Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Page 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
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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