Reykjavík Grapevine - apr. 2021, Side 19

Steppin$ Into The Sun
RAKEL is here with a dreamy, escapist debut
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Art Bicnick
EP
RAKEL’s debut EP ‘Nothing Ever
Changes’ will be out on April 28th.
Check out her current releases on
all streaming platforms.
“The whole EP is about feeling a lit-
tle bit unsure of what you’re doing
in life,” Rakel Sigur!ardóttir says
softly. “Just in general. Your place,
where you’re at—it’s about kind of
escaping your reality in some way.”
She pauses, looking around for a
minute as if to collect her thoughts,
before emphasising, once again,
that it’s her first interview about
the EP. “So maybe I’m not very good
at this, putting these thoughts into
words because I’ve never really said
them out loud,” she explains, smil-
ing as she takes a sip of coffee.
Called ‘Nothing Ever Changes’,
the EP will be Rakel’s first. Under
artist name RAKEL, the 28 year old
only recently dropped her debut
efforts, two singles entitled “Our
Favourite Line” and “Keeping Me
Awake” at the end of 2020 and be-
ginning of 2021. That said, she’s
long been in the industry, but now,
it’s time for her to take centre stage
alone.
Apparently, some things do
change.
The right time
Rakel started playing the violin at
six, later moving into jazz singing in
her teenage years, which she further
pursued at university. In the midst
of these studies, she began collab-
orating with indie-folk star Axel
Flóvent, with whom she accompa-
nied on many tours over the years.
But despite her impressive re-
sumé, Rakel never started working
on her own stuff until early 2020,
when she teamed up with producer
Hafsteinn "ráinsson, better known
as the indie master CeaseTone, and
a close friend of Rakel’s.
“About a year ago, Haffi was like
‘Rakel, you need to do something
with your stuff! Just bring it to the
studio,’” she says with a delicate
smile. “That’s how my solo project
started rolling. Up until then, I was
scared of doing my own thing.”
For Rakel, Hafsteinn’s involve-
ment was serendipitous, giving
her the confidence she needed to
strike out on her own. “Haffi knows
me really well and we connect
through music,” she explains. “It
was the perfect moment. The focus
was right and it’s been a pleasant
thing—making music together. I’m
happy that I started doing it now at
27. It was the right time for me.”
Creating an outlet
Rakel’s first single, “Keeping Me
Awake”, came out in October. The
track is a dreamy, emotional mel-
ange of pop and electronic beats
that crescendos into a cinematic
masterpiece worthy of a big-budget
blockbuster trailer. In it, Rakel’s
voice wavers between soft vulner-
ability and full-on strength. Her
control on her own instrument is
immense as she croons to a lover,
who is, as Rakel does to a listener,
keeping one awake.
“It’s the first song I ever wrote
where I was like, ‘Oh, this is some-
thing,’” Rakel explains. “It started
as a tiny thing. I sampled something
and made this loop and then, I just
improvised over it and the song just
came out whole. That’s actually nev-
er happened again since that day,”
she laughs.
The EP is, along with her mu-
sic as a whole, she emphasises,
intensely personal. “I create that
music that’s serious and a little bit
sad. It’s an outlet for those kinds of
feelings,” she explains.
But while the EP starts in wist-
fulness, of feelings of being un-
moored, it ends with a bit more
strength, Rakel promises. “There’s
a kind of relief at the end of the EP,
which is a little bit sad, but it’s also
a solution,” she concludes. “It’s dif-
ficult but it happens.”
19The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04— 2021
Event Picks
It’s finally here! The official
biography no Viking saw
coming about the legend-
ary Icelandic metal band Skálmöld.
And by Mírír’s head, we are going to
read this until it evaporates. Surpris-
ingly, the book also reveals that our
dear president, the sensitive boy
scout Gu!ni Th. Gu!nason, is a keen
metal fan. He wrote the foreword in the
book, which was as a whole written by
the British author Joel McIver. The biog-
raphy features interviews with all the
members of Skálmöld as well as other
prolific characters from the Icelandic
metal scene. You’ll also find a list of
every gig Skálmöld has ever played,
their songs translated into poetically
faithful English, and tons of behind-
the-scenes photos. What more could
we ask for? Well, perhaps some mead
while we listen. VG
GusGus is always at it like an active
volcano constantly threatening a new
fissure (and then two more) when least
expected—not that we know anything
about it. They will be dropping a new
album at the end of May, and have
preempted that fated release with a
slew of fantastic videos made by Arni
& Kinski—who were actually part of
the GusGus collective in the 90s. These
include “Stay The Ride”, “Higher”, and
“Our World”. “Higher”, featuring the
fantastic Margrét Rán from VÖK, is a
particular favourite here, and was a
honourable mention for Best Music
Video at the 2021 Grapevine Music
Awards. So expect solid house music.
Expect fire. Expect nothing less than
1,200 degrees. VG
A new label is up and running in
Iceland, called Vax and their first two
efforts are, to put it finely, very promis-
ing. Their first release was ‘Dysjar’
by the doom-jazz combo Dalalæ!a,
and the second, ‘Music Library 02’ by
cinematic instrumental duo Hvörf,
which dropped at the end of March.
The vibe brings one’s memory back
to a “little known” label called Mo’
Wax—you know, the first label that DJ
Shadow appeared on in the 90s. Maybe
we’re just nostalgic, but this is one
label that we’re excited to see more of
and one all local music fans should pay
attention to. VG
MUSIC
NEWS

Almost Famous: Friday Party!
April 23rd - 20:00 - Bíó Paradís -
1,600 ISK
Kate Hudson at her best. Rock stars
actin" like miso"ynist bu%oons.
Spontaneous sin"in" of Elton John’s
“Tiny Dancer”. It’s all there in this
award-winnin" Cameron Crowe
early-au"hts classic, which you are
cordially invited to enjoy, in public
no less, at this screenin". Sweets
and drinks will also be on o%er. ASF

Ultraflex
April 9th - 19:00 - KEX Hostel - Free!
Remember all that Soviet exercise
gear you just never have a chance
to wear? Finally, the occasion has
arrived. Ultraflex will be doing a very
small show at KEX Hostel, which will
be the perfect opportunity to get
your aerobics on. Get there early—
this band is so popular and the
public is so starved for exercise that
we assume it’ll fill up quick. HJC
GusGus
May 7th & May 8th - 20:00, 22:30 - Harpa - 5,990-
12,990 ISK
There was a time that
the only Icelandic
bands anyone outside
of Iceland ever heard of
were the Sugarcubes
and GusGus. While you
won’t be able to see the
Sugarcubes perform
anymore (reunion tour
when), GusGus is still
alive and kicking, and
they will be performing
at Harpa to bring the
magic back for their
25th anniversary. The
lineup also includes
guest appearances
from Emiliana Torrini,
John Grant and a host
of others, promising a
night that you will be
bragging about to your
friends for years to
come. So don’t miss out
on this rare occasion:
Catch them live this
May! Hey—not every
band lasts a quarter of a
century. ASF
Our music listin"s section is currently throwin" out its flannel shirts in anticipation of WBS. Sorry!
Music
RAKEL, catching the light
gpv.is/music
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