Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.04.2018, Blaðsíða 21

Monosodium
Glutamate FTW
Prins Póló on his new record and solo-tour
Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson is a very busy
man. Not only is he a farmer, producing
the popular bulsur (vegan sausages)
and sveitasnakk (vegetable chips), he
is also releasing his third album called
“þriðja kryddið” under the name of his
alter-ego Prins Póló on 27th April. The
release-concert will take place at Iðnó
the same day, before the prince will
embark on a 21-day solo-tour.
A life full of flavour
“Þriðja kryddið” translates to monoso-
dium glutamate, generally known as
MSG. It is used as a flavour enhancer
in the food industry and according to
Prins Póló, it is also a lifestyle, and a
characteristic of our society and human
behaviour in general. “MSG is the recipe
for a comfortable life”, he writes on his
Karolina Fund page where the album
was crowd-funded. “We don’t want a
complicated life. We desire to live life
without much effort”.
The same but different
The eleven songs on the album will be
more melancholic than we are used to
from Prins Póló. “It will be similar in a
way but a little darker”, he says. “Darker
lyrics, darker music, darker everything,
I think. I have also taken up the sound
as well as the production by one or two
levels. But in many ways I am working
with the same.”
Half of the album was recorded in this
garage by Svavar Pétur himself. The
rest was recorded in Berlin with his
producer Axel Flex Árnason.
Performing songs for the
first time
At the release-concert at Iðnó on April
27th we can expect the whole album
to be played, along with older songs
and—most likely—paper crowns. Árni
Rúnar Hlöðversson from the wild elec-
tro-pop band FM Belfast will be joining
Prins Póló on stage. “Most of the songs
I haven't performed live before so it's
a blend of stress and anticipation for
me,” the self-crowned prince explains.
“I think the songs are powerful and fun
to play live, so I am looking forward to
that.”
The prince and his guitar
On the following solo-tour, Prins Póló
will serenade the audience of 12 differ-
ent places. “The release-show at Iðnó
will feature disco and dance versions
of the songs but then I will go on an
acoustic tour just by myself”, he says.
“I am also looking very much forward
to this kind of tour because you have
the opportunity to establish a tighter
relationship with the crowd.”
Chocolate bars
= inspiration
Svavar Pétur found the name for his
solo-project through the Polish choco-
late bar that Icelanders love so much.
“I was just taking a break from writ-
ing some music and I didn't have the
name for that folder on my computer,”
he remembers. “I went out to the candy
store, I bought myself a Prince Polo and
I named the folder after the chocolate
bar. I was on my way to make music that
was kind of tee-hee in a way, so I think
Prins Póló is a proper name for tee-hee
music.” Nothing to argue with that.
Words:
Phil Uwe
Widiger

Photo:
Art Bicnick
Words:
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay
Photo:
Guðmundur Andri
Hjálmarsson
21
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ELECTRIC
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The Great Hairscape
Invasion II:
Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter
21 April - 12 August - Ásmundarsafn
Former Grapevine cover star
Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir is better
known as Shoplifter, an extravagant
visual artist who creates colourful,
joyful large-scale works, often
made from synthetic hair. Her
“invasion” of Ásmundursafn will put
works from throughout her storied
career into dialogue with the work
of Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893–1982),
creating interesting frictions and
contrasts in the pristine gallery
space. JR
Nilbog / / Goblin
Prump í paradís: Troll 2
3 May - 20:00 - Bíó Paradís - 1.600 ISK
Next up in Iceland’s favourite
cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson’s
ambitious monthly series, showing
“the worst films ever made”, is
“Troll 2” from the year 1990. Spoiler:
There is not a single troll in the
entire film. No, not even internet
trolls. But one thing is guaranteed—
you are definitely going to suffer
from eye cancer afterwards. After
the screening, the film will be
discussed by Dagsson, along with
the fellow comedians Snjólaug
Lúðvíks and Dóri DNA. PW
Slut Sham... Oops
Smut Slam Reykjavík: Call Of The Wild
26 Apr. - 20:00 - Gaukurinn - 1.500 ISK
Remember that totally crazy one-
night stand with the mankini, the
tabasco sauce and the cat-toy?
Finally you have an opportunity to
tell everybody about it. At this Smut
Slam the lusty crowd is eager to
hear all your coitus-related stories
that happened in a natural setting.
Make sure to sign up, and if you are
one of the lucky ones, you will have
five minutes to tell your story. We
all know it only lasted two minutes
anyway? PW
Svavar Pétur A.K.A. Prins Póló, yesterday
Electric Dreams
explores the
realm of Icelandic
electronic
music—
something for
your mind, body
and soul.
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay is an
Icelandic music
enthusiast, DJ and
student of culture
Melodic Armchair
Techno
Electronic music pioneer Yagya on Sónar, new
releases and a change of pace
Yagya—real name Aðalsteinn Guð-
mundsson—is known for the me-
lodic ambient soundscapes he’s been
pumping out for more than 15 years.
He performed at Sónar Reykjavík
last month and has a few forthcom-
ing releases, so we asked him for an
update.
“The sound system in Harpa’s car
parks was great and I had a fantastic
time playing my music there,” says
Aðalsteinn. “The people seemed to
enjoy it, which is always a plus.”
Dutch label Delsin Records, which
released his most recent LPs, will re-
issue his 2009 LP ‘Rigning’ on May
5th, with two added tracks. “‘Rign-
ing’ is probably my most successful
album, and fans have pointed out
that it’s no longer available,” says
Aðalsteinn said. Seeing that the re-
cordings used for the original vinyl
pressing were lost, Aðalsteinn used
the opportunity to mix the album
again and have it remastered. “It
sounds a bit better this time around,
without deviating too much from
the original,” he assures me.
Aðalsteinn was also a member
of the lauded Icelandic label Thule
Records before the millennium. The
X/OZ label, run by his old label mate
Exos, will release an EP called ‘Fifth
Force’ on April 30th.
The songs are faster and more
energetic than Yagya’s previous ef-
forts. “It’s my first EP released as Ya-
gya, which makes it special,” Aðal-
steinn explains. “When I turned 40,
I decided to celebrate by creating a
140 bpm techno set and perform it
live. Three of these tracks ended up
on ‘Fifth Force’.”
Yagya will perform at X/OZ’s la-
bel night on Wednesday, April 18th
at Húrra alongside Exos, Matrixx-
man and Waage. “It’ll be an amazing
event,” says Aðalsteinn. “I’m going
to play techno tracks that I’ve been
working on for a long time. I’m also
looking forward to finishing my
techno LP so I can return to my old
tempo and continue working on new
music.” So the reign of Iceland’s king
of melodic armchair techno looks
set to continue.
Relese-
concert
Iðnó on April 27th
Info:
Go to juno.co.uk to
preorder Yagya’s
EP ‘Fifth Force—
out April 30th—or
the forthcoming
reissue of his
coveted 2009 LP
‘Rigning’—out on
May 7th.