Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.11.2019, Blaðsíða 24

Music
Maus, the semi-punkish
Icelandic answer to Pave-
ment, has re-released
their second album, ‘Í !essi sekún-
dubrot sem ég fl"t’ (‘In This Fraction
of a Second I Am Floating’) for its 20th
anniversary. The album has achieved
cult status in Iceland, no doubt due
to its interesting line-up. The backup
vocals are by GusGus singer Daníel
Ágúst, and the cello by none other
than Hildur Gu!nadóttir, the Emmy-
award winning composer for ‘Cher-
nobyl’ and ‘Joker.’ For the curious, the
album is available both on vinyl and
Spotify. VG
Tim Pogo and the podcast. Sounds
like a band, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t, it’s
literally a podcast helmed by Grape-
vine’s best friend, Tim Pogo. Entitled
Airwaves: Tune In, it’s a daily coverage
of Iceland Airwaves that features
artist interviews, concert reviews,
and more. You can find the shows at
grapevine.is and numerous fun pod-
cast platforms. #WeHaveNoShameIn-
SelfPromotionSorryNotSorry. VG

Prepare yourself. Eurovision is com-
ing. Well, in a few months. But don’t
worry—there’s still some controversy.
Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, from the
production team Stop Wait Go, has
criticised RÚV for lousy agreements
with the artist chosen to participate
in the competition. He says RÚV keeps
half of the rights of the winning songs
forever. A spokesperson for RÚV didn’t
deny this, but claimed that the winner
does get somewhere from 900,000
up to 1.5 million ISK for winning the
competition. That said, being onstage
in a weird European country singing
slightly off-tune for 70 million people
is priceless. VG
MUSIC
NEWS
Presentin#:
How To Find
Your Power
Alyona Alyona is at Airwaves to put on a show
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Provided by Alyona Alyona
Concert
Alyona Alyona will play on Friday at
22:00 at the Hard Rock Café.
A smi ling, fema le, plus-size
Ukrainian rapper grooves around
the stage of a big European fes-
tival. She’s performing a song in
Ukrainian. The crowd sways and
jumps as the artist’s black and pur-
ple braids swirl around her. Now
she’s in bumper cars, signing chests,
on an airplane, and in a bathtub.
No, this isn’t a pipe dream. It’s
the video for the track “Tomor-
row” by Ukrainian rapper Alyona
Alyona, who will make her Ice-
land Airwaves debut this year.
The vibe
“When I was 12 years old, I heard rap
for the first time,” Alyona Savranen-
ko says. She’s on video-chat, stand-
ing in an alleyway in Kiev, relaxing
during a short break from a shoot.
“I don’t know how to explain why
I liked it, maybe because people
can speak about so many things
in one song. It has some vibe.”
She shrugs and bursts into loud,
boisterous laughter, shaking the
phone. Though we’ve only been
talking for a few minutes, I already
low-key love her. Smiley, positive,
infectiously enthusiastic, Alyona’s
the type of person you just want
to be friends with. She talks about
everything with passion, so much so
that I can’t help but think that if she
ever wants to give up music, motiva-
tional speaking might be a good fit.
Women can rap!
Alyona took up rapping in 2009 and
put out her first single that same
year. “It was in Ukrainian and about
women kicking stereotypes,” Alyona
explains. “I talked about how all the
boys would say that women can’t
rap, but I’m a woman who can rap.
I said that women can rap and they
can rap good.” She grins, her cocki-
ness shining through. But hey—she
came into a boys club and ended up
becoming the most famous rapper in
the country. She’s earned that right.
From there, Alyona started grind-
ing, making music and occasional-
ly playing live. It took a while, but
last year, her vibe started to catch
on. Her lyrics, empowering bad-
bitch anthems, resonated with
people, while her flow, beats, and
general aura caught the attention
of those who didn’t understand a
lick of Ukrainian. After having a
few viral hits, she started touring
the festival circuit of Europe. 2019
saw her release her anticipated
album ‘PUSHKA’ and pick up the
ANCHOR award from the Reeper-
bahn Festival International Music
Awards. Now, she’ll take on Iceland.
Finding your power
“My songs are about people who don’t
believe in themselves, but have to
believe in themselves,” Alyona says,
turning uncharacteristically serious
for a moment. “Girls with different
faces, bodies, piercings, tattoos. The
new generation. I talk about my roots,
my native village and my childhood.”
She smiles. “I talk about myself, who I
am, why I am rapping, why I am a fat
girl and what I think about myself.”
Once again, the laughter. I don’t
exactly know what she’s laugh-
ing at but I can’t help but join in.
“All those people have something
special inside them, in their soul, and
that is their power. They don’t have
to listen to or look to other people,
because other people might say bad
things. They don’t like your body or
your face, but that’s ok,” she says.
“You don’t have to listen to them.
You don’t have to look like them.”
Velkomin til Íslands!
After her Airwaves show, Alyona
plans to spend 5 days in Iceland.
Her excitement about this is ador-
ably palpable. “Iceland is so beau-
tiful!“ she yells. “I don’t mind that
we will see it in November, it’s ok!”
A big grin takes hold of her face.
“Iceland is cool in every season.”
"My songs are about people who don't believe in themselves."
LIVE MUSIC & EV
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T
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events venue
bar&
Tryggvagata 22, 101 Reykjavík
EVERY
TUESDAY
EVERY
MONDAY
KARAOKE PARTY
21.00 / FREE ENTRY
SOULFLOW COMEDY
WOMEN & QUEER
OPEN MIC STANDUP
IN ENGLISH / 21.00 / FREE ENTRY
10/11
13/11
15/11
16/11
17/11
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28/11
29/11
6/12
6/11 - 9/11:
ICELAND AIRWAVES 2019
“POSTWAVES”: SONGWRITER SPECIAL
ECSTATIC VISION (US), PINK STREET
BOYS, GODCHILLA
DRAG-SÚGUR QUEER VARIETY SHOW
4TH ANNIVERSARY EXTRAVAGANZA
AFTERWARDS: TRIPLE POODLE DJ NIGHT
WITH CASANOVA, BENSOL, JAMIE CLARK
REYKJAVÍK GOTH NIGHT:
MORTIIS, ALMYRKVI, NYIÞ + DJS AFTER
SONGWRITER NIGHT
VELVET VILLAIN
22/11-23/11:
DOOMCEMBER 2019 - ANNUAL
CELEBRATION OF THE MOST HEAVY, SLOW
AND GROOVY BANDS OF ICELAND
DRAG-SÚGUR: BÁRA FUNDRAISER
DRAG SHOW IN SUPPORT OF WHISTLE-
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