Reykjavík Grapevine - dec. 2023, Side 26

The Reykjavík Grapevine 17/ 23 26Music
Music News
Contributing to the art project Five
Radio Stations, presented by French
endowment fund Lab’Bel, is multidis-
ciplinary artist and musician Benni
Hemm Hemm. As the name sug-
gests, content for five radio stations
is carefully crafted by diverse artists
from around the world. Benni Hemm
Hemm’s station, 24 Hours at the End
of the World, consists of original ma-
terial recorded by the artist during his
travels around Iceland. Ranging from
music to conversations, the material
is exactly 24 hours long, which is re-
peated on the station every day. The
radio station was opened on October
21 and will be available until March 21,
2024. Listen to Five Radio Stations
online at www.fiveradiostations.com
or in record store Space Odyssey at
Skólavörðustræti 22b.
The closure of club and venue Húrra
came as a blow to Iceland’s live mu-
sic scene. With Húrra having been
closed for the majority of 2023, the
managers of beloved pub Bravó
announced they’d be taking over the
space, with an eye on transforming
it into a hub of electronic music in
Reykjavík. The new club, dubbed
Radar, is set to open the first week-
end of November. Bravó’s sound
system will be moved to Radar, shift-
ing the focus of live events over to
Radar. Meanwhile, Bravó will receive
a much needed TLC and a slight
rebranding, emphasising a more
relaxed atmosphere than before.
Swedish pop star Zara Larsson is
scheduled to perform in Reykjavík
next year. The Scandi songstress will
take the stage at Laugardalshöll on
March 16m 2024, as part of her up-
coming Venus Tour. This isn’t Lars-
son’s first time in Iceland, as she
performed a sold-out concert at the
same venue back in 2017. In 2019,
she supported artist Ed Sheeran at
his show at Laugardalsvöllur. Tick-
et sales start on November 9, with
ticket prices ranging from 15.990 to
24.990 ISK.
Benni Hemm Hemm Opens
Up Radio Station
Club Húrra Transformed Into
Radar
Zara Larsson To Perform In
Iceland
WORDS Jóhannes Bjarkason
IMAGE Art Bicnick
There exists a widespread
narrative about Icelandic music’s
connection with nature. Ever since
the early days of Björk and The
Sugarcubes, when Icelandic art-
ists started receiving international
attention, the story goes that music
emanating from island is somehow
innately linked to the geology of the
place.
AN INTRICATE RELATION-
SHIP
This is one of the subjects in Tore
Størvold’s latest book, Dissonant
Landscapes, which seeks to chal-
lenge the notions that Icelandic
nature is inherently connected
with Icelandic cultural phenomena.
Associate professor of music at the
University of Science and Technol-
ogy in Trondheim, Størvold based
the book on his PhD research at
the University of Oslo. Having been
a frequent visitor to Iceland since
2011, it’s clear he has a good under-
standing of Icelandic society, as well
as great respect for the music that’s
made here.
“So to begin with,” starts Tore, “I ac-
tually wanted to avoid talking about
the nature and landscape because I
didn’t want to play into the touristic,
sensationalist narrative about Ice-
landic music. But then later on, I fig-
ured out that it’s possible to do it in
a kind of critical way. So for my PhD,
I started exploring the relationships
between music, nature and national
identity,” he continues.
Dissonant Landscapes’ primary
argument is that music has been the
most imperative art form for pre-
senting Iceland to the international
society. “Along with music, these
ideas about nature and landscape
have become so important for main-
taining an attractive image of the
nation,” he says.
Whether these connections with
nature are manufactured by parties
with vested interests, or they’re a
true manifestation of Icelandic mu-
sic making is still an interesting no-
tion to consider: Is Icelandic music
inextricably linked with nature?
“I think in some ways, of course it is.
Music takes place in a place, so by
definition, it needs to be somehow
influenced by your natural surround-
ings. But that link between music
and nature is also a very cultural
thing. It’s not a natural thing. It’s
Otherworldly
Music Naturally Connected
Tore Størvold’s Dissonant Landscapes presents thoughtful reflections on Icelandic nature, music and national identity
Icelandic music is a lot more
than that and most music is
made here in the city – not on
a glacier.