Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.12.2017, Qupperneq 36

The Horror,
The Horror
Cyber on coffins, cocaine and
their sexy, unsettling new album
Words: Charley Ward Photo: Art Bicnick
‘Horror' LP
Out now
Inside Salka Valsdóttir’s apartment
is a jumbled mishmash of things.
Wedged amongst the usual detritus
of life, and bathed in the colourful
glow from the florescent pink and
yellow walls, a number of curiosi-
ties compete for attention. A large,
strange wooden box on wheels sits
next to a foosball table, with a fan
of chunky metal strings stretched
precisely across its top. (“I call it a pi-
ano harp,” says Salka. “It’s the inside
of a piano without the top on.”) Two
oddly shaped pillarbox red bicycles
with tiny wheels are tucked between
a side table, a rocking chair and a
drying rack full of clothes. On the
coffee table, a single line of cocaine
waits patiently next to a neatly rolled
£10 note and a tray of tea lights.
But the main focal point is un-
doubtedly the giant pink wooden
spinning wheel, large enough to
stand up and run in, breaking the
space between the living and sleeping
areas. A huge, luminous hamster
wheel is an apt prop for the girls,
metaphorically speaking: the hip-
hop trio, who released their first full-
length album ‘Horror’ in October,
tend to just keep going and going.
“Even though we just released the
album last month, since then we’ve
done like 40 projects,” says Jóhanna
Rakel.
Indeed, ‘Horror,’—an appropriate-
ly named horror-themed record—is
Cyber’s third release
in a year, following
their debut ‘Crap,’
and three-track EP
‘Boys.’ It was created over an intense
nine months between working, stud-
ying and partying, and true to its
name, it’s quite an unnerving listen;
all synths, distortion and heavy bass.
“‘Horror’ has a very specific build up,”
says Salka. “It begins more showy and
poppy, then becomes more raw and
intense, and ends more sensually and
honest.”
Imagined beginnings
The group formed in 2012 after
longtime pals Jóhanna, 22, and Sal-
ka, 22, noted that the title of Salka’s
lipstick—MAC’s vampy, deep purple
‘Cyber’—would make a great band
name. Despite this, they didn’t re-
lease anything until 2016, when they
met Þura Stina, 27, through their mu-
tual involvement with female rap
collective Reykjavíkurdætur. “We just
kept on referring to our friendship as
Cyber,” says Salka. “We were kind of
a fictional band until we met Þura.”
From these imagined beginnings,
something very real has grown. The
last month has been especially busy
for the trio—they’ve been promoting
the new album, and then there was
Iceland Airwaves, where they played
two Cyber shows and one with Rey-
kjavíkurdætur. Plus, like all good Rey-
kjavík creatives, each has some solo
projects. Salka is producing an album
for her friend Katrín
Helga Andrésdóttir
(Special-K), Jóhanna
is working on her
own album, and Þura DJs as DJ Sura.
Despite these demands on their
time, the work they’ve put into
‘Horror’ is palpable. “It’s about rela-
tionships and everyday life put into
a horror costume,” says Salka. “You’re
super privileged and everything's
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