Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2017, Qupperneq 63

63The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09 — 2017
There is something so appealing
in the idea of leaving everything
you own and moving to a remote
spot in the countryside to grow
potatoes for the rest of your life.
No air pollution, free Northern
Lights tours every night, zero traf-
fic, and the sense of liberty that
comes with being able to walk and
sleep under a nearly limitless sky.
Certainly that feeling of free-
dom was right on top of the list
when artist and rock star Svavar
Pétur Eysteinsson of Prins Pólo
and his wife Berglind Häsler
took their belongings and moved
to a small farm in Berufjörður,
in the east of Iceland. “I was al-
ways in the countryside when
I was a child. All I wanted to do
was roll in the grass,” Svavar
tells me. “Then later on I tried
to avoid the city during the sum-
mer, and when I began to feel like
that about the winters too there
was nothing left to do but move.”
Creative Farming
Despite having relocated so far
away from the city, the couple
has not abandoned their pas-
sion for art and music. On the
contrary, creativity is still their
driving force even when it comes
to farming. Havarí, their estab-
lishment in Berufjörður, is an
organic farm that produces food
and snacks like potatoes, beet-
root crisps and vegan sausages
which are made with a handful
of organic ingredients and are
only minimally processed. “Or-
ganic farming requires creativ-
ity because you constantly need
to find new ways to go about
it,” Svavar explains. “It’s a chal-
lenge, but what you get straight
from the soi l is just so much
b et t er t ha n a ny t h i ng el se .”
Rocking the Fjords
Being far from the city has not
stopped the duo from pursuing
their careers in art. The idea of
organising concerts and events
at their farm almost came nat-
urally, but this year the couple
decided to turn it up a notch.
Havarí Summer Festival will
rock the f jords from June to
September with a lineup that
includes the likes of sóley, Lay
Low and Úlfur Úlfur, plus Prins
Pólo. In addition, Havarí sup-
ports lesser-known local musi-
cians and provides a space for
visual artists such as Sara Riel
to showcase their work for new
audiences. Havarí wants first
and foremost to be a party for
friends and strangers alike, but
also the ideal creative platform
for someone who has a story to
tell and the talent to do it right.
Svavar and Berglind’s cre-
ative baby, Havarí was born in
Reykjavík almost ten years ago
as an art gallery, record store
and creative platform. When the
hotel industry started taking up
every corner of the city, how-
ever, Havarí was uprooted and
replanted in other fertile soil,
ready to blossom again. “We
come straight from the artis-
tic scene, Berglind and I,” Sva-
var tells me with enthusiasm.
“Our roots are in music, design
and photography so actually we
are just continuing our work.
It’s what keeps us going: doing
creative things w ith creative
people.” Honestly, it doesn’t get
more l iberating than that.
A Rocking
Summer in Havarí
Moving to the countryside is no
reason to stop partying

Words: Alice Demurtas Photos: Art Bicnick
CULTURE
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