Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Page 32

Music
Iceland Airwaves
have announced a
new crop of bands
for the 2017 festival,
including Russian New
Wave band Glintshake,
Aldous Harding from
New Zealand, and Jo
Goes Hunting from the
Netherlands. From the
local scene, Músíktil-
raunir winners Between
Mountains join the
bill, along with the
competition runners
up Phelgm and Omotrack, and local
favourites Milkywhale, Exos and Pink
Street Boys. These bands join previ-
ously announced hot young talents
Fleet Foxes and Billy Bragg, alongside
intriguing overseas artists like Xylouris
White and K Á R Y Y N (pictured). Tickets
are on sale now.

Myrkfælni is a music organisation run
by Berlin-based Icelanders Kinnat Só-
ley and Solveig Kristjansdóttir, with the
aim of promoting Iceland’s extreme
music scene—that is, metal, noise, in-
dustrial, gothy shit, and the associated
micro-genres. Their aim is to spread
Iceland’s underground music scene
as far and wide through as possible,
be it through concerts and festivals,
helping bands distribute their music
and find new listeners, or running a
magazine. They’ve started a Karolina
Fund to do just that. At the time of writ-
ing, it has 14 days left to run—€14 will
get you a copy of the first magazine
and a 20-track download compilation,
including new tracks by Kælan Mikla,
Andi, Lord Pusswhip, Godchilla, SKRAT-
TAR and more.
Masked Icelandic pop act Vaginaboys
came out of hibernation this month
with the announcement of not one
but two new albums in 2017. Their
Facebook post on the subject stated
that the albums will complement each
other: “one in English and beats + one
more Icelandic romance.” The first
single from the new body of work is
“Feeling,” a typically low-key electronic
pop song, and their first to have Eng-
lish lyrics. Vaginaboys have been mak-
ing waves in Iceland, and further afield,
since their inception—with English
lyrics opening up their appeal to a wider
audience, it’s going to be an interesting
year for the mysterious duo.
MUSIC
NEWS
Sound Fanatic
The musical world of Hildur Guðnadóttir
Words: Steindor Grétar Jónsson Photo: Úlfar Loga
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Composer & musician
To Hildur Guðnadóttir, film scores
are more than background noise.
The Berlin-based cellist and com-
poser is set to score her highest-
profile film to date, ‘Soldado’, the
sequel to hit 2015 crime-thriller
‘Sicario’. Starring Benicio Del Toro
and Josh Brolin, the film premieres
later this year. “Film music is ma-
nipulative,” says Hildur. “If a char-
acter appears with happy music
you think: ‘Wow, what a super guy!’
But if the music is dramatic, you
develop a different opinion.”
Hildur needs no background
music to convey her affable dis-
position. We meet at a coffeeshop
in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood
of Berlin, close to the studio she
shares with her long-time collabo-
rator Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hildur
has been involved in most of his
projects to some extent, playing
strings, singing, or whatever else
comes up. “I see music as a dia-
logue, and I'm fortunate to have
long-lasting family-like musical
relationships,” says Hildur. “Jói and
I have been collaborating for fifteen
years, and I played with múm since
I was fifteen years old. The privilege
of growing up with them is some-
thing I'm very grateful for.”
Characters as sounds
Hildur has built a reputation by
performing with The Knife, Ben
Frost and Ryuichi Sakamoto, on
the film scores for ‘The Revenant’
and the Jóhann Jóhansson–scored
‘Arrival’, and through solo work.
Her recent accolades include win-
ning the DV Culture Award and
Edda Award for her score to Baltas-
ar Kormákur's ‘The Oath’.
“With ‘The Oath’, I came in ear-
ly, read the script, sat in the edit-
ing room and shared my opinion,”
says Hildur. “The approach var-
ies depending on the director and
when you come into the process. I
like to get to know the characters
early, think about them as certain
sounds that can develop alongside
their arcs.”
The most impactful film of
her career thus far, she says, is a
documentary on tragedy and grief.
‘Strong Island’, a Sundance Film
Festival award-winner by Yance
Ford, an African-American man
whose brother was murdered in
Long Island by a white mechanic,
will be available on Netflix in the
fall. “The killer never faced trial,
despite multiple witnesses to the
shooting,” says Hildur. “It's amaz-
ing how little has changed since.
We were working at the height of
the Black Lives Matter protests. It
was a very inspiring process, hav-
ing Yance in the studio—the pro-
tagonist, director and actor, all in
one.”
Instruments as
bandmates
Despite her workload as a film com-
poser, Hildur identifies as a per-
former first. For her live shows, tra-
ditional instruments won't always
do—she has to make her own. “I'm a
sound fanatic,” she asserts. “Working
with instrument makers is inspiring
because you can affect sound from
when it's just a piece of wood.”
One, a “Halldorophone” devel-
oped by Halldór Úlfarsson, is a
feedback instrument. “It makes
so much noise,” raves Hildur. “It's
really unpredictable, very much
alive. Every sense has to be tuned
up. I'll be working a feedback but
if I move my shoulder, it kills it. I
have to be 100% present. Perform-
ing alone can be boring, but there's
a different energy when my band-
mate—the instrument—has its
own ideas.”
LISTEN &SHARE: gpv.is/hil06
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