Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2019, Qupperneq 23

For The Love
Of Extremes

Norðanpaunk returns for the 6(66)th time
These words have been written before,
and so they shall be again: Norðan-
paunk is an event like no other. The an-
nual gathering of the Icelandic punk
community spans three days and boasts
no less than 50 local and international
bands. It is a full-on music frenzy that
was founded to give “difficult” music a
place to exist.
Dillon, 2013
In 2013, a group of friends met at Reyk-
javík’s Dillon Whiskey Bar to discuss
a problem plaguing Iceland’s extreme
underground scene: the bands had no
venue to call home. Six years ago, Reyk-
javík had a few more venues than it does
today, but often such bands would be
turned away by management concerned
with turning a profit.
“If you have a karaoke night, you
have lots of people drinking, singing
and having fun,” explains Norðanpaunk
co-founder Árni Þorlákur Guðnason.
“If you book some kind of avant garde
industrial artist, you will have him and
his five friends, all of whom are broke.”
Yet, at the same time, Iceland’s big-
gest metal festival, Eistnaflug, was
growing both in size and commercial
success—but even there, new under-
ground bands had difficulty playing,
and aggressive music would be turned
down due to (non-)accessibility.
The question remained: Where
would these “difficult” bands be able to
play?
Strong values
The small community of Laugarbakki
came to the rescue, and a Mecca for fans
of underground music was found. It was
decided at the very start that no band
would play more than two years run-
ning, to give new bands a chance to be
heard and discovered.
“The last piece of the puzzle was to
avoid everything that annoys us at fes-
tivals,” says Árni. That includes paying
a high ticket price, only to feel ripped
off by the unholy cost of food and drink
inside the festival. Norðanpaunk thus
became strictly BYOB, and people felt
less exploited and way more chill as a
result.
The organisation is also completely
DIY. Nobody gets paid, instead, it is built
on the passion of the volunteers—and
anyone can be one. “The people in at-
tendance are aware that they can’t just
throw trash on the ground and expect
somebody to pick it up,” says Ólöf Rút
Benediktsdóttir, who has been in charge
of the visual art at Norðanpaunk since
its inception. “We all have to work to-
gether and create a space that’s clean
and nice to be in, so that we can come
back next year.”
Visiting the family
The passion for music, the determina-
tion of the volunteers, the feeling of a
community, and the strong core values
of Norðanpaunk make it a unique ex-
perience that feels more like visiting
family than attending a music festival
— art corner and late-night campfires
included.
This year’s edition convinces, with
a reliable blend of established acts and
brand new bands from the underground
scene, including Godchilla, The Post
Performance Blues Band, ROHT and
Kælan Mikla. “The first half will melt
your brain and the second half will melt
your face,” says Árni. “As an extra treat,
we offer hand-picked international art-
ist to melt whatever part of your body
that is still intact.”
Words:
Phil Uwe Widiger
Photo:
Phil Uwe Widiger
Words:
Alexander Le
Sage de Fontenay
Photo:
Flemming Bo
CULTURE
NEWS
ELECTRIC
DREAMS
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These poeple are monsters
Dreamy And Dancey
In Denmark
Icelandic producer Fruit on his danceable music
and Copenhagen connection
Over the past couple years, Anton
Sandholt—Icelandic DJ, musician
and event promoter—has been mak-
ing his mark in Copenhagen’s dance
music scene. His music productions,
under his moniker Fruit, range from
spiritual soundscapes to melodic
club-ready dance tracks. He also co-
hosts the Normal Fun event series
which has received massive turnouts
in both Copenhagen and Reykjavík.
Anton began studying music and
singing in a choir at a young age.
“The last couple of years, I’ve focused
on DJing and developing my sound
as a producer and composer,” he ex-
Festival
Norðanpaunk
will be held in
Laugarbakki from
August 2nd-5th.
Buy a ticket at
nordanpaunk.is
Music
Follow Fruit on
soundcloud.
com/fruitdj. His
two years-in-
the-making EP
‘Drømmeland,’
is out now on
Coastal Haze.
Pick it up at
juno.co.uk
plains. “Event organization can be
straining, but the joy of making
something that really comes to-
gether is something I thoroughly
enjoy.”
To Anton, his music is a way
for people to experience a specific
emotional view-point, with enough
room for personal interpretation.
“My music is often a bit melanchol-
ic, or even nostalgic,” he explains.
“Some of my friends tell me my
music is like having a good time
at the beach with an old friend.”
Last year, Anton released a cas-
sette tape with music on Øen Re-
cords—a small Copenhagen label
run by a venue. Last month, his
EP ‘Drømmeland’ was released on
London-based label Coastal Haze,
after considerable delays.
“Most of the tracks were ready
two years ago, but didn’t get re-
leased since the label I made an
agreement with initially came to
a halt,” he says. “It seriously chal-
lenged my faith in the music indus-
try.”
Anton has a lot of projects in the
works and a new EP will be ready
before the end of the summer. “I’ll
be playing events in Norway and
the US soon and then there is an
event series I am especially ex-
cited about in September at Øen,”
he says. “There I’ll be paired with
a poet to perform a half-hour im-
provised set together.”
Tramp Round Town
Slutwalk 2019
July 27th - 14:00 - Starts At
Hallgrímskirkja
It’s been eight years since the first
Slutwalk took place in Toronto, and
luckily since then the world has sat
up, taken notice, and become a
lovely safe place for women and
vulnerable people to exist in. JK,
Donald Trump is president and the
world is a dumpster fire. But there’s
still plenty of us fighting the good
fight, insisting on zero-tolerance
for victim-blamers, slut-shamers
and general Bad Vibers. Fly the slut
flag high. JG
Ice Docs Baby
IceDocs 2019
July 19th-21st - Various times/prices
- Akranes
Based in Akranes at one of Iceland’s
oldest cinemas, the programme for
the debut Iceland Documentary
Film Festival has (finally) been
released, and it’s a captivating mix
of local and international
filmmaking. Look out in particular
for the award-winning ‘In Touch,’
‘Hail Satan’ (a "humorous take on
satanism”), and ‘Aquarela,’ a film
where water is the main character,
along with many more, including
several free screenings. FR
Impress Your Cool Friends
Seint, Quest, Ari Árelius & Flavor Fox
July 19th - 22:00 - Gaukurinn -
1,000 ISK
It’s an arty night of artsy artistic
sound art. First you’ve got Seint’s
expansive, atmospheric electronic
soundscapes. Then, the jazz/rock
fusion of Ari Árelius. Add to that the
melodic beach rock of Flavor Fox
and dreamy, ethereal post-rock of
Quest, and you’ve got a night that’s
sure to impress even your most
stuck up audiophile friend. Get their
autographs while you still can. HJC