Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Side 25

Samaris –
“R4vin”
STRAUMUR
TRACK OF THE ISSUE
Jón Gabriel Lorange, best known as
one half of lo-fi weird-pop act Nolo,
just put out his second solo album un-
der his TSS moniker, titled 'Glimpse
Of Everything'. The first song is called
"Woozy," and that’s an apt description
of the whole album. It’s a hazy affair
that combines library music key-
boards, gentle acoustic strumming,
lazy bass and vocals that sound like
they were recorded through phone
booth. It’s like a lost gem of the late
60s/early 70s that you’d find at a thrift
market for almost nothing, the kind
that becomes a personal favourite over
time and you hold very dear because
nobody else knows it. It’s mellow to
the extreme, sometimes catchy in an
off kilter way and never short of inter-
esting. In parts it recalls Unknown
Mortal Orchestra—no small feat. It’s
a perfect soundtrack to the last rays
of sun that remain of the fading sum-
mer and early autumn. Get it at his
bandcamp page. As soon as you can.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
Rapper GKR really hit it big last au-
tumn with his normcore/every-day-
swag hit "Morgunmatur" ("Break-
fast"). Instead of braggadocio gangsta
shit he rapped about how hard it is to
get up for school and having cereal.
Now he's back with another hit, "Tala
um" ("Talking about"), this time with
a harder edge. The beat is a purebred
banger, tailor-made for grinding at
da club, and the chorus will stick your
brain like superglue. It’s bound to
have everybody talking (about) really
soon, and comes with a funky video.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
Iceland Airwaves have finalised this
year's lineup, announcing over 80 new
additions to the programme, which
already included exiting international
acts like PJ Harvey, Digible Planets,
The Sonics, Julia Holter, Frankie
Cosmos, Warpaint, Santigold, Kano,
Kevin Morby, PERTTI KURIKAN NI-
MIPÄIVÄT, Stormzy, The Internet,
SG Lewis and many more! New ad-
ditions include Ben Frost, Stormzy,
Kiasmos and Ólöf Arnalds. The fes-
tival will take place November 2-6 in
downtown Reykjavík.
The Reykjavík Grapevine has a big ol’
crush on Jófríður of Samaris. And not
for nothing: she’s having a bumper
year, releasing music through four
channels, each one tickling our fancy.
Perhaps the most established of the
four projects is her band Samaris,
a trio that also features producer
Þórður Kári Steinþórsson (Doddi)
and clarinet player Áslaug Rún Mag-
núsdóttir.
Samaris premiered their latest mu-
sic video, “R4vin,” through The Wild
Magazine on August 31st. Jófríður de-
scribed the process in conversation
with Wild: “The song came together
last summer. We were so high on end-
less sunlight, working away in the stu-
dio from evening until morning but
had really no idea what time it was.
The lyrics came afterwards, reflect-
ing on those days and the disoriented
feeling, like it was some kind of an ex-
tended rave. [Timothée Lambrecq] is
a good friend of ours and had the idea
seemingly out of nowhere. We just got
a call one day to come out to this video
shoot, then he and Doddi had been out
all day driving and filming. The result
is Tim’s beautiful take on raving in
Icelandic summer!”
As far as the track goes, the name
sums it up: “R4vin” mashes Samaris’
trademark iced-out electronica with
Jófríður’s breathy vocals and skittery,
understated drum ‘n’ bass and proto-
trance throwback sounds. It’s just one
highlight in an album that has many:
be sure to check out ‘Black Lights’.
Words
DAVÍÐ
ROACH &
ÓLI DÓRI
Photo
MATTHEW
EISMAN
Straumur,
Iceland's premier
indie music
radio show, airs
on X977, Mon.
at 23:00. Daily
music news in
Icelandic at
straum.is
Ever wondered what
it looks like inside
BJÖRK’S mind? How
about inside her mouth?
Björk Digital, a virtual reality-infused
exhibition, opened on September 1
in London’s famous Somerset House.
The exhibition welcomes viewers
(or, perhaps more aptly, partici-
pants) with panoramic experiences
into four of her tracks, including
“Mouth Mantra,” in which viewers are
plunged into Björk’s mouth while her
tongue and teeth twist to the music.
The exhibition also includes origi-
nal never-before-seen works, an
interactive educational room, and an
extensive collection of music videos.
The exhibit closes October 23.
In the press release for Björk Digital,
the artist praises technology for
“allowing women to work outside of
the already formed hierarchical
systems.” JÓFRÍÐUR and ÁSTHIL-
DUR ÁKASDÓTTIR are putting
those words into action, and into
music. The sisters released their third
album as PASCAL PINON on
August 19. The album is titled
‘Sundur’ (meaning “Apart”), and
reflects on the borderless forum
within which the twins collaborated
to create the album. With Ásthildur
in Amsterdam and Jófríður touring
with her other band SAMARIS, the
two communicated and collaborated
from afar, then recorded the album
over the course of a day and a half
together.
Newcomer SOFFÍA BÖRG released
a single, “I Lie,” off her forthcoming
debut album. She enters the Icelandic
music scene through the folk-rock
MUSIC
NEWS
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Normcore Swag
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