SAGA SHOP - Haust I Fall 2019

20 Icelandair Stopover How did you go about recording it? Nanna : The way that we wrote it was differ- ent than we had done before. It was just done on our laptops, you know, just experimenting with that whole world of piecing together a song on the computer. Ragnar : You have your piano and your screen, and you are frying your brain doing horrible, horrible stuff, and then all of a sudden something happens. A lot of the songs on this album happened like that for me. Kamiel Rongen’s video for “Alligator” features substances with different colors and viscosity dropping into water. How did you discover him and what attracted to you his work? Nanna : We saw him on Instagram. He was doing the Iris van Herpen show, and it just looked really beautiful […] It’s not computer- animated, you can see all the textures […] and we wanted that rawness. Ragnar : Yes, very in tune with our artwork. Nonni [Jón Sæmundur] paints for us a lot, and it felt almost like a closeup of his process. You worked with Rich Costey on this track, who has produced many great acts including for Muse and Chvrches. Can you tell us a bit about the process and how you ended up working with him? Ragnar : It was a long process this time around. We started this album by ourselves and went far with the demos. Then we worked with Craig Silvie, who mixed our first album. It was a long process, and I just felt like we were stuck and needed a push. Nanna : Rich is really good at that, you know, kind of like putting a fire under your ass. Ragnar : Putting a fire under your ass? Nanna : Isn’t that something you say? [laughter ensues] Ragnar : I don’t know; I like it though! He [Rich] is really good at forcing you to make decisions. It’s sometimes hard for musicians to close a song and end the process, and he stirs the pot and makes you make decisions. Nanna : It was what we needed at that point. It’s been a long process, and we had to close the door. Ragnar : So we talked to him again, because we worked on the second album with him, and he was up for it. Nanna : We had also worked with Martin Cook, an engineer we love. We’d started the process with him here in Iceland. It was really nice working with the two of them again on this album. Do you get a lot of producers wanting to work with you, as well? Ragnar : Er... no. No one is reaching out to us. How it works is that the band reaches out to the producer, in our case, at least. But yeah, he was very eager when we reached out. What was it like working with Rich Costey? Ragnar : It was challenging, I have to say. But in a good way. Nanna : We haven’t worked with a lot of prod- ucers, and you can really see how different they are in their styles. Some producers are all about creating a really comfortable and fun environment, so you feel super creative. He [Rich] thinks a lot about how things sound and can obsess about one particular sound and really focuses on it. I think he was really good for us at that point. Ragnar : And it’s fun, but it’s not like a party. You’re in a band with five people and then there’s another voice coming in: lots of voices and a lot of possible disagreements. So, it’s always challenging, but also super fun. Having just seen Bohemian Rhapsody , where Queen employed several unorthodox recording techniques, I was wondering if you had ever done any crazy stuff in the studio in the name of creativity, too? Ragnar : Yeah! On the last album, we made a drum kit out of cardboard boxes. And then for “Yellow Light” on the first album, we dimmed the lights in the big room at Stúdíó Sýrland and put some mics in the middle and just walked around banging everything. Nanna : We did it also for “Thousand Eyes” on our last album [ Beneath the Skin ] recorded in Sundlaugin. Ragnar : Yeah, I remember fondling a plant, and then we did a chair thing on “Little Talks;” we made the chair squeak. Did we do anyt- hing weird for this album…? The toilet f*****! Nanna : Oh, Yeah! The toilet f*****! Just checking I heard you right; the toilet what? Ragnar : We call it the toilet f*****, from the toilet in the studio; it’s like a giant metal thing that goes around toilet paper, industrial sized, and it fit on Arnar’s [drum] stand. It made like a stick-hit kind of sound. It was a really good sound for this album. Music is a big part of the culture here in Iceland, and there seems to be a lot of practical support available, such as the IME. Can you tell us more about that? Nanna : That was huge, of course. Ragnar : We got studio time, and we went to Holland to play for our first trip ever, so that did a lot for us. Nanna : We got a grant once as well from Kraumur [a music fund supporting Icelandic musicians and artists]. Ragnar : So yes, I think it shows. You travel around the globe performing, but do you ever travel when you’re home in Iceland? Are there any places you love to visit? Nanna : Yes, especially when you have people over. There are places like Reykjanes, for example, that are beautiful and right there. I like going to Djúpavík in the Westfjords, too. Ragnar : I don’t know, I’ve yet to make my memories in Iceland. What’s next on the OMAM musical journey? Will you be touring with the album once it’s released? Ragnar : We’re starting a tour in September. Nanna : Yes, we’re going to America first, and then we’re doing our European tour. Finally, what Icelandic musicians are on your playlist at the moment? Nanna : I’m obsessed with that new Hjaltalín song, “The Baroness.” Ragnar : Ayia. Nanna : Oh, they are really good, and I’m also excited about what Mammút are doing. Of Monsters and Men will close Airwaves with a concert at Valshöllin on Saturday night, 9 November. Of Monsters and Men playing at Harpa, Iceland Airwaves, in 2012. Photo by Yvan Rodic.