Reykjavík Grapevine - des. 2021, Blaðsíða 24

‘Kill The Moon’
By Ki! & Husk
Don't worry, the moon isn't real
Words: Valur Grettisson/Kig & Husk Photos: Kig & Husk
Info
Kig & Husk is comprised of music
veterans Frank Hall from the band
Ske and Höskuldur Ólafsson, who
made international headlines in the
late 90s with the energetic hip-hop
outfit, Quarashi. This new album is a
notable departure from their earlier
work, so we asked the duo to walk
us through it, track by track. Here’s
what they had to say.
Two Gods in a Taxi
The album begins with a mantra of
sort; lyrical repetition sung over a
chord-cycle that gradually chang-
es and evolves. The original idea
for this song was to paint a digi-
tal soundscape using individual
notes that would (in theory) form
harmony but are, in fact, entirely
random and accidental in its com-
position. The indistinct conversa-
tion you hear at the beginning of
the song is a sample from a won-
derfully awkward 1966 clip of John
Lennon and Bob Dylan sharing a
limousine. Writing a song about
the banality of two musical giants
(two gods) trying to have a normal
conversation in a glorified taxi was
just irresistible to us. They‘re “all
around but nowhere found” seeing
as one is dead and the other unap-
proachable, at best.
So Long Holly
A critique of toxic masculinity still
found in various socially accept-
able institutions and behaviour
(e.g. male choirs, country clubs,
Freemasons, gender segregated
chess tournaments, etc.)—the
whole being more dangerous than
the sum of its parts. The bass is in
the forefront, aggressive, unwav-
ering and self-righteous; with an
incisive Bowie-influenced guitar-
riff (a la Scary Monsters) on top.
The title of the song is a reference
to the sample heard at the end,
taken from Orson Wells’ (in)fa-
mous monologue in the 1949 film,
The Third Man: “In Italy for thir-
ty years under the Borgias, they
had warfare, terror, murder, and
bloodshed, but they produced Mi-
chelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and
the Renaissance. In Switzerland,
they had brotherly love, they had
five hundred years of democracy
and peace, and what did that pro-
duce? The cuckoo clock.”
Wonder Woman
Probably the only song on the re-
cord that has a genuine band feel to
it. We invited a few friends (amaz-
ing musicians and instrumental-
ists) to the studio, cooked some
pasta, drank a few bottles of cheap
wine and recorded the song in one
session. This number (originally
inspired by Jeff Bridges‘ “Brand
New Angel”) is also an honest at-
tempt at deconstructing the coun-
try music genre, both in terms of
lyrical content and musical com-
position.
Kill the Moon
This song is the end result of an
attempt to build a song around a
groove. In a way, it‘s a piece that
favours atmosphere over logical
song structure. The hippie-ish
guitar riff reminds us of Jefferson
Airplane and Love, and when we
realised where the song was tak-
ing us, we couldn’t resist the urge
to add a few Eastern spices to the
phrasing and harmony. The title
of the song and the lyrics are a not-
so-subtle reference to Romeo and
Juliet (act 2, scene 2): “Arise, fair
sun, and kill the envious moon.”
Logni"
“Logni!” (The Calm) was original-
ly written for a theatre production
(Dubbeldusch) but we felt it had
further potential, so we decided
to expand on the short piece and
see where it would lead us. There’s
lots of vocal disruption and ex-
perimentation going on, as well
as tireless overdubbing of acous-
tic instruments, such as classical
guitar, balalaika, and mandolin.
Halfway through the song there’s
a sharp transition to electronic
instruments, guitars, synthesiz-
ers and some excellent drumming
(inspired by Chemical Brothers,
“Where do I Begin”) by our dear
friend Diddi. This is also the only
song on the album sung in Icelan-
dic.
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24The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12— 2021
Kig & Husk, replete with lollies
Track By Track