Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.01.2017, Blaðsíða 38

Music 38The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 01 — 2017
We’ve dished out a lot of credit to
Icelandic musicians this issue.
But with only eight music awards
to give out, it’s still nowhere near
enough. There was a veritable
raft—nay, a FLOTILLA—of amaz-
ing bands doing great things in
2016 that also deserve a mention.
Aron Can, for example, racked up
literally millions of Spotify plays
in 2016—no small feat when only
~330,000 people can understand
the language you’re rapping in.
Fellow rappers Emmsjé Gauti and
Gísli Pálmi dominated the scene,
unleashing new tracks that went
instantly viral. And on the qui-
eter end of the spectrum, artists
like Ólafur Arnalds, Pascal Pinon,
JFDR and Snorri Helgason put out
songs that everyone should hear.
So here it is: the end-of-year Ice-
landic music playlist to end all
end-of-year Icelandic music play-
lists. Give it a spin at gpv.is/listy
Aron Can – Þekkir stráginn
In April buzz started to spread that
Aron Can, a kid who had only re-
leased a couple of promising songs
on SoundCloud, had a sizzling mix-
tape on the way. This unknown kid
was reaching GP levels of hype, and
more than a few were skeptical.
On May 1st the first single from
that mixtape, “Enginn Mórall,”
dropped on YouTube. By the end of
the year, the song had accumulated
more than a million listens—the
hype was real. It’s the song that
crowned the new prince of Icelan-
dic hip-hop and no end-of-the-year
playlist is complete without it. JB
aYia - Water Plant
It wasn’t easy liking this song in
2016. It’s the fiercest kind of ear-
worm—the type that burrows
itself so far into your mind that
you find yourself drifting out of
conversations because it’s playing
behind your thoughts. A spacious,
atmospheric gem of a track, ‘Water
Plant’ is characterised by detailed,
forward-thinking production and
a breathy, enticing vocal perfor-
mance, and it left us hungry for
more. JR
Bjarki – Here It Comes Can
You Feel It 92 Hoover 2 -
Original Mix
One of Iceland’s most underground
scenes, literally and figuratively,
is the rave cave scene. The caves
in question aren’t dimly lit base-
ments—they’re actual caves (this
is Iceland after all). Bjarki didn’t
get a lot of attention in Iceland last
year; techno hasn’t reached the
ears of many not on Molly. It’s a
true shame, since he is one of our
most talented musicians. JB
BlazRoca - FÝRUPP
Pre-gaming needs a playlist, and
no respectable one would be com-
plete without BlazRoca’s “FÝRUPP”
(“BLAZE,” in English). This song
isn’t just catchy, aggressive, and
infectious, but it also contains the
best exchange in Icelandic rap all
year:
Blaz: Dett inn á bar, vill fá þrefal-
dann strax. // Fall into the bar, give
me a triple right now.
Bartender: Þrefaldann í hvað? //
Triple mixed with what?
Blaz: Mig varðar ekkert um það! //
I don't give a fuck!
Bartender: Þrefaldann í hvað? //
Triple mixed with what?
Blaz: Hvurslags spurning er það??
// What kind of a question is that??
Bartender: Þrefaldann í hvað? //
Triple mixed with what?
Blaz: ÞREFALDANN I GLAS! // TRI-
PLE IN A GLASS!
See what I mean? HJC
Emmsjé Gauti feat. Aron
Can – Silfurskotta
Emmsjé Gauti is the true king of
Icelandic hip-hop, dominating last
year with two albums—most nota-
bly the ultra popular ‘Vagg & Velta’.
It was only fitting that the most
popular song from the album, “Sil-
furskotta,” saw the king featuring
the prince of Icelandic hip-hop.
During last summer, there wasn’t
a radio station/club/fishing boat
you could board without hearing
the song. Perhaps the peak of Ice-
landic hip-hop. JB
Fufanu – Sports
In year dominated by hip-hop, one
rock song shone through it all and
mesmerised us with a motoric
krautrock beat, mindblowing gui-
tar excursions and a catchy chorus.
It’s both accessible and experimen-
tal, and arrived with the best video
of the year to boot. Fufanu have
come a long way (baby?), and we
take our hats off to them. STR
Geimfarar - Hvíti Galdur
Never trying too hard, and always
getting shit done. I don’t know how
much work Geimfarar put into
each track, and that’s part of the
finesse. They prove that you can
be loud without screaming. One of
my favourite rap duos in the area,
hands down. Easy listening, hard
track. PY
Gísli Pálmi - Roro
“Roro” proved once and for all
that you can get a table full of PC-
Icelandic-hipsters to happily sing
about roofies. No, don’t worry, the
song isn’t about roofying others,
it’s about roofying yourself, which
according to this song, involves
being in slo-motion and wearing
polo vests and just genuinely being
waaay fresh. HJC
GKR - Erfitt
“Erfitt” is unlike any rap song
we’ve heard this year, focusing
on the most basic of feelings: that
life is hard and complex. You try
to navigate the process of becom-
ing a better person, but often don’t
know the direction. When the most
Grapevine's End of
the Year Playlist
The playlist to end all playlists
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