always some serious-
ness behind it. We are a band that
started off as a joke, a joke that
went really far and never stopped,
and here we are.”
A: “We create most of our stuff un-
der pressure. We book a gig and then
we write three songs in a week.”
M: “Yes, book first, then write. We
once wrote one song in two days.
We were so late, we had to print
out the lyrics and tape them to the
monitors—like true rappers. You
don’t actually have to be cool to rap.”
Pink Sweatbands
The rappers all agree that Krakk &
Spaghettí has been a huge learn-
ing process in terms of mixing,
producing and writing. Þorgerður
states: “We’re friends doing some-
thing we enjoy and we really love
performing.” Margrét adds: “The
reaction has also been really good.
At least, drunk people always seem
to compliment us after perfor-
mances,” she laughs.
The band says that the dream
would be to keep performing at
nice venues with cool people in
front of fun crowds. They are also
a part of the music project FÁT,
which aims to matchmake new
bands and musicians who want
to perform alongside one anoth-
er. Krakk & Spaghettí have many
songs waiting to be released and
have already started producing
their own signature merchandise
in the form of pink sweatbands with
the band’s logo. They hope sweat-
bands will become the new cap.
Fans can purchase the sweat-
bands for only 1,000 ISK and become
a part of Krakk & Spaghettí’s clan.
LISTEN AND SHARE: gpv.is/krakk
Krakk & Spaghettí
Reykjavík's newest rap clan
Words & Photos by HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
Music