Reykjavík Grapevine - nóv. 2020, Blaðsíða 19

19The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09— 2020
Event Picks
It’s not a yearly event
that Icelandic artists get
a Grammy nomination,
but we’re working on that, and three
Grammy nominations in total this
year is a good start. The outstand-
ing Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
has been nominated for it’s fantastic
album, Concurrence. Four of Iceland’s
best composers—Páll Ragnar Pálsson,
María Huld Markan, Haukur Tómas-
son, and Anna !orvaldsdóttir—have a
composition on the album, which was
conducted by Daníel Bjarnason and
one of the soloists is classical super-
star Víkingur Ólafsson. Of course there
is no music award celebration without
our outstanding Hildur Gu"nadóttir,
who earned two nominations for her
music in the coming of age story about
a heart-warming clown desperately
trying to reunite with his father while
taking care of his sick mother, Joker.
She won a Grammy (Iceland’s first ac-
tually) earlier this year for her score of
a highly praised mini-series about the
unfortunate decisions of a group of
disinterested power-plant workers in
a small Ukrainian city that affects the
environment called Chernobyl. VG
Friday the 13th in the year 2020 might
seem an auspicious day, but the lovely
songstress sóley livened it up with the
release of a new 10" entitled ‘Harmóník
I & II’—a conglomeration of her two
previous sold-out Harmóník releases.
The effort shows the artist’s journey
into the world of experimental accor-
dion drone music, a style she has never
before showcased. “The sound of the
accordion is so diverse—it has these
beautiful and eerie wood sounds like
flute and clarinet, but it can also sound
like deep strings and the best part is
when it sounds like an insane out-of-
tune organ,” she told the Grapevine.
Did you have sóley-accordion-moment
on your 2020 bingo card? We didn’t, but
we’re so happy it happened. HJC
Up-and-coming British musician Millie
Turner has released “Eye of the Storm”
and it’s none other than our beloved,
almost-Eurovision star Da"i Freyr that
remixes it. And it’s brilliant. Da!i Freyr,
also known as the crooner prince of
soulful house music, has been ap-
pointed again as Iceland’s Eurovision
Song Contest contribution ... whenever
that will be held again. We are not even
sure 2021 will ever happen. Da!i has
been incredibly successful after he
didn’t compete in the last Eurovision
contest—perhaps because of it. For
those that don’t know Millie, then it’s
safe to say that there goes one of the
future superstars of British music,
even the world. VG
MUSIC
NEWS

Black Sundays: ‘Attack the Block’
Screening
December 6th - 20:00 - Bíó Paradís -
1,600 ISK
Watch a South London teen "an"
defend their housin" estate from
an alien invasion in this 2011
classic sci-fi/action film. With Jodie
Whittaker as their beret-wearin"
accomplice and Nick Frost the
dim-witted dru" dealer, what’s not
to love? One ni"ht only! IRW

Advent Concert at the Iceland
Symphony
December 3rd - 20:00 - Harpa - 2,600-
8,100 ISK
What is Christmas without orchestral
music? Nothing! So head to Harpa
for some Baroque festivities and
welcome the Christmas season
with Vivaldi and Bottesini. Because
nothing says ’Christmas’ quite like a
romantic Italian concerto or two. JD
Jóla#estir Björ#vins 2020
December 19th - 20:00 - Online - 3,900 ISK
OH! You thought the
COVID-19 pandemic
would stop the annual
Jólagestir Björgvins?!
YOU FOOL! Nothing could
stop this supergroup
coming together to
celebrate the holidays.
It’s some Avengers
level shit, we promise.
This year? Ágústa Eva,
Ey#ór Ingi, Bríet, Gissur
Páll, Högni, Logi Pedro,
Margrét Eir and Svala.
Unconfirmed but Jeremy
Renner might be making
an appearance. Ok, that
was a joke. He might
be a surprise guest
though. Anyway, put on
your best outfit and get
ready to sing along with
your favourite Icelandic
stars. Your Mom will love
this shit. Your Grandma
will love this shit. You’ll
love this shit. We all love
Christmas, so stop being
a Grinch and eat some
fucking mistletoe. Happy
Birthday Jesus! HJC
Our music listin"s pa"e is on hiatus, because... reasons.
Music
Death Be#ets
Life
Krummi on the pandemic, the future
of music & his newest single
Words: Jess Distill Photo: Art Bicnick
Single
‘Frozen Teardrops’ is out and
available to stream.
“It’s a strange and scary time,”
Krummi Björgvinsson says—over
FaceTime, to be safe—when talk
inevitably turns from his newest
solo single “Frozen Teardrops,” to
the pandemic.
“But it’s inspiring in a weird
way, too. It brings up feelings that
maybe you haven’t felt before. You
never think anything like this will
happen, but then it does and you
have all this time on your hands,”
he says. “I managed to release two
singles whilst this COVID thing
has been going on. I’ve been writ-
ing a lot of music at home. It’s
been pretty good in that way. I’ve
been reading books and looking
after the plants and the cats.”
An old soul with stories
to tell
A household name in Iceland,
Krummi is well known for his
genre-spanning work with bands
like Mínus and LEGEND. Con-
stantly immersed in music, sev-
eral sideline projects have kept
him busy, including country blues
band Esja and abstract punk out-
fit Döpur, a project he worked on
with his girlfriend, Linnea Hell-
ström. One might find it hard to
pin down exactly what kind of
musician Krummi is, but he in-
sists that—in his heart—he’s an
old-school Americana kinda guy.
“It’s the music that I’ve always
been most into. My parents lis-
tened to it, so I listened from a
very young age,” he explains. “It’s
really in my nervous system. It’s
what comes out
when I sit down
with the guitar.
It moves me the
most emotion-
ally”
A n d f r o m
this passion, a
new project was
born: a soon-to-
be-released solo
album, full of the
stories, emotion,
and old-school
A m e r i c a n a
sound he loves
so much. He released his first
single “Stories To Tell” last year,
and has since followed it up with
three more country-vintage-rock
tracks.
But why has it taken this vet-
eran of the Icelandic music scene
two decades to go solo? “I feel
like I’m good enough now,” he ex-
plains, humbly. “I’ve spent a long
time harnessing the craft and
getting better at playing guitar,
singing and writing. I learned a
lot from being in bands. So three
years ago I sat down with a gui-
tar and thought, ‘Maybe I should
start writing something’ and I
just couldn’t stop. I wrote like 40
songs.”
The show must go on
“Frozen Teardrops” is a perfect
example of the direction his solo
music is taking. Described by
Krummi as “a lush outlaw coun-
try-style tune with a pinch of gos-
pel,” the song is emblematic of the
musician’s aforementioned pas-
sion for Rock ‘n Roll and Ameri-
cana. A raw, unadulterated look
at homelessness and street life,
the song’s heartfelt lyrics tell of
what life entails for those on the
fringes of society, who spend their
days searching for love, care and
understanding. “Give you all my
frozen teardrops, While I beg
on my knees. Here we are alone
and starvin’ for some remedies.”
Krummi explains, “With frozen
tears on an empty stomach, they
ask for a helping hand, often with
no success, due to the prejudices
of society. They roam with the
wind anonymously and invisibly
like the outcast angels of the uni-
verse.”
Once the album is released,
hopefully early in 2021, Krummi
has two more albums waiting to
be worked on, with plans to release
one a year for
the next three
ye a r s — C OV I D
permitting. But
he’s keen to keep
goi ng rega rd-
less of the pan-
demic. “I think
we, the creatives
in fields that de-
mand crowds or
exhibitions and
concer ts, w i l l
have to adapt to
a new rea l it y.
Nothing’s going
away but the enthusiasm of people
will be different. There’s not going
to be so many live performances,
so we’ll have to start right away to
adapt to the new reality. It’s evolu-
tion.” He ponders for a moment.
“Something has to die for some-
thing new to grow.”
“I think we, the
creatives in fields
that demand
crowds or exhibi-
tions and con-
certs, will have
to adapt to a new
reality.”