Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.08.2016, Page 41

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A wonderful insight into
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Tomas Z | July 2013
The rap phenomenon Kött Grá Pjé
will release his much-anticipated
début album in early autumn. The
rapper has garnered attention
for a flamboyant personal style
as well as his blend of poetic and
political lyrics which he performs
at his notoriously extravagant live
performances, leaving the audi-
ence sweaty and satisfied.
While studying history at the
University of Iceland, Atli Sigþórs-
son used wear sweater vests and
had short
combed hair.
He found it fun-
ny to immerse
himself in the
character of a
historian. “My
school buddies
probably think I’m going through
one hell of a phase nowadays,” he
says, laughing. Because for
him, becoming Kött Grá
Pjé felt liberating. When he
began his rap career, he started
out with a whole different look but
slowly developed a style of his own,
painting his nails and wearing co-
lourful kimonos and pearls. “It took
me about two years to become the
Kött Grá Pjé I am today,” he contin-
ues, saying, “I used to be Kött Grá
Pjé only when performing on stage
but now I’m Kött Grá Pjé in real life
as well, and it feels right.”
According to KGP, being a rap-
per releases something from
within. He incorporates poetic
language and historical referenc-
es in his lyrics and finds it blends
well: “I write something nerdy like
a historical reference and then add
motherfucker to it, and it works!”
He laughs. “Sometimes it’s funny
to see children at my shows be-
cause I’m constantly grabbing my
crotch and swearing.”
Kött G P loves performing in
front of people who are standing
up. He likes people to scream at
him and says people don’t really
do that when sitting down. “I es-
pecially love Húrra. The floor is
sticky, which makes it harder for
the audience to run away,” he tells
me. “My band consists of me and
three of my bandmates and Húrra
is like our home.” Kött sweats a
lot while performing and says he
loves seeing pictures of his shows
where his hair is all over and his
sweat splashing around. “I’m sure
the audience loves it as well.” he
says. “I think that the people that
show up are the kind of people
who like seeing a middle-aged guy
with a gut sweating all over. Let’s
be frank, I’m the furthest away
from Aron Can you could ever get.”
Atli loves cats (“kött”), and
“grá” is the female word for gray in
Icelandic, symbolising the gray-
ness of everyday life. The final
part of the name was inspired by
the geologist and philosopher Dr.
Helgi Pjéturss. Kött Grá Pjé is a
huge fan of Helgi and wrote his BA
thesis on his work.
Even though Atli loves per-
forming on stage now, it was a
struggle for him to begin with.
He became nervous for each show,
drinking to calm his nerves. “I was
always so nervous that I wouldn’t
go on stage unless drunk, but once
I realized people wouldn’t throw
stones at me while performing, I
started to relax,” Atli says. “Now I
just drink a little while perform-
ing and then go crazy once the
show’s over.”
Kött Grá Pjé has a specific way
of working. He
sits alone at a
café or bar and
writes every-
thing on his
phone. He has
c o l l a b o r a t e d
with various
musicians, perhaps most famous-
ly with Úlfur Úlfur on their track
“Brennum allt.” He’s also
worked with Krakk & Spag-
ettí and Holy Hrafn—and
despite his interesting writing
methods, he says his experiences
working with other musicians
have been very successful. Last
year KGP became extremely im-
pressed by musician Brilliantinus
and subsequently asked him to pro-
duce his new album. “The beats he
made for me were the exact sound I
was looking for, it was the start of a
beautiful collaboration.”
These days Brilliantínus and
Kött Grá Pjé, along with múm’s
Gunni Týnes, are putting the fin-
ishing touches on the album. “The
vibe of the whole album is great,”
he enthuses, “and the feeling I
have about it is really, really good.”
LISTEN AND SHARE:
gpv.is/kot12
Meow! Music Interview
Words & Photo HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
“I’m Kött Grá Pjé
and it feels right”