Reykjavík Grapevine - jan 2022, Qupperneq 11

Honourable mentions: Sin Fang - Soy Un Animal
dir. Magnús Leifsson, Ógisslegt - Skrattar Dir. Frosti
Runólfs, Dansa og Bánsa - Inspector Spacetime, 'Crys-
tallized' - The Vintage Caravan, Vesturbæjar Beach - BSÍ,
russian.girls - The Dance (LHÍ graduation collab piece),
russian.girls - Halda áfram
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Kælan Mikla are a band with a very particular visual aesthetic,
and it came as no surprise to the awards panel that one of
last year’s strongest videos was theirs.
Their track “Hvítir Sandar”, which translates as “White
Sand”, is a collaboration with French band Alcest. Stylisti-
cally it blends Kælan Mikla’s trademark dark take on early
eighties alternative with Alcest’s “blackgaze”, (that’s an
unholy confluence of black metal and shoegaze, in case
you’re wondering). The mood of the track is slow and epic;
the sound rich in texture, dense yet expansive.
To translate these elements into visuals Kælan Mikla got
in touch with Máni Sigfússon, a director with a strong track
record of working with Icelandic artists of an independent
bent. But it wasn’t the first time that Máni had worked with
the band.
“They had just started out,” Máni recalls of their first
collaboration, “and Iceland Airwaves festival was making
these promo videos. They paired directors with bands to
do stuff. I worked with them on an announcement clip, and
they came back ten years later and said that they wanted
something similar for their video.”
That request for “something similar” has resulted in this
sumptuous slow-moving mix of live and computer gener-
ated images. Flecks of light hover and dance; surreal fabrics
slither and morph. The three band members are represented
only in oblique terms: either as shrouded marble mausoleum
statues or in extreme close-up, allowing stark, high-contrast
studies in the detailed texture of hair, skin and blood.
“In terms of concept the only thing the band wanted was
texture,” Máni explains, “and we talked about having the
video in black and white. It’s shot in colour, but everything is
black and white. The band members are painted white.”
The threads of some of these distinctive stylistic themes
run through Máni’s work, which started some 14 years ago
when he made his first music video for his brother Sindri,
(also known as the artist Sin Fang).
“I was in film school in Amsterdam, and as soon as I got
back to Iceland my brother, who was in the band Seabear,
asked me to do a music video for them. And after that the
requests kept coming, and haven’t stopped since,” Máni says.
Icelandic artists such as Ásgeir, sóley, Ólafur Arnalds
and Jóhann Jóhannsson have all trusted Máni to weave their
music into the magic of his visuals. But The Rolling Stones
and Shawn Mendes have also knocked on his door to create
video packages for their live shows. So given his day job at
an ad agency, Máni always has numerous professional plates
spinning—including a new Seabear video to coincide with
their first album release in 12 years.
Musicians just keep coming back to him for more; check
out the Grapevine’s crowned Video of the Year and you’ll see
why. JP
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Musical duo kef LAVÍK have been lauded by Grapevine for
a few years now, even before they were willing to disclose
who they were. But Einar Birkir Bjarnason and Ármann
Örn Fri!riksson have dropped the defining party album of
the year in ‘Eilífur Snjór í Augunum’, and that's part of the
reason why they’ve won our Album of the Year award.
We were able to track down the elusive Ármann and we
had just one question in mind: who are you guys anyway?
Why the mystery? Turns out, they’re far more approachable
than you might think.
"Our defining characteristic is that we are friendly guys
making art pop,” Ármann tells us. “We're from the country-
side of Iceland, Höfn. One chef and one computational engi-
neer trying to be funny and emotional at the same time."
What makes ‘Eilífur Snjór í Augunum’ special is it sounds
like it was written for a stir-crazy populace itching to get out
and party as the pandemic concludes its second year. It turns
out this was just an accident of fate rather than the album’s
intent.
"I think the album is really based on six months in 2019,”
Ármann says. “So it's really, really pre-pandemic. When the
pandemic started, we switched projects and made [the EP]
‘Heim Eftir 3 Mánu!i í Burtu.’ But this album had been ongo-
ing for two years before we released it, and the lyrics are
really only about pre-pandemic stuff. But I guess it's good to
release music that's based on partying and getting your jam
on in the pandemic. I think that's the music that really reso-
nates with people right now, rather than the serious stuff."
Ármann was nearly speechless upon learning kef LAVÍK
had won this award, but somehow managed to tell us: "We
are always happy to get recognition for our process. We're
just happy to accept this award and get recognition for this
album."
‘Eilífur Snjór í Augunum’ is one of two albums of the year.
ASF
Honourable mentions: Stundum !unglynd...en alltaf
andfasísk - BSÍ, Youniverse - Possimiste, You Stay By
The Sea - Axel Flóvent, SKRATTAR - Hellraiser IV, Aron
Can - Andi, Líf, Hjarta, Sál