Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2018, Síða 44

Music

Most of Reykjavík’s
grassroots indie scene will
head out to Borgarfjörður
in West Iceland on July 6th-8th to
play at Hátíðni, a DIY festival that’ll be
held at the BRÚN community centre.
The acts announced so far are Umer
Consumer, GRÓA, bagdad brothers, Hot
Sauce Committee and Wama Ema, all of
whom appeared on the post-dreifing
DIY label compilation ‘Drullumáll #1’,
streaming on Spotify now. Tickets are
priced at 3,000 ISK, and shuttles to
the festival will be announced on the
Facebook event. JR

The band Godchilla have been causing
a furore in Iceland‘s underground
scene ever since their inception. With
their roots somewhere between punk,
doom and surf-sludge, their latest al-
bum ‘Hypnopolis’ received widespread
critical acclaim, at home and abroad.
The three-piece just announced they
will be heading to France to play four
shows; in Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon and
Toulon. If you live in any of these cities,
just buy the ticket already. You won’t
regret it. If you miss them, you’ll still
have a chance to see them at Secret
Solstice Festival at the end of June. PW
JR.

Iceland Airwaves have announced
more acts for the 2018 edition. Joining
Fever Ray, Blood Orange and Tommy
Ca$h are up ‘n’ coming bands from
an eclectic mixture of countries,
including Belgian/Egyptian/Lebanese
artist Tamino, Faroese guitar-pop band
Danny & The Veetos, Syrian dabke leg-
end Rizan Said, intriguing Portuguese
dream-pop and electronica artist
Surma, and Greenlandic guitar band
Nanook. On the Icelandic side, einarIn-
dra joins the lineup alongside award-
winning composer Ólafur Arnalds, a
plethora of rappers, electro-drag art-
ist Mighty Bear, alt-crooner Högni, and
more. Tickets are on sale now. JW
MUSIC
NEWS
Wild Creature
Umer Consumer takes on a life of his own
Words: John Rogers Photo: Juliette Rowland

Concert & Album
See Umer Consumer support
Sólveig Matthildur on May 30th at
Gaukurinn, and on June 1st at Bravó
Ýmir Gíslason stands on a narrow
causeway, watching a bright yellow
demolition truck tearing down an
old metal industrial tank. The pincer
closes and pulls again and again,
relentlessly tearing chunks of the
building away. Each time it lets go,
the whole tank wobbles, letting out
a deep boom that shakes the ground.
“It’s a cool sound,” he says, and even-
tually we turn and walk up the cause-
way, and into Akranes lighthouse.
After a demonstration of the light-
house’s acoustics via some sonorous
throat singing, Ýmir explains that he
spent several summers in Akranes as a
child. “My grandparents live here, and
my cousin is the mayor,” he says. “But
I’d never been inside the lighthouse
until recently. Then I met Hilmar who
looks after it, and he said they have
concerts here. I thought it might be
fun to record in here. I’ve been trying
to record the whole space; to use it
as an instrument. You can practice
at home with a guitar, and then re-
cord what you made—but you can’t
practice at home with a lighthouse.”
Alter ego
This sense of sonic exploration is
also present in Ýmir’s main musical
project, Umer Consumer. A part of the
blossoming Weird
Kids scene, his im-
passioned stage per-
formances recently
took a creative leap
with the addition of a technological
element when he incorporated a
utility vest, specially constructed
in collaboration with KOS-C. With
his effects pedals strapped to his
body; he can stalk the stage while
manipulating his voice in real time.
The results are mesmerising. “I
like to call Umer Consumer an alter
ego,” says Ýmir, demonstrating the
straps and buckles of the vest. “It’s
definitely not me up on the stage.
It’s something else I’m trying to get
to know.” He pauses, searching for
the right words. “It’s hard to describe
him properly—he’s a wild creature.
He can be mean. He has this bitter
emotionality—he thinks of all the
things that are bad, and plays it out.”
Physical and out there
I wonder out loud if the character
allows Ýmir to vent sides of himself
that are usually hidden. “It’s a part of
me as well, of course,” he ponders. “I’ve
been having a debate with myself how
much of him is me, and vice-versa.
It’s something that I can be. I wear
makeup on the stage and act like a
weird kid. I always blackout on the
stage—it’s something that takes over,
and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
This spontaneous method is audi-
ble in Umer Consumer’s unpredictable
electronic sound, and even the lyrics—
Ýmir is highly concerned with keeping
his music open-ended, with room for
unexpected events. “Some of the lyrics
happen right there on the stage,” he
says. “I like to improvise, move on, and
keep moving, growing, and exploring
this whole spectrum and process.
I get myself into character and say
what he has to say. And
with the vest, you can
hear and see what I’m
doing in real-time.”
H e s m i l e s ,
and for a second, Umer Con-
sumer appears in Ýmir’s eyes.
“It’s physical, and out there.”
Gaukurinn
bar & live venue
TRYGGVAGATA 22
We are very queer,
open and diverse. We
have gender neutral
restrooms and an
all-Vegan bar!
HAPPY HOUR
every day
from 14 to 21
...and other events:
Burlesque Bingo
VICKY, Casio Fatso, InZeros
Strell Ytzia Blossom
- A Utopian Drag Show
Læknishljómar, Hewkii
The Icelandic Championship of
Beatboxing // Afterwards:
Dj Beatur & Dj Bahama
Singer/Songwriter Night
Rex Pistols, Skaði, Bömmer
1/6
2/6
7/6
8/6
9/6
10/6
14/6
www.gaukurinn.is
STANDUP COMEDY
in English every Monday
KARAOKE PARTY
every Tuesday
Free entry and starts at 21 both nights
OPEN-MIC
STANDUP COMEDY
in English every Wednesday
Free entry and starts at 20:30
gpv.is/music
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To the lighthouse, my friends