Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2016, Blaðsíða 34

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Words HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
Photo ART BICNICK
Since the release of his third solo
album ‘Vagg & Velta’, Emmsjé
Gauti has been packing venues
and selling out of merch. Catch
the phenomenon for yourself at
Innipúkinn Festival, Iceland Air-
waves and more.
Here are his thoughts on ‘Vagg
& Velta’:
“Busy” ft. Dóri DNA (produced by
Logi Pedro)
There was this one studio session
where my phone wouldn’t stop ring-
ing and I was constantly being asked
to perform. I’m not complaining, I love
being busy but that’s how the chorus
“I’m too busy, call my manager” came
to life. Dóri DNA recorded a verse as a
joke but when Logi and I heard it, we
liked it so much we decided to keep it.
“Fíla þig” feat. Unnsteinn Manuel
(p. Joe Frazier)
This is probably the most poppy song
on the album. It’s about vampires,
making out, candle light, coconut oil
and Vesturbær. Unnsteinn has such a
beautiful voice so I had to include him
on the album. It’s a bit like we’re sing-
ing a love duet to one another, which
it’s fitting because I love Unnsteinn.
“Ómar Ragnarsson” (p. Joe Frazier)
I pitched the product placement
“Tjékkaðu bísinn mafakka, ég tek lýsi
mafakka” (“check this bicep mother-
fucker, take your Lýsi motherfucker”)
to the marketing department of Lýsi.
It didn’t work but I will demand a high
five from Þorri Þorskur at some point.
It wasn’t my weirdest meeting actual-
ly. Once, I had a meeting with a phone
company where I tried to sell them a
million copies of my first album. The
song is named after Ómar Ragnarsson
because he’s always in a good mood
like me.
“Reykjavík” (p. Björn Valur)
Björn Valur is the guy usually stand-
ing behind the DJ table while Úlfur
Úlfur or I perform. He sent me a beat,
which I listened to on the way to his
house. It’s a five-minute walk and
when I arrived I’d already finished the
chorus and first verse.
“Djammæli” (p. ReddLights)
“Strákarnir” had just been released
and quickly become extremely popu-
lar. I got a fever all of a sudden and
called my mom. I always call my mom
when I get sick and it inspired the lyr-
ics in the song.
“Stormur” ft. Bent (p. Helgi
Sæmundur)
This was a collaboration I’d dreamed
of for a long time. Bent came up with
the idea that we’d take turns rapping
every four lines, a technique popular
many years ago. We wrote the song at
Íslenski Barinn where we took turns
writing. Bent has a line so crude, I
can’t even say it out loud.
“Strákarnir” (p. Auðunn Lúthersson)
When I heard this beat, something
clicked. I wrote it in half an hour and
recorded it with Logi Pedro the day
after. I remember so clearly asking
Logi what he thought and him saying
he liked it but wasn’t sure it would
become a hit. Some songs need to be
digested and this one is definitely one
of those.
“Loftsteinn”’ (p. Auðunn Lúthersson)
After having released “Strákarnir,”
Auðunn and I met for coffee and creat-
ed another song. The chorus was ready
and we were convinced it was fire.
The verses however weren’t as quick.
In fact it took me such a long time to
write them, I almost gave up. In the
end it all came together though and
it’s one of my favourite songs today.
“Pappír” (p. Björn Valur)
The world revolves around paper. I
wish I could live in a world without
paper, but it does provide opportuni-
ties. I’ve used many different methods
in order to obtain paper, some not very
smart methods. This song is mostly
about paper.
“Frumskógur” (p. Björn Valur)
I sat in the windowsill of Prikið and
looked over the dance floor. I got a bit
scared because I saw lions, hippos,
hyenas and monkeys. It was like I’d
put on jungle shades. “Frumskógur”
(“Jungle”) is about drinking culture
and bootycalls.
“Bitur” ft. Gísli Pálmi (p. ReddLights)
Gísli Pálmi and I last made a song to-
gether ten years ago. It’s called “ego-
trippin” and can be found somewhere
online. There wasn’t really a reason
why we didn’t work together for such a
long time but now suddenly felt right.
“15.000” ft. Úlfur Úlfur (p. Joe
Frazier/Reddlights)
This is the 15,000th song I’ve created
with Úlfur Úlfur. It features fun lyr-
ics, which put smiles on our faces. The
chorus is about us making love with
the devil after good flirting.
“Silfurskotta” ft. Aron Can (p.
ReddLights)
I sat on the toilet when I saw a silfur-
skotta (silverfish) run by me. I thought
to myself that I was like the silverfish,
but pretending to be a golden boy in
between. This is my favourite song
from the album.
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TRACK BY TRACK
Music 34The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2016
‘Vagg & Velta’ by
Emmsjé Gauti
www.berjadagar-artfest.com
Miðar/Tickets: midi.is og við innganginn
Föstudagur/Friday Söngtónleikar 20:00 kirkjan
Laugardagur/Saturday Barnatónleikar 15:00 Pálshús
Laugardagur/Saturday Sellótónleikar 20:00 kirkjan
Sunnudagur/Sunday Berjamessa 11:00 kirkjan
Sunnudagur/Sunday Lokakvöld 20:00 Tjarnarborg
Þórunn Elín Pétursdóttir, sópran
Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, píanó
Guðmundur Ólafsson, leikari
Ólöf Sigursveinsdóttir, selló
Kjartan Guðnason, slagverk...o.fl.
Jón Þorsteinsson, tenór o.fl.

Sérstakur gestur á lokakvöldi:
Hanna Þóra Guðbrandsdóttir, sópran
Tónlist eftir: Báru Gríms, Tryggva Baldvins, Hafliða Hallgríms, Haydn, Mahler, Bach, o.fl.
music festival in Ólafsfjörður
Hátíðin er tileinkuð minningu Sigursveins D. Kristinssonar, uppeldisfrömuðar og tónskálds
12.|13.|14. ágúst 2016
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