Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2018, Qupperneq 29

Viking Spirit
Charge into the Einherjar Viking
organisation’s anniversary festival
All eyes are on Iceland right now. The
Icelandic men’s national football team
recently made world news when they
entered the FIFA World Cup for the first
time ever. Even though they didn’t get
very far, a huge audience was enchanted
by their determined, joyful play... and,
of course, the Viking clap. The beard-
ed team captain, Aron Gunnarsson,
fiercely shouting “HÚH!” is a reminder
of Iceland’s Viking heritage. It’s the per-
fect time, then, for the real Vikings of
Reykjavík to hold their annual festival.
Army of one
Ten years ago, Gunnar Víking Ólafs-
son decided it was time to champion
Iceland’s Viking heritage, and thus, the
Einherjar organisation was founded.
Einherjar translates to “army of one,”
and in Norse mythology, such warriors
were the ones that died in battle and
were chosen to go to Valhalla. Truly
epic.
“The purpose is to remind people of
our past, and to be proud of where our
people come from,” says Gunnar, who
is the foreman of the organisation.
After the group spent the last two
years travelling, Einherjar are back
in Iceland, and they want everyone to
know it. They’ll hold their sixth Viking
Festival on Austurvöllur on July 14th as
a celebration of their 10th anniversary.
There will be a fighting show, and au-
thentic Viking products for sale. “It's
a smaller version of the festival,” says
Gunnar, “but enough for people to come
and visit us, talk to us, and see what we
are about.”
Warriors and wood carvers
Authenticity plays a big part in Ein-
herjar’s vision. “The vikings were not
only fighting with their swords and
shields,” says Gunnar. “They were also
wood carvers. It’s important for us to
show those artworks, too.”
Twenty wooden dragon heads will
be used for the tents that will be erect-
ed at the festival, carved by Gunnar’s
own hands. He used oak, which was
treasured by Vikings for its durabil-
ity. “Oak carvings can last 1000 years,”
he explains. “They can still be seen in
the museums. That's how we want the
festival and us to be known. We want
these artworks to last longer than us.”
The reason we are
here today
Gunnar has been fascinated with his
Viking heritage ever since he was a kid.
After doing a lot of research, reading
many books and visiting Viking festi-
vals around the world, he has gained an
abundance of knowledge on the topic.
When he was 50, his mother revealed
to him that instead of “Gunnar,” he was
originally going to be named “Víking
Þór.” Perhaps his path was destiny.
For Gunnar Víking, finding “the Vi-
king spirit” is about forging a spiritual
connection to his ancestors. “Maybe in
the year 1600 my grandparents were liv-
ing in this area in Iceland,” he says. “So
I go there, sit on a rock, and I imagine
going back to those times, and take in
who they really were. They’re the reason
I am here, hundreds of years later.”
Gunnar emphasises that Einherjar is
a club open for everybody, no matter the
origin or gender. “It’s not about blood,”
he finishes. “It’s about the spirit.”
Words:
Phil Uwe
Widiger

Photo:
Words:
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay
Photo:
Þórhallur
Skúlason
29
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Unseen And Ignored
xDeathrow: Container Society
July 21 - 17:00 - Gallery Port
Come experience the photograph
series ‘Container Society’ by
photographer Þórsteinn Sigurðsson
aka xDeathrow. ‘Container Society’
seeks to engage the viewer in a
reality that society all too often
turns a blind eye to—the lived
experience of people who live in
containers in the Grandi harbor
area. Printed books of the project
will be available for sale at the event
and all profits go toward reducing
the harms of HIV. CS
No Shame
Aron Can: Trúpíter Release Party
July 14 - 21:00 - Húrra - 1,500 ISK
Aron Can, Iceland’s breakthrough
homeland pop star, hip-hop
wunderkind and all-round
performer extraordinaire, will hold
a headline concert at downtown
music mainstay Húrra on July 14th.
The organisers of the show promise
well-known hits (just look at his
huge Spotify numbers to see how
well-known, we’re talking millions)
alongside the unveiling of brand
new material you‘ve never heard
before. Can-fans are advised to buy
tickets early, as this one is
expected to sell out quickly. HJC
Heavy Petting
SEX SELF
July 19-25 - 18:00 - Ekkisens
A combination of a music video
release, concert and installation,
MSEA’s exhibit ‘SEX SELF’ is based
around the musician’s release of
her new video of the same name.
“I miss my sex self,” MSEA moans
wistfully in her song, where she
explores the disconnection she,
and perhaps society as a whole,
feels toward the sexual side of
themselves. If you spend your free
time reading Laura Mulvey and
watching Maya Deren, don’t miss
this. NE
Einherjar was founded ten years ago
Different Sounds
For local electronic musician NonniMal,
making music is therapy
Sweaty Records is a record label run
Jón Brynjar Óskarsson—best known
for making fast-paced and hypnotic
techno music under his lead pseud-
onym NonniMal—is a musician that
has been an active member of Ice-
land’s electronic music scene for the
past decade. In April, he performed
at the Sónar Reykjavík showcase of
well-respected Icelandic dub-tech-
no label Thule Records and his 2016
‘Freyja EP’ was, interestingly, the
first record released by Æ Record-
ings’—a Thule Records sub-label—in
fourteen years.
NonniMal has been around music
and DJing for as long as he can re-
member. For the past eight to nine
years, when he is not at his day-job
from 7am-4pm, he makes music. “I
Info:
Listen to Sweaty
Records at
sweaty-records.
bandcamp.com
Info:
Reykjavík Fringe
Festival will take
place around the
city from July
4th-8th. See the
events in our
Listings section
look at music as mental therapy,
and I like to express myself through
sounds,” the young producer says. “I
just sit down and start playing my
keyboard and usually something
completely spontaneous and un-
planned happens."
NonniMal chooses to fly under
the radar when it comes to live per-
formances, playing only a handful
of carefully selected festival gigs
or at one of Reykjavík's nightlife
hotspots. On SoundCloud, however,
the man is a dynamo. He posts new
songs, under various pseudonyms
and within various genres, on a reg-
ular basis. “Sometimes I’ve made
15-20 tracks a day. I have a couple of
thousand tracks laying around," he
says. "They have various emotions,
which results in me creating differ-
ent characters. I grew up with all
kinds of music, so it doesn’t always
end up as techno."
Hot Love—one of NonniMal's
many music projects—sees him col-
laborate with former GusGus mem-
ber Maggi Legó. Their five-track
album ‘2 Shjitty In $uckCity’ was
posted on SoundCloud a few months
ago. "Its a project that started when
Maggi—my best friend and men-
tor—told me that I had good taste in
music and that I should make some
myself," NonniMal explains. "You
will probably never see us perform
live. But, I recently bought us some
band costumes. So, never say never!"