Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.02.2018, Side 35

Strange As
Folklore
Snorri Helgason brings Iceland’s
mythology to life on his fourth LP
Words: Jessica Peng Photo: Art Bicnick
‘Margt býr í þokunni’ LP
Out Now
His fingers gently pluck
on an acoustic guitar,
while his warm and
magnetic voice plucks
on your heartstrings.
Reykjavík-based sing-
er-songwriter Snorri
Helgason released his
new album ‘Margt býr
í þokunni’ in December
of last year, and it’s the
perfect music for a lazy
Sunday by the fireplace.
‘Margt býr í þokunni’— “Lots of
people live in the fog,” in English—is
an album comprising ten folk songs
written by Snorri. “I wrote the songs
based on the Icelandic folklore,” he
says. “The album is ten different sto-
ries that I turned into
songs.”
Old reality
Snorri worked on the
a lbum for a lmost
four years, and had
to do a lot of research
on Icelandic folklore
in preparation. “It
was a vast ocean of
books that I had to go through,” he
explains. “I read a bunch of these
books and earmarked the stories
that for some reason stood out for
me. Then I came back to them and
tried to write something to it. It's
kind of a nerdy thing to do. I had
no idea if anybody would be in-
terested in the Icelandic folklore.”
It turned out that people were.
The album has received positive re-
views in the Icelandic media. “Peo-
ple really appreciated that someone
is paying attention to this kind of
tradition,” says Snorri. “We have to
keep it alive.”
One of Snorri’s favourite Ice-
landic folklore is the story of Fjal-
la-Eyvindur Jónsson, the famous
Icelandic outlaw who survived 20
years in the highlands. “These are
the kind of stories that stood out
for me—real people, and the reality
of Iceland 200 years ago,” he says.
“That's what I find interesting, the
human factor behind these stories.”
More banjo
Before Snorri formed his own solo
project, he was in a band called
Sprengjuhöllin. After the band
dissolved, he started releasing mu-
sic under his name. ‘Margt býr í
þokunni’ is his fourth album, and
he thinks it’s his first full-on folk
album. “The heart of my music is
folk music,” he says. “I've done a lot
of pop music, but it's always rooted
in folk.”
Besides acoustic guitar, Snorri
also plays the keyboard and banjo.
The sweet texture of the banjo fits
perfectly with his music, as you can
hear in the song ‘Egilsstaðablá’. “I
bought this banjo four years ago
when I was on tour in Canada, and I'm
aiming to use it a bit more,” he says.
World music
Not only influenced by Icelandic
traditions, Snorri is also inspired
by folk music from other countries.
“I listen to a lot of folk music from
all over the world: English, Scottish,
American, a little bit of German,”
he says. “There are some instances
where I found similar themes be-
tween these folk songs.”
Besides being a musician, Snorri
is also the booker of Húrra in down-
town Reykjavík. After the release of
his new album, he still has a rath-
er busy schedule for this year. “I'm
having a baby in late February, and
I have a few other shows. I'm gonna
make plans after I get the hang of
this baby thing,” he giggles. So look
out for Snorri at folk festivals this
summer, after he finds some time
between changing diapers and bot-
tle feeding.

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Snorri Helgason, shredding
“These sto-
ries stood out
for me—real
people, and
the reality of
Iceland 200
years ago.”
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