Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2018, Blaðsíða 8

The Grapevine has always been hardcore
into Omnom chocolate. Just look at our
past shopping and gift guides or our 2015
Grapevine Design Awards, where their
packaging won first place.
We are, therefore, understandably
very happy to admit that once again, we
are major trendsetters and were on the
Omnom train way before it won the ‘Best
in Competition’ award in plain/origin
milk bar categories at the International
Chocolate Awards, and well as seven
other medals, in November. Perhaps
Marvin Gaye was really singing about us.
Sweet, bro
The brand was originally founded—far
from fancy competitions—in 2013 in an
abandoned gas station in Snæfellsnes by
Kjartan Gíslason and Óskar Þórðarson.
Though that is certainly a movie-worthy
origin story, the brand has since relo-
cated to a full-on Willy Wonka-esque
factory in Grandi. If you so desire, you
can cosplay as the eccentric chocolatier
and take a tour of the facility, which,
once again, all the cool Grapevine staff
have already done.
Over the years, the artisanal small-
batch brand has taken the sugary heart
of Iceland by storm as well as attracted
intense international attention. It’s no
surprise to us that the brand smited
the competition at the awards, winning
everything from gold and bronze in
plain/origin dark chocolate bars to silver
in white chocolate bars with inclusions
or pieces. Seriously, they essentially won
awards in every category, so let’s all say
it together: HÚH!
*Viking clap*
It must be noted that recently another
Grapevine favourite, indie goddess
JFDR, released her own limited edition
chocolate bar with the brand, featur-
ing a matcha dark chocolate blend. It is
so good that the bars became an unof-
ficial currency around the office, with
editors and proofreaders alike desper-
ately searching to find the goodies in
nooks and crannies of the workspace. So,
hear us out Omnom—please send more.
We’re coocoo for the cocoa.
Chocolate, Bitch
Omnom serving up the nom-noms
8 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 21— 2018
LÓABORATORIUM
Omnom has been winning hearts and minds, and now they are winning awards
Listen, watch & hear
more tracks:
gpv.is/play
Skaði - Jamma
The sound of Skaði’s
new track—the
title of which
seemingly relates
to “djammið”, or
“partying”—comes
as a surprise. It’s
not so much a
dancefloor banger
as a catchy, moody
guitar-pop number
that ambles along
at a patient,
languid pace. We’re
intrigued. The
album is available
on cassette
via falkworld.
bandcamp.com. JR
dj. flugvél og
geimskip -
Elsta Lag í Heimi
Steinunn Eldflaug
takes another
deep dive into
her seemingly
bottomless internal
universe. This time,
we’re treated to
“The oldest song in
the world”—a song
that is actually,
apparently, a world
in itself, according
the ever-unfolding
mythology of
Steinunn’s lyrics.
It’s delivered in an
odd register, and
the whole thing
is joyfully weird,
especially seen
live. JR
Reptilicus - Unison
You’re at a rave. It’s
been years since
the epidemic. You
reach for your last
canteen of iodised
water. Instantly,
a band of rival
raiders snatch it
out of your hand.
‘Unison,’ the new
album by Reptilicus,
blasts from the
system as they
chug every drop
before siphoning
the gasoline out of
your truck. What a
night. HJC
Variant Sea - Selene
Remember the
moment in ‘Pride
and Prejudice’
where Mr. Darcy
and Elizabeth meet
in a misty moor
in naught but
their bedclothes?
“Selene,” by Irish/
Icelandic duo
Variant Sea, would
be the perfect
soundtrack to that,
if both characters
were melancholic
sea nymphs. HJC
Volruptus -
Alien Agenda EP
Berlin techno
coolkid Volruptus
has deciphered
his previous ‘Alien
Transmission’
into a full ‘Alien
Agenda EP’ on this
new four-track
release, issued
by the vaunted
bbbbbb label.
It’s a lot of hi-
tempo electronic
mischief—like if
Aphex Twin had a
younger brother
who was raised
in a dark room
on a strict diet of
Nocco, YouTube and
‘90s breakbeat. JR
JFDR - Gravity
Snap-released during
Airwaves, JFDR’s latest
EP contains four
songs that hint at
the direction of her
second solo album.
Title track ‘Gravity’
is a repeating vocal
melody backed by
an organ drone;
more than the sum
of its parts, it’s still
somehow evocative
enough to feel like a
gentle punch in the
heart. Check out the
haunting video at
jfdrcurrent.com. JR
THE
GRAPEVINE
PLAYLIST
The must-hear tracks of the issue
Hv
ítö
l
WORD OF
THE ISSUE
Hvítöl literally means “white ale,” but
it is neither white nor an ale. It is, in
fact, as dark as Guin-
ness and contains
hardly any alcohol at
all, but it is one of the
older staples of the
Icelandic Christmas
experience. Hvítöl
derives its name
from the fact that
it uses malt grains
whose shoots are
still white. Originat-
ing in Denmark, hvítöl
tastes like someone
mixed a very light pils-
ner with a very sweet,
non-alcoholic dark beer. While many,
if not most, Icelanders today prefer
mixing orange soda with Maltextrakt
as their holiday non-booze beverage
of choice, Iceland still imports Danish
versions of hvítöl and makes its own
native batch as well. A taste of hvítöl is
a taste of the old Icelandic Christmas,
earning its place as this issue’s word of
the issue. AF
WHAT HAVE
WE WON?
Words:
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photo:
Art Bicnick
First
www.tulipop.com Skólavörðustígur 43, Reykjavík