Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.09.2019, Page 28

Music
Hildur Gu!nadóttir, who
composed the haunt-
ing score for the HBO hit
miniseries Chernobyl, has landed
the Emmy that she was nominated
for: outstanding music composition
for a limited series, movie or special
(original dramatic score), specifically
for the score in episode two of the
series, “Please Remain Calm.” Part of
the eerie beauty of Chernobyl’s score
can be attributed to the methodology,
which was made almost entirely with
recordings Hildur made in a decom-
missioned nuclear power plant. “You
arrive and you have to put on these
Soviet uniforms and hats,” she told
the Grapevine. “Being able to spend
a few days in the lives of the people
who work in these environments is
phenomenal. It was really inspirational
to go there.” AF
The European Broadcasting Union
(EBU) has decided to fine Icelandic
public broadcaster RÚV !5,000 for
Hatari’s displaying of the Palestinian
flag during the live broadcast of the
Eurovision Song Contest last May. RÚV
has issued a statement objecting to
the fine, saying there is no way they
can bear responsibility for Hatari’s
action. Hatari finished in 10th place
at the Eurovision Song Contest held
in Tel Aviv, but it was not their song,
‘Hatri" Mun Sigra’, which elicited the
strongest response—rather, it was
their unfurling of scarves stylised
after the Palestinian flag that kicked
off a slew of responses of both praise
and condemnation. The display was, in
the eyes of the EBU, a violation of the
song contest’s rules about sending
overtly political messages during the
competition. That said, RÚV has pro-
vided assurances that they will still
take part in Eurovision 2020, which will
be held in Rotterdam. AF

The unique theremin composer, Hekla
Magnúsdóttir, won an award for the
best film score at Festival of Slovenian
Film for her music for the movie
‘Stories From The Chestnut Woods.’
The movie is Gregor Bozic's first
feature film and has received rave
reviews, praising the film’s poetic
vision and heralding Gregor as one of
the most talented filmmakers in
Slovenia. Readers of the Reykjavík
Grapevine know Hekla well, but she
has been gaining a lot of attention
after releasing two albums of
theremin music. VG
MUSIC
NEWS
Best Remembered
Secrets
The dreamy, lo-fi, indie-laced pop of Hipsumhaps
Words & Photos: Si"ur!ur Ra"narsson
Band
Listen to Hipsumhaps’ ‘Best
Gleymdu Leyndarmálin’ on Spotify.
''Hipsumhaps is a word that we
thought described the band perfect-
ly,” Jökull Breki Arnarson explains.
Along with his collaborator Fannar
Ingi Fri!"jófsson, Jökull is sitting
back in his grandparents’ garage,
which they’ve turned into a make-
shift studio. “It’s a word that doesn't
know where it's going or what it's
doing. You can't define it. It's kind of
random, unsure of itself and unclear."
Something fresh
But while their name is unsure
or unclear, the band’s debut this
summer was anything but. The two
burst onto the scene only months
ago with a slew of popular singles,
including “Lífi! sem mig langar í”
and “Honn#,” which preceded the
release of their first album, ‘Best
Gleymdu Leyndarmálin’ (‘Best For-
gotten Secrets’) on September 22nd.
With every release, the duo repeat-
edly established themselves as some-
thing fresh. Their mix of dreamy,
lo-fi indie laced guitar-driven pop
is irresistibly catchy. ‘Best Gleymdu
Leyndarmálin’ is the perfect album
to play whether you're at a chill party
or driving down Sæbraut at 21:00 in
the evening in an intense downpour.
The origins
The pair have known each other for
a long time, having first met when
Fannar worked as a group leader at
Jökull's summer job in 2013. Over the
years, they formed a tight friend-
ship. Fannar began to take notice of
Jökull's musical ability, though, when
the latter took part in Verzlunarskó-
linn's singing competition Væli!.
“I had no idea that Jökull could
sing,” Fannar says. “He sent me re-
cordings of him singing two songs,
some song by Elvis Presley, and ‘To
Build A Home’ by The Cinemat-
ic Orchestra, which I was blown
away by. I was so excited for him.”
Jökull went on to win Væli! but
dropped out of Verzlunarskólinn
the following December. “After
dropping out I started working on
music and producing for Flóni,”
he explains. “I produced quite a
lot of his first album, which was
a lot of fun. I am honoured to
have been part of that project.”
Eyes everywhere
After wrapping with Flóni, Jökull
joined up with Fannar and they
started Hipsumhaps, beginning
their album approximately a year
ago. “We went to a summer cottage
in July and recorded a lot of mate-
rial there,” Fannar says. “It was an
important moment for us because
we tracked guitar and vocals for the
song ‘Augu’ there. It is my favourite
song on the album because of that.”
‘Augu’ is the 8th song on the
album, and one of its more heart-
felt tracks. The song speaks of re-
lationship troubles and wanting
something that “...just won't ever
happen.” Driven by a reverb guitar
riff, 90s-Esque electronic drums
and a synth which kicks in about
halfway through the song, it has a
childlike optimistic quality about it.
Though the last few months
have undoubtedly hectic for the
duo, Hipsumhaps seem ready and
eager to take on the music landscape
headfirst. While their album might
call them a best-forgotten secret,
it’s clear they are anything but.
Hipsumhaps, pictured yesterday
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