Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.07.2018, Blaðsíða 32

Music

Iceland Airwaves made a
fourth lineup announcement
this month. Fever Ray has
cancelled, citing an ongoing anxiety
disorder; mom-core crooner Ásgeir
steps into the fray instead. He’ll debut
his new album, slated for a 2019
release, in Fríkirkjan. Label nights will
be hosted by Moshi Moshi and Bella
Union. New overseas additions include
British psych collective Flamingods,
U.S. acts Surf Gods and Anatomy of
Frank, Belgian Eurovision star Blanche
(remember “All alone in the danger
zone?”), and pop songstress Aurora.
From Iceland, aYia, Bagdad Broth-
ers, Bára Gísladóttir, dj. flugvél og
geimskip, Gróa, JFDR, Lord Pusswhip,
SiGRÚN, Sólstafir and many more have
been added. Tickets are on sale now.

The acclaimed Mengi organisation
has begun a series of collaborative
shows with the newly rejuvenated
Iðnó concert hall. Created to expand
the experimental spirit of Mengi into
a larger setting, the series showcases
new collaborations, side projects, al-
ternative versions of existing material,
and brand new releases from some of
Iceland’s best talents. Sóley, Sing Fang
and Örvar Smárason opened the series,
and JFDR did a show on September
6th; next up is aYia with support from
Madonna + Child on September 13th.
Tickets are available from midi.is and
mengi.net, and more shows in the
series will be announced soon.

‘Garden State’ fans and/or people that
remember when Marissa shot Trey
on ‘The OC’ to ‘Hide and Seek’ rejoice!
Imogen Heap and Frou Frou will be
popping by Iceland for an October 9th
concert at Háskólabíó. Imogen will stay
in the country until the 14th as part of
her ‘Creative Passport’ project, which
seeks to promote sustainable artist-
led projects in the music industry,
including a Change Marker Forum at
Iðnó on October 11th. Tickets for the
show range from 6,990 to 8,990 ISK
and can be bought on tix.is. Registra-
tion for the Iðnó forum is available on
myceliaformusic.org.
MUSIC
NEWS
Paradise Is Now
An afternoon with Paradís Sessions on Viðey
Words & Photos: Phil Uwe Widiger

Live Sessions
Paradís Sessions films unplugged
performances in various
environments. Watch the sessions
on www.paradissessions.is. Follow
Finnur Sigurjón on Facebook.
Rain showers hit the car windows
as James Cox, the head of Paradís
Sessions, picks me up around noon.
A conversation about Iceland’s un-
predictable weather ensues as we
drive towards the harbour, hoping
for the sun to show its beautiful
face. The plan is to capture foot-
age of Finnur Sigurjón, an upcom-
ing singer/songwriter, on the ferry
to the small island of Viðey in the
Faxaflói bay. The catch: the journey
only takes around five minutes.
What is paradise?
James Cox moved to Iceland two years
ago after studying human geogra-
phy in London. James, who is also
the team leader of Sofar Sounds:
Reykjavík, believes in the power of
unplugged performances. “The ab-
sence of amps and electricity adds
so many dimensions to the space,” he
explains. “There is no place to hide.”
Inspired by his studies, James set
out to discover what paradise means
to different people. “I thought there
would be at least an
overlap,” James says.
“But everybody said
something com-
pletely different.” In search of the
meaning of paradise, James now
films the raw and unplugged live
footage of artists in different lo-
cations around Iceland to capture
honest and genuine performanc-
es, complete with imperfections.
The ferryman
As we enter the small cabin of the
ferry, Finnur prepares for his perfor-
mance in front of the other passen-
gers. During his heartfelt “Allt sem
er,” a phone rings, people chatter,
and we arrive on the island before
the song is over. When the captain
yells out: “We landed! You can now
leave the ferry!” the singer contin-
ues to serenade the passengers until
everybody has left and the song is
over. We all agree that this was the
perfectly unpredictable and authen-
tic single take James was looking for.
Take me to church
But we get even luckier. The small but
very aesthetically pleasing church on
Viðey is open, and we spontaneously
decide to record another song there.
Again, a little audience forms. Finnur
plays through a perfect rendition of
the jazzy “Haltu áfram”—we’re all
stunned by the smoothness of his
voice, which now has a little natu-
ral reverb from the space. Again, it’s
done in one take, and the audience
finds it impossible to stop smiling.
Strong connection
In Viðey’s cosy café we sit down to
chat about paradise. Finnur, who
has been writing songs since he
was 12, tells us about a place in the
Westfjords that he calls “paradise.”
“It's the place where my grand-
ma grew up,” he tells
us. “I believe that I have
a strong connection
with the mountains
there. Even though it's not always
summer, you still have everything
— the sea, the mountains and the
green grass during the summer. But
also the clouds and the darkness.”
For James, paradise used to be a
point in time, like a walk on the beach
with his ex. Today, however, he takes
a different approach. “It’s whatever
you make of the moment,” he says.
*EXCEPT THIS MONTH
THE 11/9 KARAOKE PARTY MOVES TO 12/9*
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Tryggvagata 22, 101 Reykjavík
EVERY
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EVERY
MONDAY
KARAOKE PARTY
21.00 / FREE ENTRY
STANDUP COMEDY
IN ENGLISH / 21.00 / FREE ENTRY
8/9
11/9
12/9
13/9
14/9
15/9
20/9
AUÐN, MORPHOLITH
ROSETTA (US), WE MADE GOD,
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GUNNED DOWN HORES, DALÍ, VAR
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gpv.is/music
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James Cox hates electricity