Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.07.2018, Page 40

40The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16— 2018Culture
Pianist Baldvin Snær Hlynsson deftly
mixes folk and jazz into an empyreal mel-
ange of minimalism, drama, and beauty.
After releasing his debut album ‘Renew-
al,’ he won “Newcomer Of The Year” at
the 2018 Icelandic Music awards. We sat
down with Baldvin to learn about his
formative influences.
Silence
In Iceland, you can go places where
there is no one. Sometimes you don’t
even hear the animals. I remember
one incident from my youth, when
I was walking on Keilir with my Dad.
When we came down, the sun had set
and there was absolutely no sound.
Everthing was sleeping. To be some-
where outside, around so many living
things, but in silence, is inspiring. I
believe it is very important to be in si-
lence sometimes, especially nowadays.
Folk Songs
I think folk music is the core of us. It
is in the heart and blood of people.
Whether it is Latin American, Celtic,
Scandinavian or anything else, I love
hearing musicians play the music of
their nation. It is music they fully un-
derstand, that they are made of, that
they heard as infants. There are words
in the music and a story being told,
even though it is only instrumental.
A story of nations and people, of love,
joy, sorrow, despair and injustice.
Debussy & Classical Music
Every musician, whether they are a
jazz musician, rapper, or anything
else, should always be open to classi-
cal music. There is a galaxy of endless
brilliance there. Often when I am out
of ideas or bored of typical harmo-
nies, I listen to Debussy. I think he
opens up the twelve tones in inter-
esting ways that we are maybe not
so used to in a lot of Western music.
Kendrick Lamar
I adore Kendrick Lamar. His songs are
like rainforests of amazingly produced
and harmonically satisfying beats. They
also have clever and thought-provoking
lyrics that move. Lyrics full of ideas
that tell more than one story at a time.
I feel like I need to zoom in on them as
if they were a map to fully absorb them.
Curiosity
I often feel like I know nothing. Healthy
and passionate curiosity—trying to
understand things you don’t know,
talking to people different from you,
not taking yourself too seriously—is
good. Being a musician is an endless
journey of evolving, making mistakes,
learning from them, and being in-
spired, just like life.
Art
It is good not to narrow your input to
one thing, to be open to all kinds of
art, whether that is appreciating good
food, books, theatre, paintings, or the
art of human relations. Being able to
listen, not just talk. It is the same thing
with jazz, you need to listen and talk
only when needed.
Keith Jarrett
My former teacher and one of my fa-
vourite musicians and human beings,
Eyþór Gunnarsson, introduced me to
the brilliance of Keith Jarrett. He is just
an endless inspiration. They are both,
actually, Eyþór and Keith.
Different People
People are my biggest inspiration, the
beginning of everything. Different
personalities inspire me a lot and I like
being around all types of people. It is
important, I think, to try to put your-
self in the shoes of someone you don’t
understand, or is different from you.
Very often you can learn something
from them or about people and life in
general.
MAKING OF
AN ARTIST
Words:
Baldvin Snær
Hlynsson with
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photo:
Atli Arnarson
The Importance Of
Silence And Curiosity
Baldvin Snær Hlynsson finds beauty in difference
Baldvin Snær, shredding
“Folk music
is the core
of us. It is
in the heart
and blood
of people.”