Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.09.2019, Síða 34

Music 34The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16— 2019
The
Screeching
Of The Trees
Flaaryr’s complex intercontinental journey
Words: Rex Beckett Photo: Art Bicnick
Album
Flaaryr’s new album ‘Vegvísir’ is
out now on streaming platforms
and Bandcamp: post-dreifing.
bandcamp.com/album/vegv-sir
Way down south, almost at the
bottom of the world, but before the
frozen sheet of Antarctica, lie the
rich natural wonders of Patagonia.
It was there that Argentinian-born
artist Flaaryr found himself im-
mersed in sounds that stuck per-
manently in his core. This was the
place where the songs from his new
album, ‘Vegvísir’, came to exist.
Just released on Post-dreifing, it
is a journey through a disarming,
stunning sonic forest.
Stave that guide
Flaaryr was born Diego Manatrizio
in Buenos Aires in 1993. Playing in
bands and on his own in his home-
town for several years, he moved
to Iceland six months ago with a
minimal solo setup of his dad’s
40-year-old classical guitar and a
looping pedal. It was this sudden
and recent move to Iceland that in-
spired the title and concept of his
album, as the name refers to the
famous ancient Icelandic stave.
“Aside from the fact that this
symbol is extremely overused for
touristic shit, it has a beautiful
meaning which is to guide the way
when there is no visibility,” he says.
“I think it’s a very good metaphor,
like in my case, for moving twelve
thousand kilometres away from
home, not having an idea of what
is going to happen. Stay on track,
keep going. It’s a super weird sit-
uation in a place where you don’t
speak the language and don’t know
anyone, trying to not get lost.”
A whole new world
He primarily uses a method called
prepared guitar, where the tim-
bres have been
altered with ob-
jects placed in or
on the strings. “I
started using the
prepared guitar
when I started lis-
tening to a series
of John Cage piec-
es called Sonatas
and Interludes,
for the prepared
piano,” he says. “It
was like a mind
explosion. The sounds were like,
‘What instrument is that? I have
no idea what the fuck it is!’ I start-
ed researching and I saw that he
put objects between the strings. A
whole new world opened.”
Trial and error
Diego uses objects like rubber
bands, pieces of wood,and bits of
metal, and is always experiment-
ing with more. “Back then, all the
shit I found I put it between the
strings!” he laughs “Just seeing
what happened. It was a lot of trial
and error. Now I have a set of tools
that I use, but I’m constantly trying
new things.”
This method of highly exper-
imental yet intricate, technical
playing was the perfect way for
Diego to convey the life-altering
experiences he had while in Pa-
tagonia. “A couple of years ago I
hitchhiked there with a friend,”
he recounts. “We went from Bue-
no Aires to Ushuaia, which is the
capital of Tierra del Fuego. It was
an amazing experience and I fell in
love with Patagonia. It’s so peaceful
and you have forests and snow and
beautiful things. Patagonia is the
only place in Argentina where I re-
ally feel at home.”
Different tempos
The album starts with a piece
named after Patagonian trees, his
complex and beautiful composi-
tions evoke the atmosphere of his
beloved territory, employing the
techniques of his inspirer, John
Cage. “The main
melodies on the
album are phased
overdubbed loops,
playing at differ-
ent time signa-
tures,” he says.
“There are a lot of
wood sounds, hit-
ting the guitar in
the box and stuff.
I tried to create
the sensation of
wa l k ing in the
forest, surrounded by sounds, and
all you hear are the trees screech-
ing and crackling.”
This dichotomy of places so far
south and so far north to influ-
ence his music makes for quite a
jaw-dropping experience. No won-
der he needs a beacon through the
fog.
“I tried to create
the sensation of
walking in the for-
est, surrounded
by sounds, and all
you hear are the
trees screeching
and crackling.”
Pictured here with a rare, non-screeching tree
gpv.is/music
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