Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.09.2017, Page 27

Grísalappalísa, Iceland’s premier
literate new wave band, just put our
their first new song in like ages, and
threw a concert at Kex Hostel—their
first in over a year. It’s good to have
them back and ‘Kvæðaþjófurinn’
(Poem Thief), does not disappoint.
It’s a short romp clocking in at 1:45
minutes, with guitars fuzzed up be-
yond recognition and poetry rants
and title shouting galore. It comes
with a music video of the band wan-
dering around Reykjavík drinking
beer and smoking cigarettes at vari-
ous traffic islands.
We saw them perform at Kex and
they’ve lost none of their explosive
live energy. Frontman Gunnar Rag-
narsson, pulled out all the Jagger/
Bowie gender-bending stops, in a
glam get-up with eye make-up, shak-
ing his hips like a modern day Elvis.
The band is apparently hard at work
on their third LP, which should see
the light of release in the coming
months. Grísalappalísa, it’s good to
have you back!
Musician Úlfur Hansson, for-
merly of hard-core band, Swords
of Chaos, and his own experimen-
tal solo ventures, just released the
song ‘Fovea,’ the first single of an
upcoming album, entitled ‘Arbores-
cence.’ He’s still experimental, but
now he sings for the first time. The
backdrop is a massive soundscape of
cascading acoustics and electronics;
banjo plucking, synth sub bass, gui-
tar strumming and complex percus-
sion. But it never gets cluttered and
Úlfur’s gentle voice sits comfortably
on top of it.
The electro musician Andi (Andri
Eyjólfsson), who released his first al-
bum under the same name last year
on the independent label Lady Boy
Records, just put out his first mu-
sic video. It’s for a brand new track
called ‘Lónólongó’ and was directed
by Sigurður Möller Sívertsen and
shot by Heimir Gestur Valdimars-
son, with Gígja Jónsdóttir in the lead
role. It’s a glossy electroclash cut
with a walking synth melody and
the video has a girl modern danc-
ing, drenched in disco lights, like
there was no tomorrow . The song
is a stand-alone single that will be
followed by Andi’s second album,
scheduled to come out in early 2018.
Monkeying Around
Jóhannes Atli Hinriksson at Kling & Bang
Great ideas can come from a sub-
dued state of mind. For Jóhannes Atli
Hinriksson, a lack of structure in
his work produces vibrant and visu-
ally appealing shows. His latest ex-
hibition, ‘OK, api
Allt í lagi,’ can be
viewed at Kling
& Bang now un-
til 24 September.
M a d e u p
of i nex pen sive
a n d t e x t u r e d
m at er i a l , ‘OK ,
api A l lt í lag i’
is unique and captivating. Com-
ing from a place of no planning,
Jóhannes says he just works. “I just
go to the studio and start working on
something, not really knowing ex-
actly what I’m going to do.” Letting
his creative streak flow starts with a
simplistic idea and the rest develops
on its own. Jóhannes claims to not
be a deep thinker, working without
any sketches or planned concepts; he
just lets things flow and this makes
sense for him. “When you draw or
sketch something out and you’re
finished, there’s no more fun left,”
says Jóhannes. The only process he
has to have is simply showing up to
the studio, drinking a lot of coffee
and listening to good music. “I just
start painting, putting color here
and there; I’m just messing around.”
‘OK, api Allt í lagi’ has a central
theme that may not be so apparent.
Jóhannes says, “It has to do with
having a monkey on your back, pa-
trolling your thoughts.” So, while
the name is fitting for this show, he
expresses that he always has trou-
ble with names, and that this is the
hardest part. “It just made sense in
the end; it’s just about this control-
ling monkey we have on our backs,
Reminding us to behave or give up in
the end.”
Jóhannes currently resides in
Akureyri, but has plans to move to
Reykjavík in the near future and in-
dulge in art full time. In terms of
upcoming installations and collabo-
rations, he has no concrete projects
but hopes to collaborate with more
artists when he returns to Reykjavík.
Words:
Óli Dóri &
Davíð Roach
Share:
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Straumur,
Iceland's
premier indie
music radio
show, airs on
X977, Mon. at
23:00. Daily
music news
in Icelandic at
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Words:
Jenna
Mohammed
Photo:
Art Bicnick
27
Poem Thiefs Dancing
In The Disco Lights
Straumur
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OK, api Allt í lagi
“When you draw or
sketch something
out and you’re
finished, there’s no
more fun left.”
Torture Works
Sugar Paper Theories
Sept. 16 - Jan. 10,
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
Forget ‘Serial’, ‘Making A Murder-
er’. No, that shit’s over. Welcome to
Iceland’s Geirfinnur case. If you’ve
never heard about it, basically two
men mysteriously disappeared,
and after heavy, uh, enhanced in-
terrogation, six men confessed.
Jack Latham’s newest exhibit pres-
ents photographs of places and
people tied to the case, includ-
ing whistleblowers, conspiracy
theorists, expert witnesses and
bystanders. It also includes police
forensic photography and written
accounts from the psychologist
who many years later freed the in-
nocent men convicted. HJC
Look What I’ll Make Me Do
TEDxReykjavík 2017: #reimagine
Sept. 9, 10:00, Tjarnarbíó, 5.900 ISK
Everyone loves a good TED talk.
Conversation, connection, motiva-
tion—what more could you want?
Well, the theme of Reykjavík’s
seventh iteration is “re-imagine.”
Featuring speakers like a game-
designer, meditation enthusiast,
and MP, the day is bound to make
you re-imagine, well, everything.
So get ready to become a vegan,
take up photography, and re-
nounce that unhealthy habit that’s
been bringing you down for years.
New TEDxReykjavík, new you. HJC
Can You Have It All?
Mountain Lady
Sept. 10, 20:30, Tjarnarbíó, 3.000 ISK
What did your great-great-grand-
mother do? Don’t answer. What-
ever it was, it definitely wasn’t as
cool as writer and actress Hera
Fjord’s. Named Kristín Dahlst-
edt, this 20th century lady was a
successful businesswoman and
entrepreneur, running restau-
rants and guesthouses in Reykja-
vík since 1905. In this one woman
show, Hera tells her badass rela-
tive’s story while also exploring
her own life. Did she inherit any of
her traits? Does she work as hard?
Is she doing enough? HJC