Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2023, Blaðsíða 8

8 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1— 2023
What will 2022 be remembered for? If
2020-2021 were “the lost years,” where
artists went insular and mused on
solitude and resilience, then 2022, in
comparison, was the year of fresh starts;
a cautious but joyful movement towards
normality. Larger-scale live events
and concerts returned, as did festivals
(welcome back, Iceland Airwaves!) and
international touring opportunities.
Once again, we were able to fill spaces
with voices, rub shoulders with strang-
ers and dance the night away to our
favourite songs. Live music: we love you
and we promise we’ll never take you for
granted ever again.
That being said, the impact of
COVID-19 still echoes through every
region of the creative sector; this is a
horror that will go out with not a bang,
but a whimper — and, unfortunately,
we are the source of those whimpers.
While the true extent of the harm done
to the performing arts environment will
take years to unfold, studies have already
begun to come out confirming what both
artists and culture-consumers know
instinctively — the post-pandemic land-
scape is smaller, quieter, more expensive
and more challenging to work in.
But, as always, art finds a way, and
2022 saw the release of a phenomenal
amount of extremely high-quality music
from Icelandic artists. All in all, it was a
strange and significant year for music.
To take stock of it all, the Reykjavík
Grapevine once again gathered a panel
of some of the country’s finest musical
experts to sift through the vast output
of the last 12 months, so that together
we can celebrate those whose music
reached us, stayed with us and guided
us through the year.
ARTIST Of ThE YEAR:
Prins Póló
It is with honour and great sadness, that
we bestow the most prestigious award
of the lot to our dearly departed Prins
Póló. Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson — a titan
of Icelandic music and culture — died
September 29, 2022. He leaves behind
a formidable legacy, a mass of visual art
and design, album after album of bril-
liant songwriting and, of course, a host
of bereaved fans.
Svavar first rose to prominence as
a musical artist in the 2000s as part of
the iconic band Skakkamanage (Svavar’s
partner, Berglind Häsler, was also a
founding member). The group released
three albums, one of which, ‘All Over
The Face,’ was nominated for a Kraumur
award.
Svavar was a man of many talents,
which included, diversely; photogra-
phy, organic farming, event manage-
ment, visual art and poetry. But it is
his musical work as his alter ego Prins
Póló that he is best remembered for. He
showed a unique ability to hone in on
the aspects of humanity (and often a
very specifically Icelandic humanity at
that) that are often overlooked and unex-
plored, offering them up to listeners in
a warm, humorous and tender manner.
As a result, many of his tracks became
unofficial anthems. From including the
Nokia ringtone in his tracks, to gently
poking fun at the quintessential Icelan-
dic phenomenon of ditching your loved
ones in favour of a hot beach holiday for
Christmas, this prince was a man of the
people. He saw us, and we felt seen.

“Svavar was the diamond of the Reyk-
javík Music scene,” one of our panel-
lists commented. “I don’t see this as an
honorary award for his life’s work: he’d
be worthy of this title even if we hadn’t
lost him this year.”
“The presence of Prins Póló is such
that you didn’t realise it was already
all around till suddenly it was at risk,”
another added. “It only created a
reminder that his voice will continue to
be heard all around — in his music, his
art and his undeniable ongoing influ-
ence that transcends the Icelandic music
community.”
Svavar is survived by his partner
Berglind, their three children and many
beloved friends and collaborators. You
can hear from some of them and read
more about the life and times of Prins
Póló on page 14.
ALBUm Of ThE YEAR:
Hekla, Xiuxiuejar
In a year that was characterised by the
sheer number of — let’s not mince words
here — banging Icelandic albums, one
stood out from the crowd.
On paper, it shouldn’t work: an album
of theremin, voice and cello. Pitch that
cold and most would baulk at the idea.
But the formidable Hekla Magnúsdóttir
has once again proved all assumptions
wrong with her third album, ‘Xiuxiuejar.’
The title comes from the Catalonian
word for “whisper” (the artist spent
much of her youth in Barcelona), and
is pretty apt for an album that sends
chills up your spine. But Hekla stays
firmly away from the B-movie horror
film expression that most people associ-
ate with the theremin. In an interview
with this paper back in November, Hekla
described ‘Xiuxiuejar’ as having, “a Janu-
ary sound — really, really dark and cold
and windy.” We have to say, she’s pretty
much spot on. Full of foreboding, deep,
dark noises that make you instinctively
wrap your blanket a little tighter, ‘Xiux-
iuejar’ invites listeners to explore the
intersections of ambient, electronic and
doom — with the tiniest sliver of light
thrown in to save us from utter despair.
“There are times while listening to
‘Xiuxiuejar’ that I’ve had to replay a part
again and again, just to try and figure
out how she’s making that sound,” one
panellist told us. “And the sounds—a
lot of them aren’t exactly ‘musical.’ And
yet, somehow, the whole experience is a
totally addictive listen.”
While all of these descriptors might
suggest a piece of art that’s exciting, but
not exactly… enjoyable, somehow that’s
just not the case. While we accept Hekla’s
work might not be everyone’s cup of tea,
it’s surprisingly accessible. Our judg-
ing team praised ‘Xiuxiuejar’ for being,
“both approachable and extremely
creative.”
“The album is a bold presentation
of darkness and beauty,” a panellist
confirmed. “It’s mysterious and capti-
vating, a journey to some beautiful hell
I’d like to stay in.”
“Crank it up in the darkest months,”
they continued. “Let’s stare into and
celebrate the eternal void of obscurity!”
Honourable Mentions: Ari Árelíus
- ‘Hiatus Terrae’, Börn - ‘Drottningar
dauðans’, JóiPé - ‘Fram’
SONg Of ThE YEAR:
Salóme Katrín, The
Other Side
“I don’t remember the last time I heard
so many people excited about a song,”
said one of our judges of “The Other
Side,” the winner of our Song of the Year
category.
And there’s a lot to be excited about
here. Salóme Katrín’s heavyweight track
comes out of an ambitious 2022 album
made with fellow musicians ZAAR and
RAKEL. 'While We Wait' features two
tracks from each artist, plus an opener
from all three playing together. The
album itself is a fabulous effort, remark-
ably cohesive given its structure, and
sets an interesting precedent for the
future of recording collaborations.
But it was Salóme’s second solo track
on ‘While We Wait’ (which she also
released as a single) that really caught
people’s attention. “I’ve heard it playing
around a bunch and I love it every time,”
one of our judges commented, adding:
“It’s a really great song and a total curve-
ball from her last record. It sounds like it
could have been at home on one of Angel
Olsen’s rock records, but it’s still very
distinctly Salóme.”
Salóme Katrín is still a relatively new
kid on the block: her first EP was only
released in 2020. And yet with “The
Other Side,” she easily ticks all the boxes
as if she’s been knocking out hits for
years. Catchy lyrics, driving rhythm, a
delectably distorted indulgent guitar
solo: it’s the sort of song you could easily
imagine a huge festival crowd roaring
along to. In just a few short years Salóme
Katrín has shown us exactly what she is
capable of. All that’s left is to see what
she’s got in store for us next: we have a
feeling we won’t be disappointed.
Honourable Mentions: Ólafur Kram -
“Aumingja Þuríður”, Bríet - “Flugdreki”
VIDEO Of ThE YEAR:
BSÍ, “Jelly Belly”
BSÍ were Grapevine Music Awards
winners in 2022, receiving the accolade
Song of the Year for their track “Vestur-
bæjar Beach.” Amazingly, they’ve made it
back into our hit list for the second year
running to win Video of the Year for the
music video accompanying their single
“Jelly Belly.” Is this a Grapevine Music
Awards first? We couldn’t be bothered to
check in any great depth (we’re not real
journalists, we just do culture), but from
our lazy attempts at research, it certainly
seems so!
To be honest, BSÍ — who consist of
Sigurlaug “Silla” Thorarensen and Julius
Rothlaender, and whose name either
stands for Brussel Sprouts International,
or is in homage to Reykjavík’s terrible
bus station — were discussed by our
judging panel in relation to a number of
different categories this year. Since the
release of their debut album ‘Sometimes
Depressed…But Always Antifascist’ in
2021, the duo’s star just keeps on rising.
The video for “Jelly Belly” was the
handiwork of director — and Silla’s
childhood friend — Ugla Hauksdóttir.
It features the two bandmates, plus a
couple of adorable child actor looka-
likes, playing dress-up and deconstruct-
ing traditional gender concepts. Oh, and
Julius wears a frog mask at some point,
but we’re not exactly sure what that’s
meant to mean, and we’re too scared to
ask.
One of our panellists summed it up
thusly: “the space BSÍ takes up is fasci-“S
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Reykjavík Grapevine
Music Awards
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Prins Pólo, picture from 2019 Grapevine Music
Awards, by Magnús Andersen
Hekla