Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2020, Blaðsíða 17

Love, Sex & Son!
Come hear The Teena!e Son!book Of Love And Sex
An all-ages crowd gathers outside the
doors of Tjarnarbío, waiting to embark
on a musical voyage through the minds
of dozens of teenagers. From the joys
of being a slut to the stomach-twisting
thirst for self-discovery, The Teenage
Songbook Of Love And Sex will soon
indulge the awaiting crowd in a solemn
ode to the coming of age.
The will to explore “the aspects
of teenage life that aren’t being dealt
with,” came to artist Alexander Roberts
and Choreographer Ásrún Magnúsdót-
tir, after years of working with teen-
agers in various projects. They invited
musician and composer Teitur Mag-
nússon to join them in conceptualizing
a musical show where teenagers would
be allowed to tell “the stories that are
not being told,” says Alexander.
The themes for the songs first came
in the shape of letters. The teens wrote
to first loves, grandparents, siblings
and even David Bowie. It was then the
adult’s job to compile the feelings, ar-
range the concept and turn them into
music and choreography.
Enough with the
heteronormativity
Love and sex are the number one sub-
jects in the history of all
art ever, but as reflection
and freedom in sexual-
ity and identity evolve,
cultural representation
seems to be having a
hard time keeping up
the pace.
“There are a lot of
unrealistic shows about
teenage love and sex”,
asserts Ísafold Halldórs-
dóttir (17), her colleagues
nod in agreement. “It is
the first project that
is written by actual teenagers, so of
course it's gonna have a more authentic
view,” adds Uloma Osuala (17).
The show is made up of 10 songs
(in Icelandic and English). Songs like
“Hello Woman” or “I’m a slut” engage in
a candid but playful tone that makes the
audience want to jump on stage. “We
are not shying away from the clinginess
or awkwardness. We don’t pretend like
everything is great. Or even, that every-
thing is terrible. It’s just how it is in real
life,” says Egill Andrason (18).
We’re all in this together
A community was born from this pro-
cess, among the creators and perform-
ers but also with the audiences. “The
sort of thing that unites us most is the
reason why we are here,” assures Una
Yamamoto Barkardóttir (18). “We are a
community based on trust and friend-
ship and we’re trying to enlarge that
community, to bring the audience with
us through this, every single person in
the world will or can relate, too.”
The show has been very well re-
ceived in Iceland, and travelled to Ber-
gen, Norway, where the group collected
more stories and experiences from
local teenagers. Two more shows are
scheduled for February 13th and 15th in
Tjarnarbío and tickets are 2900 ISK. Do
not worry if you don’t speak Icelandic,
they handout booklets with the English
translation for the few parts spoken/
sung in Icelandic. This show is for ev-
eryone.
Words:
Inês Pereira
Photos:
Art Bicnick
Words:
Alexander Le
Sage de Fontenay
CULTURE
NEWS
ELECTRIC
DREAMS
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“We are not shying away from the clinginess or awkwardness.”
Insanity And Madness
Kuldaboli zeroes in on mental instability with
‘Ge"veiki o! brjálæ"i’
Without a doubt, Kuldaboli is cur-
rently one of Iceland’s most prolific
music projects. Before leaving the
country a couple of years ago, the
musician—he chose not to appear
under his own name here—was in-
volved in projects that fall outside
of the spectrum of electronic music.
Now he spends his time in Berlin
making powerful electronic tracks
that satisfy thirsty clubbers and
music enthusiasts. Demand for his
music from dance clubs and labels
is at an all-time high.
Ge"veiki og brjálæ"i
Kuldaboli’s latest release, ’Ge!veiki
og brjálæ!i’ (’Insanity And Madness’)
is out now on Berlin-based Icelandic
label Sweaty Records. “I am very hap-
py about it; five songs that together
form quite a journey,” he says. “The
theme of this EP is mental instabil-
Performance
The Teenage
Songbook Of Love
And Sex will play at
Tjarnarbío stage
on February 13th
and 15th at 21:00.
Tickets are 2,900
ISK.
EP
Kuldaboli’s
‘Ge"veiki og
brjálæ"i’ is out
on Sweaty
Records now.
ity, which is something I’ve dealt
with all my life.”
His songs possess a sense of
somberness towards the baffling
nature of life and often make a
point about things that he feels
are wrong. “Lately I have been ex-
perimenting with wild tempos, but
there is no message behind that in
itself,” he explains. “I only try to
follow the energy I feel inside me
and around me. Good music is good
music.”
Signs from nature
Kuldaboli favours no genres over
others but finds electronic music
to be the purest form. “I personally
believe that the existence of music
is a message from above,” he says.
“The fact that we perceive pitch and
rhythm seems to be a hint from
nature telling us that patterns, rep-
etition, cycles and symmetry are of
great significance.”
But the artist feels that nowa-
days, being an underground musi-
cian in Iceland is pretty much im-
possible. “Here on the mainland I
am doing pretty well,” he says. “I
just played two banging club nights
earlier this month, I have upcoming
releases on at least seven labels, I
started recording a rock album and
plan to play a bunch of shows and
release a bunch of music this year.
Stay tuned.”
A Trip To The God Church
Hatari: Neyslutrans Release Concert
February 22nd & 23rd - 21:00 & 19:00
- Austurbær - 3,333-4,444 ISK
For those of you who are excited
about the end of the world, Hatari is
hosting a release concert for their
debut album, ‘Neyslutrans,’ as part
of their Europe Will Crumble
extravaganza. The anti-capitalist
multimedia conglomerate and all
around good dudes will deliver a
lavish get-together in the hopes of
dismantling capitalism… we’re sure
it will work. I mean, we hope it will.
That said, advertisers please don’t
stop buying Grapevine ads. SPO/HJC
Hip Kids Being Hip
101 Festival
February 15th - 18:00 - Austurbær -
3,990 ISK
Reykjavík welcomes yet another
cool-ass festival. The first edition of
the 101 Festival, held by cool-ass
radio station Útvarp 101, is gonna
be a cool-ass concert that’ll rock
your cool-ass socks off. Artists
include Vök, Floni, Au"ur, Yamaho,
Sturla Atlas, Logi Pedro, Joey Christ,
Gróa and Bríet. Love it. IP
Let There Be Light Kv. God
Reykjavík Winter Lights Festival
February 6th-9th - All Over Reykjavík
- Free!
Ok, let’s admit it: The winter is
scary for us, too, and we’re just a
magazine. No one can deal with
each other, your skin is dry, and
it’s hard to see a literal light at the
end of the tunnel...until now. From
February 6th to 9th, the annual
Winter Lights Festival will bring
some much-needed sparkle to the
city to celebrate the fact that the
days are finally (!!!) getting longer.
Activities include free pool and
museum nights, concerts, and
more. IP