Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2022, Blaðsíða 7

In many languages that have gendered
nouns, the sun is often gendered male;
this is the case in Latinate languages,
for example. However, in many
Germanic languages that still retain
gendered nouns, (English apparently
having moved beyond this concept), the
sun is female, and Icelandic is no excep-
tion. In fact, to Norse pagans the sun
wasn’t just a feminine noun; she was a
goddess in her own right: Sól.
Sól had an auspicious beginning.
Fathered by Mundilfari, (whose name
has the perplexing meaning of “the
one moving according to particular
times”), along with her brother Máni
(which literally means “moon”), it
wasn’t her original intention to become
a goddess. She was just so beautiful that
Mundilfari named her after the sun.
This didn’t sit well with certain other
gods, who decided to punish Mundilfari
by making Sól carry the literal sun in a
chariot across the sky. Which, when you
think about, doesn’t seem like much of
a punishment. She took to the job as if
she were made for it. In a way, you could
say she was destiny’s child.
But if you’ve ever wondered why
time flies so quickly, it’s because Sól is
relentlessly pursued by a wolf named
Sköll. Like Beyoncé, yes, Sól has a
dedicated hater. On occasion, he even
catches up with her, which is why we
have solar eclipses.
During Ragnarök—a kind of Nordic
End Of Times event—Sköll eventually
catches Sól and swallows her whole.
However, a daughter of Sól, who is
reportedly just as beautiful, takes up
the crown and continues the sun’s jour-
ney again.
The entire myth just shows that you
can’t keep a good woman down for long.
And if you think you can, well, you must
know nothing about her.
7 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 01— 2022

Ægir
‘Tem End Lopo’
This four-track release takes as its
theme the cyclical rhythms created
by a piece of vinyl once the stylus is
sitting in that perpetual loop next
to the label. Using that sound as a
foundation, Ægir morphs samples
from the record into fever-dream
soundscapes that you can’t bear to be
in, but won’t contemplate leaving. JP

Brynjar Da!ason
‘Pretty Late’
Brynjar’s debut album is an engaging
set of sparsely arranged pieces
for electric guitar. Having studied
composition in Reykjavík, he then
enlisted some of the country’s
best-respected musicians, including
bassist Skúli Sverrisson, to work on
this project. Radiohead’s Johnny
Greenwoood is cited in Brynjar's
biography as an influence, but his
gentle, precise playing style is also
occasionally reminiscent of The
Durutti Column's Vini Reilly. And that's
praise indeed. JP
Gy!a Valt"sdóttir
‘Ox’
Gy!a’s latest album may be her most
personal work to date, and that’s
saying a lot for a composer known for
the warm intimacy of her work. This
is music for a candlelit night at home
with a loved one, or for staring out of
the window at the rain by yourself. It
will warm your heart, and cleanse your
soul. ASF
NEW MUSIC PICKS
JUST SAYINGS
There are a few ways
to carry on. You could
do it like a proper
Englishman and keep
calm at the same time.
But if you’d rather
eschew all that posh
nonsense, we have the solution for you.
The saying "Áfram me! smjöri!" liter-
ally means "forward/on with the butter".
Icelanders are, of course, a nation of
farmers and we have so many sayings
connected to butter that it’s almost sad.
But the saying "on with the butter" just
means to carry on. Icelanders use this
saying often and they love to translate
it, since it makes absolutely no sense in
English. VG
First
Important note; there is no salt in this butter
"Áfram me! smjöri!"
GODS OF ICELAND
Superpowers:
Literally brings us the sun
Weaknesses:
Wolves
Modern Analogy:
Beyoncé
PRAISE THE SUN
Sól, Goddess of the Sun
Words:
Andie Sophia
Fontaine
Image:
Creative
Commons
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