Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.01.2018, Page 32

Music
Sónar Reykjavík have an-
nounced another swathe
of bands for the festival’s
2018 lineup. In addition to already-
announced artists like Danny Brown,
Nadia Rose, Bjarki, Högni, Volruptus,
JóiPé x Króli and EVA808, UK bass fig-
urehead Kode9 will perform alongside
Lorenzo Senni, Moor Mother, Klein,
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Countess Malaise,
Lord Pusswhip, Mighty Bear and fast-
rising Björk collaborator serpentwith-
feet. Resident Advisor will also join
forces with the festival for the first
time to present the SonarLab carpark
stage. The festival will take place on
March 16-17th, 2018 at Harpa, and early
bird passes are on sale now at
sonarreykjavik.com.
Ólafur Arnalds, having put the Kiasmos
project on hiatus to focus on his solo
work, has announced his first tour
since 2015. The “All Strings Attached”
tour dates that have been confirmed
so far are scattered throughout the
summer, including stops in France,
Belgium, the UK, Iceland, Spain and the
United States. Highlights include a gig
at London’s prestigious Royal Albert
Hall, and appearances at Sonar Barce-
lona and the Festival International De
Jazz De Montréal.
The alternative magazine and label
Myrkfælni slipped out their second
compilation of underground Icelandic
music on December 27th. It features
thirteen tracks by stars of the local
scene, in various genres, including
Hatari x CYBER, IDK IDA, Godchilla, ma-
donna + child, Pink Street Boys, Ratof-
fer, and lots more. You can download it
for €7, or get a limited edition cassette
version when you pre-order Myrk-
fælni’s second issue, at myrkfaelni.
bandcamp.com. JR
MUSIC
NEWS
A Glimmer In
The Darkness
The Dark Music Days festival pushes the
boundaries of contemporary music
Words: Jessica Peng Photo: Timothée Lambrecq

Myrkir Músíkdagar
Harpa January 25-27th.
Tickets are on sale now.
In the dark Icelandic winter, music
is a beacon of light and hope. Every
January since 1980, the Dark Music
Days festival has taken
place in Harpa concert
hall on the Reykjavík
h a r b o u r. “ My r k i r
Músíkdagar” in Ice-
landic, the festival is a
great place for music
lovers to explore ex-
perimental contempo-
rary music from both
Iceland and abroad.
Gunnar Karel Más-
son, an Icelandic com-
poser, has been the
artistic director of
the festival since June
2016. Gunnar also runs
Sonic Festival, an ex-
perimental electronic
music festival in Copenhagen. He is
bringing his unique vision and influ-
ence to this year’s Dark Music Days.
Exploring boundaries
The festival’s focus this year is on
compositions using mixed tech-
niques, including electronics,
acoustics and video. The use of
mixed techniques provides a way to
explore the boundaries of contem-
porary music. “For me electronics
are an integral part of contemporary
music, so I feel like they should be
in every programme,” Gunnar says.
According to Gunnar, electronics
can include “synths, MAX/MSP, live
electronics on computer.” He adds,
“It can also just be amplification.”
The festival includes a lot of Ice-
landic contemporary music, but it
also absorbs elements from both
sides of the Atlantic. “Riot Ensem-
ble from the UK will present a really
interesting programme,” says Gun-
nar. “They’ll be visiting us for the
first time.” Iceland’s very own Nordic
Effect is the ensemble in residence
since 2016, and will be recurring
until 2019. Some other regular con-
tributors are the Iceland Symphony
Orchestra, the Reykjavik Chamber
Orchestra and Caput
En semble. “ T he
Trondheim Sinfo-
nietta will also be
visiting us with a
couple of new piec-
es,” says Gunnar.
Another excit-
ing part of the fes-
tival this year is the
experimental DJ
sets set to feature
at two off-venue
locales, Húrra and
Mengi. The only
confirmed DJ set as
of now is by Icelan-
dic artist Sóley. “For
me it’s really im-
portant to get the music out to
people who would probably not
hear it normally,” Gunnar explains.
The trance
As a festival, Dark Music Days is
eclectic, experimental and for-
ward-thinking. “The goal is that
Dark Music Days will be a place
where you can experience the
trance of contemporary music,”
Gunnar says. His aim is to intro-
duce foreign music to Icelandic
audiences, as well as build more of
a stable audience from overseas.
The festival had an open call for
applications in spring 2016, and
they received almost 300 applica-
tions from all over the world. “I got
to know a lot of music that I wouldn’t
get to know elsewhere,” Gunnar says.
He hopes to continue this global
approach for Dark Music Days.
Gaukurinn
bar & live venue
TRYGGVAGATA 22
5/1: "Bring Eugene home" fundraising
concert: Alexander Jarl, Auður, Fever
Dream, Geisha Cartel, Madonna + Child,
Krakk & Spaghettí, Gloria Hole as MC
6/1: Affliction/Absolution: Sólveig
Matthildur, Madonna + Child, Nicolas
Kunysz (lowercase nights), afterparty
with åtåmåtån (SE)
7/1: Singer/Songwriter night
10/1: Poetry Night
12/1: House of Strike (drag show) Vol 3
13/1: Reykjavík Goth Night 2018: HATARI,
dada pogrom, Dj Mole IX, Dj Vetrarsorg,
Gbit
18/1: Smut Slam Reykjavík: "Firsts"
20/1: Queens of The Stone Age tribute
25/1: Drag-súgur Drag Lab
26/1: Drag-súgur January special
27/1: Grafir, Naðra, Abominor, Örmagna
2/2: "A Nightful of Wonda" - Wonda Starr's
leaving show
www.gaukurinn.is
STANDUP COMEDY
in English every Monday
KARAOKE PARTY
every Tuesday
Free entry and starts at 21 both nights
We are very queer
friendly, open and
diverse. And we have
Vegan cocktails.
HAPPY HOUR
every day
from 14 to 21
Huge variety of CONCERTS,
DRAG SHOWS twice a month
and all sorts of other events!
gpv.is/music
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Gunnar Karel Másson
“Dark Music
Days will be a
place where
you can
experience
the trance of
contemporary
music.”