Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2016, Síða 44

Music 44The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2016
Austurstræti 16 Tel. 551 0011 apotek.isAPOTEK KITCHEN+BAR
ICELANDIC
GOURMET
MENU
Freshly caught seafood and free range lamb
– with a modern twist
6 COURSE
DINNER MENU
STARTS WITH A “REFRESHING“ SHOT
OF THE NATIONAL SNAPS BRENNIVÍN
FOLLOWED BY A BITE-SIZED TASTE OF PUFFIN
OCEAN PERCH
Slow cooked ocean perch, beetroot purée, spicy
butter, serrano ham, beetroot
MINKE WHALE
Shallot vinaigrette, crispy Jerusalem artichokes
SEA TROUT
Yuzu mayo, tru­e mayo, crispy quinoa, apple
PLAICE
Samphire, green asparagus, blood orange, lime beurre blanc
RACK OF FREE RANGE ICELANDIC LAMB
Lamb fillet, leeks, pickled onions, browned celeriac, baked
carrots, spinach and dill cream
Dessert
SKYR FANTASIA
Skyr fromage, Skyr mousse, strawberry & lime gel,
lime sponge cake
7.990 kr.
The Merchants’ Weekend is a na-
tional summer holiday, taking
place this year July 30-August 1,
when Reykvíkingar pile into cars
en masse and head for an idyllic
countryside retreat.
But for those left in the city,
all’s not lost—Innipúkinn has you
covered. This small-but-perfectly-
formed music festival has taken
place in Reykjavík each summer
for the past fourteen years, bring-
ing together a mixture of respect-
ed Icelandic bands and emerging
talents for an almighty party.
One of the organisers is Ásgeir
Guðmundsson, who talks ebul-
liently about both the festival’s
roots, and its current incarnation.
“The direct translation of In-
nipúkinn in English is ‘inside
demon,’” he explains. “It’s used to
describe children who never want
to go outside and play. It’s sort of
a scary thing really—a negative
term. Parents use it to encourage
their children to go outside. But
we’re using it because, when our
festival started, it was directed
towards all the festivals outside
of Reykjavík. This is the biggest
camping and travelling weekend
of the year in Iceland. But many
people in the music scene… event
organisers, promoters… they’re
not really into that. They wanna be
in a room with a good sound sys-
tem and a good bar, get some good
music, truly enjoy themselves, and
not mess about with camping and
getting wet and rained on.”
Of course, with so many people
pouring out of town, the Mer-
chants’ Weekend does face a risk
of under-attendance. But Ásgeir
says there’s a certain type who
comes along. “I think you get some
great mix of people—you get the
like-minded, good quality peo-
ple. We don’t focus on one music
genre—we just want to present the
very best that the Icelandic music
scene has to offer at any given time.
It’s not purely electronic, rock, in-
die, metal… we give everyone their
space, to showcase Icelandic music
as it is in the moment.”

Have some fun, for
god’s sake
Ásgeir has been in and around the
Icelandic music scene for several
years, working with bands and
artists like Hjaltalín, Ilya, Samaris
and Snorri Helgason. He has a deep
fondness for Icelandic music, de-
scribing his work as “a beautiful ex-
perience.” Innipúkinn allows him
to express that in various ways.
“Over the years we have devel-
oped an element of surprise, or
nostalgia,” he explains, “where we
take a legend from the Icelandic
scene and combine it with some of
the younger musicians. Last year
we took Jakob Frímann and mixed
it up with Amabadama, putting
his classic songs into a reggae cos-
tume. We’ve also done Grísalap-
palísa and Megas—that was beauti-
ful. And this year, we’re doing Helgi
Björnsson—who made a great al-
bum last year—and Boogie Trouble,
for a disco flavour. It’s about fun
really. Icelandic music can be quite
creative and serious—Björk, múm,
Sigur rós and all that—and some-
times I think we need to just have
some fun, for god’s sake.”
And for those secretly crav-
ing a countryside getaway, In-
nipúkinn even lays out a lawn on
Tryggvagata. “It’s not really in
the Innipúkinn spirit to get so
outdoorsy,” smiles Ásgeir. “But
you know. Some people just need
that smell of grass—so if they’re
thinking of going to the Westman
Islands or whatever, we have grass
as well!”
Innipúkinn takes place at Húrra and
Gaukurinn, July 30-August 1. Get a
ticket at Innipúkinn.is.
OPEN 7-21
BREAKFAST,
LUNCH & DINNER
T EMPL AR A SUND 3 , 101 RE Y K JAV ÍK , T EL : 5711822, W W W.BERGSSON. IS
Innipúkinn festival offers
an alternative to a camping
trip this holiday weekend
Words JOHN ROGERS Photo ART BICNICK
Are You An
Inside Demon?
Music festival