Reykjavík Grapevine - jul 2022, Qupperneq 24

24The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07— 2022
“Ox” by Gyða
Iceland's muse does it again
Words: Gyða Valtýsdóttir & Andie Sophia Fontaine Photo: Eva Schram
Info
Gyða’s latest album, “Ox,” has been
garnering accolades the world
over lately, as the artist continues
to exceed expectations. But what
was the inspiration, the stories, the
processes behind the songs on the
album? Gyða breaks it down for us,
track by track.
Alphabet
The name of the album comes from
this song as most alphabets start
with aleph, originating from the
Egyptian hieroglyph which depicts
an ox’s head.
Alphabet is about reading
between the lines, to connect the
dots of the sensory waves that
make up our reality and the empa-
thy it takes to see into others.
This song has many muses, includ-
ing Virginia Woolf and Nikola
Tesla. I owe its existence to Kjar-
tan Sveinsson who was in the room
with me when it was born, asleep
on the sofa. He also left his DNA
firmly in the arrangement. It was
recorded live with him and Merope,
then I recorded an orchestra of cello
and flute overdubs in the basement
of Figure8 Studio in NYC, where I
lived for most of the pandemic and
where most of the album came into
existence.
Black Swan
I wrote the text in a stream of
consciousness while sick. It is a
quite visceral praise to embodi-
ment, as well as a love letter to my
shadow side, the importance of
embracing both darkness and light
and to hold non-dualistic think-
ing when it comes to morality and
to accepting ourselves and thus
others.
In Corde
The lyrics are from the 12th century
nun Hildegard von Bingen. I played
the hymn on cello on my first album
“Epicycle,” so now I decided to sing
the lyrics of that same hymn. The
melody poured out effortlessly
with the words. It was inspired by
a documentary about nuns, which
I was pitching for. Didn’t get the job
but this song was born.
Cute Kittens Lick Cream
I was watching these cute kittens
lick cream and inside the amalga-
mation of their purrs I could hear
music. I grabbed a pen and wrote
down what I heard, so the song
came into existence.
Miracle
It’s perhaps the most personal song
I’ve ever written because I allowed
myself to go inside a pain which I
want rather to keep private.
Prism
An attempt to create a rift in the
membrane of existence; so, to see
or feel for a moment what lies there
beyond.
Heavenly Piracy
The lyrics burst forth in an email to
a lover just after a volcanic eruption
in 2014. I never thought it would
end on an album but I’ve performed
it live many times, usually a capella.
It is the most collaborative song on
the album. I’d written out most of
the arrangements but here every-
one improvised freely. The drums
are mostly samples from Julians
Sartorius’s Beat Diary, recorded
onto my phone from my record
player. Shahzad Ismaily added his
highly unique bass playing, Alex
Sopp goes wild on flute, Merope
added their magic and there is a
sample from Efterklang from the
original version I did back in 2014
— an incredible ingredient to cook
with along with master chef Úlfur
who co-produced the song with me.
Tell It
One of three songs from the album
which was born during a song-a-
day session. This one is simply the
lo-fi demo I sent in one day.
Amaying
This might be the only true love
song I’ve ever written. It was
recorded live with Kjartan and
Merope. I wanted the song to blos-
som like a nocturnal Datura and
Úlfur wrote this incredibly glori-
ous cello arrangement for it. I’ve
made a video of me dancing a duet
with a ballerina. Coming soon!

You can catch Gyða at Gamla Bíó
on July 7th at 21:00. Tickets avail-
able at tix.is. Ox is available via our
online store shop.grapevine.is, or
on smekkleysa.net
Gyða and her trademark cello
Track By Track
An extraordinary book of poems and photographs
of abandoned farms in Iceland. Echoes of a bygone
era and a way of life that is all but forgotten.
A critically acclaimed work, now available in three
beautiful, bilingual edititions:
ENGLISH - FRENCH - GERMAN
Find your copy at the local bookstore!