Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2020, Blaðsíða 13

13 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 07— 2020
me and shaped me as a human and
an artist. I also choose them because
they have all created their own unique
musical language that doesn’t fall
easily into any existing category.
“This album is so dear to me
because of how much I love everyone
on it. Some are not in my life anymore,
but it was still a beautiful postcard to
the past, to rekindle the connection.
Daníel Bjarnason’s piece is the only
one that pre-existed, so there was no
collaboration in the recording process,
but then he joined me for the creation
of the video. I think that was the first
time we really looked into each other's
eyes since we said goodbye almost 15
years ago. We were partners during the
years that shape you the most; learning,
sharing, arguing and influencing one
another, then departing after six years
to become almost strangers again. So
there is a bit of a nod to the past, also
acceptance.”
Epicycle II does indeed blossom with
numerous voices. Therein lies such
luminaries as Anna !orvaldsdóttir, a
Grammy-nominated composer whose
haunting symphony, “Metacosmos,”
has been performed by the New
York Philharmonic and the Icelandic
Symphony Orchestra. Also making an
appearance is Ólöf Arnalds, a multi-
instrumentalist who has been moving
listeners for years, both on her own and
through her numerous collaborations.
Many readers are also familiar with
“Evol Lamina,” Jónsi’s contribution to
the album done in collaboration with
Gy"a, the video for which—like so
many others from Gy"a—invites the
viewer to experience joy and mystery.
The magic doesn’t end there,
either, as she then went into a new
album. This album will reflect a more
syncretic approach, drawing from past
experiences to form a work born from
harmony, or allowance of dissonance.
"I think for the first time I've
reached home in a way,” she explains.
“I can now use my whole experience.
[Evolution] was done in a way to
bypass my left-brain, critical aspect
but now I feel like I can use all of it
with a kind of harmony with all the
different individuals who make me. I’ll
allow them to do their thing. I’m at the
very beginning but I can sense it; it is
kind of floral and can be both dark and
incredibly pretty.”
Dissolving
the walls
Gy"a has a lot to say about evolution,
in many respects. It extends through
her vision on a wide range of subjects,
informing her approach to her art.
"I think it's everywhere, from a
big scale to a small scale, in politics
or even within the body,” she says.
“The division of the human body and
the human soul; of who you are, of
personalities; of societies, race and
gender. I just think that's all dissolving
and I think that art can help with that.”
“Even in architecture, how things
have moved from narrow, boxy spaces
into roomier spaces with fewer
divisions. But in some ways, the step
we are taking, especially in terms of
identification, is to add more boxes,
triangular boxes, circular boxes,
but still always dividing things and
labelling them. But it seems inevitable
that we are moving to dissolving them
completely.”
While the coronavirus pandemic
kiboshed many of her initial plans,
effectively sequestering her in New
York for three months—"I haven't been
three months in one place for over
eight years”—she nonetheless saw the
moment as net positive for her.
“I'm not excited about going back
to the old life,” Gy"a tells us. “It feels
like reality is in a liquid form now
and we can use that to re-shape it.
Right now there's a huge opportunity
to evolve as a species. I just see it like
a pattern in your own life, when you
have a breakdown and how incredibly
powerful it can be for the expansion
of your own consciousness. I think it's
the same for humanity in a way. The
polarities right now are so extreme.
Maybe we need to really feel that to
build a more interconnected world."
"It's a gift but it feels like a hell when
you're in it, it is really a death of the
ego. So it's like, 'do I want to pick up
that old ego, or move forwards?' I think
we are at that moment as a collective
and the ego of society is our social
construct.”
Beyond the
binary
This vision of hers also informs her
thoughts about the nonbinary gender
identity and children growing up in
these interesting times.
"I've thought about these things a
lot in terms of identity,” she says. “We
have to change society faster than we
are helping trans children. Thankfully
society has started to become more
acceptant of trans people, but it is still
an acceptance based on an old way of
looking at things. We have more options
in some countries, but you still have to
choose. It's related to everything else
in terms of dissolving the boxes and
having a more open mind about reality.
Nonbinary is becoming a concept that
we're understanding and embracing.
That is so important; to feel like you
live in a society that allows all of it to
exist. These are the ones, along with
anyone else who doesn't fit in, who are
fighting for a better world for all of us.”
"Authenticity is something I felt I
had to work towards for a long time,”
Gy"a continues. “I see that for the
young generation growing up now,
authenticity is so much more a present
thing. I wish I would have grown up in
that. I guess my complexity with it also
has something to do with growing up as
a twin [her sister, Kristín Anna, is also
a musician in her own right]. You’re
sharing your identity with someone
who might be completely different
from you. You are not just discovering
who you are, but also getting rid of your
twin in the whole soup of identity.”
The spiritual
path of
polyamory
At this point in the conversation, we
turned to a subject that also reflects
the importance Gy"a places on
dissolving boundaries: polyamory.
Her perspective on this subject
demonstrates her drive to embrace the
dissipation of categorisation. And the
journey there began early in her life.
“There were obviously so many
different levels of love, physicality and
connection and it didn't have anything
to do with gender,” Gy"a explains. “I
didn't even identify with bisexuality
because that wasn't it; I felt like there
was no closet to come out of. However,
when I actually started a relationship
with a woman, we both had partners.
Polyamory or ethical non-monogamy
were new concepts for me and I felt
like it was still such a taboo. And all
of the sudden I built this closet. It felt
so contradictory to myself. Even if it
is much more common in the queer
community but people are still kind of
quiet about it.”
The discovery and realisation
of polyamory would prove to be an
epiphany for her.
“It truly exploded my preconception
of a relationship and it finally started
to make sense,” she says. “There are no
rules, it didn't make sense to just move
the rules a little bit further out—they
all had to go to find the ultimate trust
and honesty.
“For me, polyamory is a spiritual
path, it goes so far beyond sex. It is
about full dedication to trust and
honesty, also towards yourself. You
can really start to share every aspect
of yourself with your partner(s). And
allow the person you love to blossom
in their utmost way, even if that blos-
som is sparked by another person.
Those who have entered our relation-
ship have enriched it and left us with
precious gifts, but to be honest it was
sort of a disaster in the beginning.
While you’re peeling the layers off, that
is painful but very worth it. And don’t
get me wrong, ‘conscious monogamy’
is beautiful—it is like a diamond—but
we can learn a lot from polyamory to
reach that.”
For Gy"a, polyamory is not only in
keeping with the evolution of society; it
may also heal the way we currently do
relationships.
“If we are to build a new world, the
fastest way is breaking down the social
construct,” she says. “Let's admit it, we
are failing miserably at love and rela-
tionships! We can do so much better. It
is sort of approaching everything with
an open curiosity; to ask ‘who are you
and what is this relationship?’ instead
of ‘oh, this is a relationship; this is how
that should go.’ Get rid of the recipes.
We can have so many nurturing rela-
tionships and we really need that. I
think connection is what we humans
are needing the most.
To watch
humanity
blossom
A s we began to conclude our
conversation, I real ised I had
completely forgotten to ask about
her winning the prestigious Nordic
Council Music Prize last year.
"It caught me by surprise. I actually
tried to give the nomination back,” she
says, laughing. “I felt like it was too
early, that I should have reached some
point in my career, which I didn't feel
I had reached. I've gone into so many
different directions and each time I
felt as if I’m starting at the beginning.
It has been such a winding road that
I tend to forget all the things that I’ve
done.”
Gy"a considers this thought for a
moment, and then adds: "It sounds
like a very complex thing for me to be
a musician. It is like that because I only
know how to be too personal, combined
with this urge to be private. You are
always exposing your heart. It took a
breakdown to come to terms with that,
but it also wasn't really a choice.
Gy"a’s philosophy informs all of
her work and even in the midst of
these tumultuous times, her optimism
shines through.
"I feel like that's what we're working
on right now, on a global scale,” Gy"a
says. “We have to open up our minds.
You know how you can make a melon
grow into a square? It's like to stop
doing that, with everything. If we didn't
have all these forms and criticism, all
these beliefs in how things should be; if
we just watch humanity blossom, what
would it look like? How would it feel to
be human?"
“I see it as an
alchemical process.
You undo yourself,
into pieces and burn
it, vapourise it and
solidify it again, put
them back together
but everything has
changed.”