Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.09.2019, Síða 30

Music 30The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 17— 2019
In Character
The sublime intensity of !u!usar
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Art Bicnick
Artist
Check out gugusar on Spotify.
Gu! laug Sóley Hösk u ldsdót-
tir is shy. Sitting in her family’s
Grafarvogur home, back lit by
the late-summer sunshine, the
15-year-old songstress—who per-
forms under the name gugusar—
speaks quietly and punctuates
each of her thoughts with a nerv-
ous laugh. She’s never been inter-
viewed before and frankly seems
somewhat caught-off-guard when
told how her newest song “I’m not
supposed to say this” has been on
constant rotation in the Grapevine
office. In truth,
t a l k i n g t o me
might be the first
time she’s ever
met a fan.
But her mu-
sic and live per-
formances tell a
different story.
Intricate, low-fi
emotional tunes
p epp ere d w it h
swaying beats and
subtle roaming
harmonies, g u-
gusar’s works project a quiet con-
fidence and remarkable emotional
insight. They’re visceral, heartfelt,
and utterly captivating—Iceland’s
toned-down response to Billie Eil-
ish. Hearing her songs for the first
time reminded me of watching
Hatari’s first shows, or listening
to “B.O.B.A.” on the day it was re-
leased—this girl is going to be big.
I’m betting on it.
Other people’s steps
“Gugugsar is a character,” Gu!laug
says, smiling simply. “Me, as my-
self, I would never sing in front
of anyone, not even my Mom. But
when I’m onstage as gugusar, it’s a
whole different thing.”
Gu!laug premiered gugusar
live at this year’s Músiktilraun-
ir contest with her instrumental
song “Marthrö!.” She won the
Raf heili Músík-
tlrauna, the con-
test’s award for
electronic music.
“I didn’t have an
idea for a song, so
I just went on my
music program
and just picked
an instrument.
I pressed record
and played some-
thing and didn’t
even listen to it.
Then I picked an-
other instrument and did the same
thing, and then I did another one,”
she explains. “I was really stressed
[to perform] but then it worked out
fine.”
She followed that up with two
more songs, “If u wanna go,” and
“I’m not supposed to say this,” re-
leased in August and September,
where Gu!laug added her voice.
“I write in a character, so I write
about something that hasn’t hap-
pened to me,” she explains. “I put
myself in other people’s shoes.”
“If u wanna go,” Gu!laug em-
phasises, is about a person who is
confused, while “I’m not supposed
to say this” takes a more complicat-
ed approach. “I was writing from
the perspective that someone has
been really mean to you, and you’re
like, I hate him, but I’m not sup-
posed to say that I hate someone.
It’s confusing,” she relays.
We’re supposed
to say this
While her debut show was at
Músiktilraunir, her second perfor-
mance was equally as impressive—
onstage with Hermigervill and FM
Belfast at Menningarnótt. “It was
really crazy,” she says excitedly, her
face breaking out in a huge smile.
“Unnsteinn Manuel just called me
one day. It was a random number
and I wasn’t even going to answer
but I picked up and it’s Unnsteinn!”
She laughs. “When I was little, I
looked up to him so much so I was
panicking.”
The concert went well, and saw
Gu!laug find even more comfort
in front of a crowd. “It’s weird how
I change characters when I go on-
stage,” she says. “After the show, I
thought, ‘what did I just do?’ It’s so
weird,” she laughs. “But it’s cool.
Then I’m back and I’m me, Gu!laug,
and I’m like ‘thank you, I don’t
know what just happened.’”
“Me, as myself, I
would never sing
in front of anyone,
not even my Mom.
But when I’m on-
stage as gugusar,
it’s a whole differ-
ent thing.”
gugusar, the next best thing
gpv.is/music
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