Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.07.2018, Blaðsíða 44

44The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13— 2018Culture
Strutting onstage in a ghostly, glam-
orous mask to a soundtrack of intense
but ethereal beats, Mighty Bear is the
undisputed dark queen of the Reykjavík
electronica scene. Having just dropped
his first EP ‘Einn’ only weeks ago, we sat
down with the man behind the mask,
Magnús Bjarni Gröndal, to see what
made him the musician he is.
Music Videos
As a kid, I was glued to the TV, watching
MTV and VH1 music videos for hours
and hours. I was so inspired by how
music and visuals could coexist and
even elevate the music itself. When I
was eight or nine, they started an Ice-
landic music channel called Popp Tíví,
and that was the holy grail. “Frozen” by
Madonna was one I really loved. It was
so dark with crows flying around, and I
thought it was so cool at the time.
‘Labyrinth’
I was a weird kid. If I wasn’t watch-
ing music videos, I was watching ‘80s
movies and ‘Labyrinth’ was always on
repeat. I knew all the lyrics, even the
dances. I always wanted to be the girl
who was babysitting and then trans-
ported into the labyrinth. I would
watch her and be like, that’s me! I
also love cheesy ‘80s movies. There’s
a guilty movie I love called ‘Girls
Just Want To Have Fun.’ I know it all
by heart, all the dances, all that shit.
Icelandic Hardcore/Metal Scene 2000s
This was such an inspiring communi-
ty. People would show up to every show,
it didn’t matter who was playing—they
were passionate about everything.
They would talk about politics between
songs. It didn’t matter if you weren’t
getting paid, or if you were playing at
5 PM in some café, they would scream
their heart out and form mosh pits. It
was such a cool time in the Icelandic
music scene.
Radiohead
I remember listening to ‘OK Computer’
when I was maybe 12. I honestly say that
my life has never been the same. It was a
complete awakening for me. It spoke to
me on so many levels. Every album after
that, how they have progressed, it feels
like it has mirrored me. We have evolved
in parallel. I finally saw them two years
ago at Solstice. I cried. Then like three
minutes after that, I yelled at a girl in
front of me who was filming the whole
thing. I was like, you’re never going to
watch it! Put that down.
Thrift Stores
I love going into thrift stores and just
browsing. I’ll find some weird piece of
clothing that then inspires me to do
something weird. The whole concept of
secondhand inspires me and creating a
look often inspires a song. When I don’t
have any ideas, I go to thrift stores.
My Friends
I have been blessed with my chosen
family. It’s a group of super talented
people and I don’t think there is a sin-
gle one who doesn’t do something cre-
ative. I get so much inspiration from
my friends.
MAKING OF
AN ARTIST
Words:
Hannah
Jane Cohen
Photo:
Stephanie Zakas
Music And
Visuals Collide
With Mighty Bear
From Bowie to Radiohead to ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’
The mightiest of all bears
gpv.is/culture
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