Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.06.2016, Blaðsíða 24

#STURLASEASON

The band was formed just one year
ago, when Sturla, Logi Pedro and
Jóhann Kristófer made an album for
their friend Jón Pétur’s birthday. Af-
ter hearing the finished product, they
were surprised at how good it sounded.
“After the birthday party, Logi Pedro
suggested that we perform at a hip-
hop night at [bar] Húrra. We ended up
doing it, and afterwards we started
recording new stuff,” Sturla explains.
“We started using Twitter a lot but to
this day, I still don’t understand how
so many people knew about us in such
a short amount of time.”
The hype around Sturla Atlas
stemmed from social media, as promi-
nent Icelandic artists like Unnsteinn
Manuel (Logi’s brother and bandmate)
and Emmsjé Gauti started using the
hashtag #sturlaseason and wearing the
band’s signature t-shirt. Sturla, Logi
and Jóhann soon decided Twitter would
be a good way to advertise themselves,
as they knew it would attract the atten-
tion of their target audience.
To the outside eye, the band’s suc-
cess seems to the result of a lucky
series of events, with an extra push
from the band’s popular connections.
However, as Sturla explains, “People
instantly decide if they like something
and I think people realised, when lis-
tening to our first songs, ‘Houses in
the Hills’ and ‘Over Here,’ that our
stuff was fresh, that Sturla Atlas could
become something bigger.“

THE SQUAD

After seeing Sturla Atlas perform at
Secret Solstice, Iceland Airwaves and
Sónar (I’m kind of a fangirl), I can
safely say their shows are like portals
to Reykjavík’s it-crowd. Youngsters
wearing Sturla Atlas merchandise and
singing along to every word is a com-
mon sight. It’s a powerful clique—one
that you’ll never beat, so you might as
well join.
The band primarily consists of four
members: Sturla, Logi Pedro, Jóhann
Kristófer, and beat-maker Arnar Ingi
(Young Nazareth). However, the Sturla
Atlas squad is much larger. Their man-
ager, Egill Ástráðsson, keeps them
organised; Kjartan Hreinsson acts
as their photographer and art direc-
tor; and Pétur Kiernan and Brynjar
Barkarson work with the band for PR
projects and the like. Jón Pétur de-
signed the first Sturla Atlas T-shirt,
and Siggi Odds helped design the
Sturla Aqua clothing line. The band
has also collaborated with Unnsteinn
Manuel and worked hand-in-hand
with Sigga Ólafs. “Everyone in our
friend group contributes to the band
in some way, so it isn’t just about mu-
sic. It’s become a kind of visual world,”
Sturla explains.
When I note the male dominance in
the group, Sturla responds, “We are a
group of friends who are mostly guys,
which is probably why the band con-
sists solely of males. When it comes
to the band collaborating with people,
however, gender doesn’t matter at all.
Sigga Ólafs is, as of now, the only girl
we’ve worked with, but it’s just a mat-
ter of time until we collaborate with
more women.”

STURLA AQUA

Sturla Atlas’s first album, ‘Love Hurts’,
contains the band’s most famous song
to date, “San Francisco.” Sturla elabo-
rates on its success, explaining, “We
didn’t expect it, but ‘San Francisco’
became our most popular song by far.
The song is simple in structure and
the lyrics are easily picked up. People
seem to find that attractive in a song.”
According to Sturla, they wrote
‘Love Hurts’ without a budget and
without too much self-censorship. Af-
ter releasing the album, Sturla Atlas
performed at a number of events and
was even played on national radio sta-
tions. Soon after that, the group had
made a name for itself within the Ice-
landic hip-hop scene, not as a heavy-
rap group, but as an RnB offshoot from
the scene. Sturla Atlas, almost im-
mediately, decided to make a second
album, ‘These Days’. While recording
and producing it, the band decided
to be a bit more refined and put more
thought into the songs, researching
what worked and what didn’t. ‘These
Days’ was released in late 2015 and
included bangers like “Snowin’” and
“Fuckboys.” After this album, the band
members each focused more on per-
sonal projects. “We kept performing at
concerts,” Sturla notes, “but juggling
school and the band was very demand-
ing. Also, you can’t constantly be up in
people’s faces.“
On top of new music, the band also
released a clothing line, Sturla Aqua, in
March of 2016, as part of an exhibition
for the DesignMarch festival. Sturla
Aqua was designed in collaboration
with Siggi Odds and includes sweaters
and t-shirts with various Sturla Atlas
logos on them. “Of course, we primar-
ily make music, but from day one, our
idea for the Sturla Atlas project was to
create an image. The clothing line is
part of that image,” Sturla says, add-
ing, “We thought about releasing a
song along with the clothing line, but
we felt Sturla Aqua was strong enough
on its own. Still, the clothing line did
help us further develop our identity. “

101 BOYS

Though Sturla Atlas’s members have
many things to do, even outside of the
band, they’ve accomplished a lot in
only a year. Sturla Sturla and Jóhann
Kristófer recently graduated from Ice-
land Academy of the Arts, Sturla in
acting and Jóhann in theatre and per-
formance. “We use up all of our free
time in the studio,” Sturla says. “And
even though we are busy, we really
enjoy working together. What I think
people find the most interesting about
our project is how laid-back it is.” Stur-
la’s face lights up as he continues, “We
are just friends having fun together
and people connect to that. It goes to
show that everything that becomes
successful originates from people do-
ing something they love.”
Logi Pedro produces the music for
Sturla Atlas. He has a long history
in music production, having been in
bands like Retro Stefson and Young
Karin. “I would’ve never started mak-
ing music if it weren’t for Logi Pedro,”
Sturla notes. “We’re very thankful for
all of his experience in both creat-
ing music and working with practical
matters. There’s never a dull moment
in the band, but it can be pretty de-
manding.” However, he tells me that
working and performing alongside his
friends is a luxury.
Sturla tells me he never would have
anticipated the band’s success. He
says he’s learned to be open to any-
thing, as when it comes to Sturla At-
las, anything can happen. Being voted
“Best Newcomer” at the Iceland Music
Awards is just one example. Sturla
elaborates: “It’s super cliché to say we
24 Happening at Solstice
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SEASON2