Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2017, Síða 24

Everything’s Good
And Nothing
Matters
The silly sound design of dj. flugvél og geimskip
How does one begin to describe dj.
flugvél og geimskip? First of all, she’s
not really a DJ, despite the name, which
translates to DJ Airplane and Spaceship.
Steinunn Harðardóttir is a polymath—
a singing synth and drum machine
wizard with an impressive visual arts
repertoire. We speak through the magic
of video chat as she relaxes in front of an
ocean-themed mural in her artist com-
mune, sipping both coffee and tea. Her
cheerful temperament translates easily
through the electronic space.
To Steinunn, visual art and music
are the same thing. “One is colours and
patterns, the other sounds and melo-
dies,” she says. “When I paint a picture,
I’m sometimes singing it while I paint.
When I make music, I visualize it. The
drums are like the ocean floor, while the
bass is like a sea monster swimming
above. The melodies are the water’s sur-
face, where you can swim. Then I have
decorations and funny sounds, silly per-
cussion, like the clouds and stars and
stuff. The vocals come sailing in on a
boat.”
Her newest track, ‘The Sphinx,’ comes
with a psychedelic video she created her-
self. “My vision was that the Sphinx is an
ancient alien who arrived on Earth mil-
lions of years ago,” Steinunn hints. “He’s
biding his time until he awakens and
springs forth. He’s older than all human-
ity and almost everything in the world.
So he harbours all the world’s secrets,
or at least most of them. If you approach
him correctly, you can talk to him.”
Meaningless art
People seem to have a problem making
sense of Steinunn. They wonder if it’s all
a big joke—the sunny disposition, ani-
mal-centric lyrics, and the crazy lights
and hippy outfits she wears at live per-
formances. She’s a serious artist, who
just doesn’t take herself seriously. “My
first album, ‘Glamúr í geimnum,’ was
colourful and happy,” she says. “Some
people asked, ‘Is this a children’s album?’
and I got so offended. I’m no kid doing
kids’ music—I’m doing real adult music!
So the next album, ‘Nótt á hafsbotni’ was
really difficult; everything was heavy,

Words:
Steindór Grétar
Jónsson
Photos:
Art Bicnick
Culture
dj. flugvél og geimskip, brightening up the world, as usual
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