Reykjavík Grapevine


Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Blaðsíða 23

Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Blaðsíða 23
Músíktilraunir, the annual Icelandic Battle of the Bands, was held a couple of weeks ago. The winning band was Between Mountains, an impressive duo comprising two young girls from the Westfjords, Katla Vigdís Vern- harðsdóttir (16 years old) and and Ás- rós Helga Guðmundsdóttir (14). They get their name because they’re from different fjords, so there’s a moun- tain between them and more on ei- ther side. They played keyboards and xylophone, exhibiting songwriting skills way beyond their years. Both have beautiful singing voices that harmonise in their crafty, melodic songs. Think twee indie bands like Belle and Sebastian mixed with the girly irreverence of Moldy Peaches. The Músíktilraunir competition has for the past two decades been very relevant in the Icelandic scene, with its winners or finalists often becom- ing Iceland’s most valuable musical exports. Samaris won in 2011, with the singer Jófríður Ákadóttir having started out in Músíktilraunir in 2009, with her twin sister, in the indie-folk duo Pascal Pinon. Of Monsters and Men won the competition in 2010, and went on to tour the world. Even Jónsi from Sigur rós was in a band called Bee Spiders that landed the title “most promising band” in the Músíktilraunir of 1995. And that’s not even mentioning bands like Maus, Botnleðja, Mínus, Mammút and Ja- kobínarína, who defined a decade of Icelandic music. So in light of all this, we expect great things from Between Mountains in the future. In recent columns we’ve talked about the experimental pop duo Andy Svarthol, who should be get- ting way more love than they’re cur- rently getting. Their latest song, “Tímafrekja” (“Time-pushiness”) is quite epic—more of a journey than a banger. It starts out with gentle synth pads and treated guitars in the vein of dream pop virtuosos Galaxie 500. Around the three-minute mark it re- ally leaves the ground with magnifi- cent choir synths that escalate the song into balls-trippin’ outer space excellence. We’re really looking for- ward for a full LP from those guys. The Witching Hour Femininity and magic in Wiola Ujazdowska’s art Tiny glass vials filled with saliva, nail clippings, eyelashes and menstrual blood hung from a wall in Kaffibar- inn this past week, not as a sacrificial offering, but as touchstones for the husks our own bodies leave behind. “I am always repeating that I am a woman,” says Wiola Ujazdowska, the artist behind the installation. Her piece addresses cultural pressures women face to feel attractive, to pres- ent themselves as objects of desire. “I was drawn to the idea of something rejected from the body—nails or hair or eyelashes,” she says. “We are aware of these things on the body, but then they become disgusting when they’re outside the body.” The vials recall the votives in Catholic churches Wiola saw during her childhood—consecrated, mysterious objects that connect the beholder to a deeper self. Though her ex h ibit, ‘R it ua ls, Sweethearts and More’, lasted all of five days—opening on Easter Sunday and closing on 20 April—it stands out a powerful testimonial to feminine energy, physicality and human sexu- ality. Using a diverse array of visual media, Wiola transformed the popular downtown bar into a sanctuary which renders the grotesque sacred. One painting, entitled “Not Her,” shows an array of self-portraits, each one more faded than the last, as if the artist’s notion of selfhood is dissolv- ing gradually. Wiola, who is from Po- land but lives in Iceland, regularly con- templates her otherness—as a woman, an artist and an immigrant. For her, otherness is a stigma as well as a privi- lege, offering insights into the world that can only be glimpsed from the periphery. She stands on the edge of things, toying with the boundaries be- tween life and death, form and form- lessness. It is perhaps for this reason that Wiola associates so strongly with the idea of the witch—or “wiedźma” in Polish, which literally means “wise woman.” She often casts herself as a wiedźma in her work, subverting the notion of a witch as a malignant sor- ceress. Instead, the witch thrives in the unknown, in the suppleness and mutability of the world. “When I’m creating, I have a weird feeling that I belong in a different real- ity,” says Wiola. “I’m in a trance, in a way; there’s something magical in it. I can’t explain the process of creation.” She describes all of her work as minimalist. Her paintings depict bare, basic shapes. One piece is sim- ply a framed clump of hair. In another piece, she has taken a Baroque portrait of a girl holding a calf and glued golden fabric over the animal. “My rituals are about redevelop- ing and researching my own subcon- scious, my own memory,” says Wiola. “I’m drawn to the void and the fear of death. I’ve lost people in my life, and I’m trying to understand it.” SHARE: gpv.is/cul06 Words: Óli Dóri & Davíð Roach Straumur, Iceland's premier indie music radio show, airs on X977, Mon. at 23:00. Daily music news in Icelandic at straum.is Words: Gabriel Dunsmith Photo: Art Bicnick 23 Mountains Between Mountains Straumur CULTURE NEWS NEW MUSIC Find today's events in Iceland! Download our free listings app - APPENING on the Apple and Android stores The Death Of Party In The Company of Men Final Show April 22, 22:00, Gaukurinn, 1.500 ISK For years, In The Company of Men (ITCOM) have captivated Reyk- javík hardcore fans with their unique brand of mathcore-prog. Unfortunately—like cake and your last relationship—all good things must come to an end. To celebrate their crowd-killing leg- acy, the band is throwing a good ole’ banger at Gaukurinn. Joined by Great Grief (which features many former members of ITCOM), and Milkhouse, they will bring the house down in a sweaty night of mosh-pit fun. HJC Life Is A Cabaret, Old Chum Reykjavík Cabaret April 26, 27, 28, 20:30 Græna Herbergið, 4.500 ISK Do you like scantily clad women mixed with a perfect combination of feathers, sparkles, humour and music? Of course! If that wasn’t enough, Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir, awarded Singer of the Year at the 2013 Icelandic Music Awards, will be showing off her pipes. Expect a night of indulgence, pleasure and the utmost fun. You must be 20 years old to attend. Tickets are limited, so get yours ASAP. JS From Vienna to Reykjavík Bruch and Brahms: Iceland Symphony Orchestra April 27, 19:30, Harpa, 2.500 - 7.200 ISK On April 27th, the Icelandic Sym- phony Orchestra, along with Rus- sian violinist Boris Belkin, pres- ents a concert program featuring Johannes Brahms’s fourth and final symphony. If you’re unfa- miliar with the composition, just know that at the work’s premiere, Eduard Hanslick, one of the page- turners, said, "For the whole [first] movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people." If this sounds like something you want to experience, make your way to Harpa. HJC
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