Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.05.2018, Side 39

40The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07 — 2018
If you talk about the electronic mu-
sic scene in Iceland, the name Tanya
Lind Pollack will probably come up in
the first few minutes. While she’s best
known for her collaborations with
cousin and best friend Marlon Pollack,
she’s also celebrated as the co-founder
of the Weirdcore collective, alongside
the late electronica musician Biogen.
Now recording under the name Röskva,
Tanya divides her time between music
and her work as a seiðlistkona—that is,
a shaman witch in the Norse shamanic
practise. She’s Iceland’s delegate for the
Circle Of Wisdom—basically the UN of
shamans. We sat down with the artist
and witch to talk about her inspirations.

The Icelandic Punk Scene
I was born into the core of the Icelandic
punk scene. My father and uncle start-
ed Utangarðsmenn and they were basi-
cally the pioneers of bringing punk to
Iceland, so I was born into the cesspool
of that vibe and energy. I was basically
raised surrounded by band practises
and concerts. It was a very bohemian
and rebellious place and my family just
taught me to go my own way. Marlon
and I were treated as brother and sister
and we were very independent, waiting
outside clubs in downtown Reykjavík to
hear the drum and bass music inside.
That sound was so fitting to the punk
energy surrounding us and we start-
ed to try and figure out how we could
make it ourselves. We were maybe 12 at
this time, experimenting with equip-
ment that our fathers set us up with.
‘Icerave’ Compilation
My parents moved us to America a short
time later but Marlon stayed here, so
we would create music individually and
send it to each other in mixtapes. One
time he stole a cassette, a compilation
called ‘Icerave’, and he was so afraid of
getting caught that he sent it to me. I
thought it was the most mind-blow-
ing shit I had ever heard—this intense
old school hardcore. I started sampling
the beats on that tape and playing key-
board over it. Fifteen years later I start-
ed hosting the Weirdcore events with
Biogen who was in Ajax which was on
‘Icerave’ which is crazy to think about.
Beethoven
I studied classical piano since I was
about 7 and I found classical music so
passionate. You know how in other
music forms you have a buildup and
a chorus, a buildup and a chorus, etc.
it’s not like that in classical music. It’s
a journey. Beethoven influenced me
a lot. Beethoven was punk. When I
found out he was deaf, I could not just
stop wondering how he created these
amazing works of art with no hear-
ing. I started to take note of vibrations
because I never wanted anything to
stop me from being able to channel
music. I’d practice the piano with my
eyes closed or my ears plugged up or
just lean against the piano and feel the
vibrations. I got really sensitive to it,
so then when I started making elec-
tronic music I toned everything into
vibrations that would work a certain
way into my body. I developed this
understanding of the importance of
vibrations—vibrations that make you
happy or sad or sick or heal you even.
Punk Healing
Music may not be a typical shamanic
practise but it is a shamanic practise. I
make healing music, music about pro-
cessing feelings. Since I started I was
always involved with these burgeon-
ing cultural movements—the hip hop
scene or drum and bass—so I have a
punk attitude about it, or what I con-
sider one. Being an outsider always, I
never had any fear of going in a weird
direction. I have this ‘fuck it’ attitude
of just doing what feels right, which is
what I have always been inspired by.
Punk, Vibrations, And All
Round Weirdness With Tanya
Lind Pollock
The shaman witch invites you into her inner circle
A modern shamaness
MAKING OF
AN ARTIST
Words: Tanya
Lind Pollack with
Hannah Jane
Cohen

Photo:
Art Bicnick
Culture