Reykjavík Grapevine - Sep 2019, Page 34

Music 34The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 14— 2019
Punk In
Practice
Korter í Flog on seizing the music and keeping it fun
Words: Freya Dinesen Photo: Art Bicnick
Band
Learn more about Korter í Flog at
Post-Dreifing’s website and follow
them on Facebook to stay up to
date.
Trying to describe Korter í Flog is
somewhat of a futile effort. Their
music and their objectives are both
rather ineffable, and though they
sometimes describe themselves
as “a garage punk band with krau-
trock influence,” it is really only
part of the nutshell. 
For band members Kristófer
Darri Baldursson, Már Jóhanns-
son, Sigurhjörtur Pálmason, Vil-
hjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson, Ör-
lygur Steinar Arnalds and Björn
Heimir Önundarson, a DIY ethos
has been the crux of their creative
process and ideology. This is a
lifeblood Korter í Flog also shares
with the Post-Dreifing art collec-
tive, with whom they have had key
involvement in establishing.
Despite bui lding a strong
reputation inside and out of the
DI Y com mu n i-
ty, Korter í Flog
maintain a gen-
uinely enigmat-
ic profile–albeit
unintentionally.
“We haven’t re-
ally done any in-
terviews and we don’t have a clear
bio,” Kristófer acknowledges. “We
don’t even know how to describe
ourselves!” 
Punkin’ instigators
The group first came to fruition
when then classmates Vilhjálmur,
Kristófer and Örlygur unearthed
similar interests in music and as-
pired to make something togeth-
er—their distinct lack of musical
training was an added motivation,
rather than a hindrance. 
“The initial concept was just
playing,” Örlygur explains. “We
didn’t know how to play any in-
struments, so it was also about
trying to have a band without
knowing your instrument.”
“A year after we started the
band. When Már and Sigurhjör-
tur became involved, we started
doing it for real,” Kristófer contin-
ues. “Well,” he laughs, “we start-
ed practicing and actually started
writing coherent songs.”
It’s all in the improv
Korter í Flog amalgamate sounds
from a wide array of genres, with
influences spanning from krau-
t ro ck t o do om
metal, no wave
to post-punk and
likely everything
in-between.
“The most effi-
cient way [for us]
to w rite music
is to improvise, and we’ve gotten
better at that,” Kristófer explains.
“We just meet up and improv. If
we’re playing a new song, it’s al-
ways just improv and then we pick
out the good parts and restructure
it out of that.”
"We are trying to make the
same energy we feel when we lis-
ten to a certain song,” adds Már.
When it comes to their live
shows, their gigs are fundamen-
tally built on embracing clumsi-
ness and “not being too serious,''
as the band tries to incorporate
music every time. Crowd partici-
pation also plays a vital role, and
the audience encouraged to join in
on the chaotic free-for-all.
“Most of the time, we want to
play on the same ground as the au-
dience,'' says Kristófer. "We don’t
want to play [up] on the stage, if
possible."
Vi lhjá lmur continues: "We
don’t want to be placed above the
audience. They are as much of a
vital part of the concert itself as we
are."
Common
misconceptions
While obtrusive angst and anarchy
may have brought the ‘punk’ into
the limelight during the 1970s, it
can be a false generalisation for
punk music and subculture. “An-
ger can be a really toxic part of
punk,” Már reflects. “We are not
an angry punk band, we just keep
it fun and friendly.”
“A lot of people still think of
punk in this way,” Örlygur con-
curs. “It’s an old image of punk and
it’s more consumer-driven ‘plastic
punk’ than actual punk.There is
also the misbelief that punk died
after the popular punk movement,
when really the true concepts are
always there as an evolving re-
sponse. Punk never dies, it’s just
a philosophy by which you make
your art.”
“Punk never dies:
it’s just a philoso-
phy by which you
make your art.”
Real punks drink hot chocolate
gpv.is/music
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