Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Side 8

One of the most widely known Icelandic
superstitions is that we believe in elves.
While this is not true of all Iceland-
ers—or perhaps even most—even the
staunchest epistemological sceptics
hesitate to interfere with an elf hill.
Elf hills don’t have to be what you
might traditionally think of as a hill;
they can be very large boulders. The
important thing is that elves live inside
these things, and you wouldn’t want
someone barging into your home
wrecking all the furniture, would you?
Care and caution around elf hills is
especially important when it comes to
construction projects. Hardy is the fool
who dares to build a road through one,
as they will be met with failing machin-
ery, uncooperative earth or even work-
site injuries.
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid
catastrophe. You could, for example,
simply build the road around the hill.
This is why the road connecting Kópa-
vogur and Reykjavík does that weird
curve—to avoid disturbing Álfhóll, an
elf hill that was complicating construc-
tion efforts for decades.
You could also hire a priest to speak
with the elves in an effort to appease
them, as they did in the small West-
fjords town of Bolungarvík in 2011.
There, spiritualist Vigdís Kristín
Steinþórsdóttir convinced parish priest
Rev. Agnes Sigurðardóttir to confer
blessings upon a construction area in
the hopes of appeasing the elves.
While it may seem strange that a
utheran minister would involve them-
selves in such a pagan superstition, we
should bear in mind that superstitions
are cultural; not necessarily confined
to one religious denomination. There
might be no such thing as elves, but do
we really want to take that risk? The
answer, usually, is no.
Don’t Mess With
An Elf Hill
Or a boulder that looks like it might be one, for that matter
8 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12— 2019
LÓABORATORIUM
Listen, watch & hear
more tracks:
gpv.is/play
Krassasig -
Brjóta Heilann
One half of art-pop
duo Munster,
Krassasig’s debut
single ‘Brjóta
Heilann’ is a bright,
breezy, and amiable
pop tune. With a
clattering rhythm,
bassy pulses, chill
guitar strums and
catchy vocals, it’s
the kind of track
that could easily
become a
summertime hit. See
him at Airwaves. JR
múm - Smell Memory
(Kronos Quartet
rework)
20 years on, múm’s
seminial ‘Yesterday
Was Dramatic,
Today Was Okay’ is
now considered
a milestone of
subtle, handmade
electronica. To
celebrate the
anniversary,
Kronos Quartet
have reworked
the distinctive
‘Smell Memory,’
recomposing the
heavily-treated
string sound of
the original as
orchestration. JR
ADHD -
KEXP Live Session
This evergreen
quartet fuses
elements of jazz,
improv, post-rock
and more into their
thrillingly propulsive
sound. Between
the virtuosic drums
of percussion of
Magnús Trygvason
Eliassen, brothers
Óskar and Ómar
Guðjónsson on
saxophone and
guitar, and Tómas
Jónsson on keys,
ADHD are particularly
impressive live—
hear them at full
force on this stellar
KEXP session. JR
K.óla - Allt Verður
Alltílæ
Having emerged
from the DIY Post-
dreifing scene,
K.óla’s new seven-
track release is
crisply recorded and
lushly produced pop
music. Her voice has
a fine timbre with a
ragged emotional
edge reminiscent
of Karin Dreijer, and
compulsive pop
tunes like “Nýir
Draumar” bring to
mind U.S. Girls. Great
stuff. JR
Siggi String
Quartet & Una
Sveinbjarnardóttir -
Opacity
This latest piece
from the Siggi
String Quartet
channels serious
Koyaanisqatsi vibes.
The strings initially
are so frenzied
that they sound
percussive, leaping
around in octaves
and fifths, while the
eerie chords and a
slightly psychedelic
video complete the
effect. FR
Hjaltalín - Love
From 99
Smoochy pop barons
Hjaltalín return
with another new
single. A slow-dance
beginning with
Högni’s distinctive
vocals and some
unexpected brass
chops gives way to
a fidgety chorus,
of sorts. Having
successfully crowd-
funded their as-yet
untitled new album,
catch them live at
Harpa on September
6th. JR
GRAPEVINE PLAYLIST
The must-hear music of the issue
„E
ng
in
n v
er
ðu
r
ób
ar
in
n b
isk
up
“
JUST SAYINGS
One expression you are likely to hear
in Iceland is “enginn verður óbarinn
biskup,” which literally means “no one
will be an unbeaten bishop.” Essen-
tially, the phrase means “it takes
considerable work to reach your goals,”
and one English version of this expres-
sion would be “no pain, no gain”.
The phrase is apparently even
confusing to Icelanders, many of
whom have questioned whether beat-
ing up bishops was a common practice
in the old days. In fact, it’s a reference
to one Bishop Guðmundur Arason,
who was influential in the 12th and
13th centuries. Guðmundur appar-
ently had to endure a lot of hardship
in order to attain this high office,
especially as a child, when he would
be severely beaten if he slacked off on
his studies.
Today we know that physical
violence does not help children study,
but the expression has persisted over
the years to present day. AF
ICELANDIC
SUPERSTITIONS
Words:
Andie Fontaine

Photo:
Art Bicnick
First
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Touch this rock and the elves will fuck you up