Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.10.2019, Blaðsíða 15

Best In Show
The Icelandic Tattoo Expo brin!s some
motorised needles to Lau!ardalsvöllur
“A tattoo convention is a gathering of
artists who are passionate about the
art behind tattoos,” Málfrí!ur Sverris-
dóttir explains. “So when you’re visit-
ing a tattoo expo, you’re actually going
into a really big art show.”
The tattoo artist, who is based out of
Hafnarfjör!ur’s Lifandi List tattoo stu-
dio, is one of the organisers of the Ice-
land Tattoo Expo, which’ll spray some
ink onto the floors of Laugardalsvöllur
in early November.
Opening the curtain
The annual convention has been a
mainstay of the ever-expanding Ice-
landic tattoo scene since its inception.
This is the 7th iteration of the extrava-
ganza, which will welcome 80 artists
representing all corners of the globe,
with styles ranging from traditional
to neo-traditional to all shades of real-
ism.
The beauty of tattoo conventions is
simple: You show up. Check out some
artists. Get tattooed, or just watch oth-
ers in the making. “At the Tattoo Expo,
you can see the whole process of get-
ting a tattoo, which normally happens
in a tattoo shop behind closed doors,”
Málfrí!ur explains. “It’s very interest-
ing for people who aren’t really famil-
iar with it to see the whole process.”
For those interested in getting a
piece, Málfrí!ur recommends booking
in with the artists in advance on their
own websites or Instagrams—many
are already filling up. That said, she
emphasises that you can, of course,
just show up to the Expo with an idea
and style in mind. Many artists will be
taking walk-ins and with the variety
offered at the show, you’re bound to
find someone you click with.
Going mainstream
It’s true that tattoo gatherings used to
be associated with unsavoury charac-
ters and criminal behaviour, but nowa-
days, the only danger you’d likely face
is getting a rib-piece without a good
breakfast first.
“I remember when I started [tattoo-
ing] in 2007, there was a lot of preju-
dice,” Málfrí!ur says. “Today, every-
body has tattoos. Policemen, lawyers,
politicians; there’s people in every cat-
egory of life with them. It’s changed.
Now it’s whether you have crappy tat-
toos made at parties of something
compared to just having tattoos in gen-
eral. It’s not about if you have them, it’s
what kind you have.”
The new masters
Málfrí!ur is known for her black and
grey realism as well as neo-traditional
works. She hasn’t yet booked in anyone
for the Expo days, but is hoping to do
some neo-traditional pieces there. “It’s
a very fun style with beautiful colours,”
she explains. “There’s so much artistic
freedom in it.” She says she’ll be post-
ing on her Instagram closer to the Expo
looking for clients, so keep your eyes
peeled if you’re looking for something
new.
As for which visiting artists Mál-
frí!ur is most excited for, she remains
genuinely diplomatic. “All of them are
our favourites. Every artist is unique,”
she says, pausing. “We all have our own
styles, just like painters in the old days
had their own styles of painting.”
Words:
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photo:
Art Bicnick
Words:
Alexander Le
Sage de Fontenay
Design:
HELLCAT
CULTURE
NEWS
ELECTRIC
DREAMS
Find today's events
in Iceland!
Download our free
listings app - APPENING
on the Apple and
Android stores
That's gotta hurt
Have You Ever
Thou!ht About It?
Icelandic experimental music label bbbbbb
on their newest concoction
Icelandic electronic music producer
Bjarki needs little introduction by
now. But, if you do need one, calling
this Berlin-based musician an ‘experi-
mental rave engineer’ should make
things clearer. This year saw the re-
lease of his album ‘Happy Earthday’,
which he described as his most reflec-
tive release to-date. His icelandic-
ness and experience of the country’s
unique natural environment were a
significant influence on the album.
Only on occasion does Bjarki perform
in Iceland, but when he does, he does
it right.
His label—bbbbbb—aims to pro-
vide quality experimental dance mu-
sic for the masses and demonstrate
that Icelandic dance music can be
entirely original. So far they have
Festival
The Icelandic
Tattoo Expo will be
from November
1st to 3rd at
Laugardalsvöllur.
Day passes are
2,000 ISK and
weekend passes
are 3,500 ISK.
Tickets just for
Sunday are 1,500
ISK.
Music
Listen to
bbbbbb
Record’s
compilatation EP
‘HELLCAT Vol. 1’
on Bandcamp or
Spotify and keep
up to date on
their mischief
on Facebook
and Instagram.
released around fifteen EPs, focus-
ing on the solo work of a handful of
Berlin-based Icelandic artists. One
being Kuldaboli who specialises in
cold-as-ice electro music. His mu-
sic is featured twice on ‘HELLCAT
VOL. 1’—a series of compilation EPs
which appears to focus on faster,
club-ready dance tracks—the label’s
most recent concoction. .
Kuldaboli shares one side of
this compilation EP with Bjarki
with their collaborative-track ‘Hrái
Hötturin’—a blend of the Icelandic
words for 'raw' and ‘Robin Hood’—
which manages to mix together
their differing and equally-defining
styles. Kuldaboli’s second track on
this release—the high-paced ‘He-
fur!u Einhvern Tímann Hugsa! Um
"a!’ (‘Have you ever thought about
it?’ in English) is shared with the
Tekknótæfan.
Side-A of the compilation features
a pair of industrial techno tracks,
’Sober Raving’ from the Polish glo-
betrotting techno DJ VTSS, and ’Eat-
ing Steel’ by club-resident and label-
owner Héctor Oaks, who was raised
in Madrid before moving to Berlin.
VTSS also performed at this year’s
RAVEKJAVÍK—a small festival held
in #ód$ in Poland that spotlighted
both Icelandic and Polish dance mu-
sic enthusiasts.
For the sake of local dance music
enthusiast, I hope they add Reykjavík
to their calendar soon.
AGGRESSION AND FUN!
SHE'S A SHOW feat. a rawlings
October 26th - 19:00 - Nordic House
- Free!
The motto of Copenhagen-based
queer feminist poetry pop duo—
yes, it’s a thing—She’s a Show is
“AGGRESSION AND FUN!” After having
made their way throughout
Scandinavia for the better part of a
decade, they’ve finally arrived in
Iceland to present a new
audiovisual project made in
collaboration with many Nordic
women, including ecopoet—and
Grapevine contributor—a rawlings.
We stan. HJC
Name A Better Duo
Iceland Symphony Orchestra:
Víkingur & Daníel
November 7th & 8th - 19:30 - Harpa -
2,600-8,100 ISK
If there are two people the staff of
the Grapevine constantly fangirl
over, it’s pianist Víkingur Hei"ar
Ólafsson and composer Daníel
Bjarnason. Seriously, we have
life-size cutouts of them decorating
the office which we regularly
consult for article ideas. See them
in the flesh when they team up for
two shows with the Iceland
Symphony Orchestra. Enjoy a
program of Grieg, Mozart, Sibelius,
and Daníel’s own compositions.
Then, stop by our place for a raging
afterparty. LM
Become A Music Critic
Iceland Airwaves
November 6th-9th - Various Times/
Venues - 19,900 ISK
If you don’t know what Iceland
Airwaves is—and that it’s currently
going on or about to begin,
depending on when you’re reading
this—we don’t even know how you
found this paper. Where have you
been? The festival, which is, without
hyperbole, the backbone of the
Icelandic music scene, brings the
best and brightest Icelandic artists
onstage. It’s also a fun week-long
party. HJC