Icelandic Band Samaris Talk Poetry and Incest Apps

It’s not every day that you stumble across a band who build music around Icelandic poems, but for the Samaris it’s just par for the course. The Reykjavik-based trio, made up of Jófríður Ákadóttir, Rún Magnúsdóttir, and Þórður Kári Steinþórsson (have fun saying these names out loud) take a dark and futuristic approach to their newly released second record, Silkidrangar (meaning Silk Cliffs). The trio’s trip-hop cadences and free-form melodies trace a line back to Björk and Portishead, while “Ég Vildi Fegin Verða” (listen below) crest an ambient-electro wave that will make you feel as if you’re suspended in space. Although they formed as recently as 2011, the band have already scooped pretigious Icelandic accolades including the Músíktilraunir and Kraumur Award.

We spoke with vocalist Jófríður Ákadóttir about Icelandic poetry, Iceland’s anti-incest app, and going all-digital.

Noisey: So what’s happening on your new record? What’s the story behind it?
Jófríður: The songs have been in there cooking for a while—it’s pretty good to have it out. There isn’t a storyline; it’s hard to describe it. I would imagine that it’s a collection of songs where the lyrics are Icelandic poetry. For us it’s not really about the story or the meaning because we’re pretending in the musical context. It’s about literature and preserving some literary heritage. We’re creating a new costume for it and a new way for people to listen to and experience it. I really hope that people enjoy listening to it. It’s quite dreamy and atmospheric—I’m really happy with the way it sounds. It’s very old school; we get a lot of influences from trip-hop and 90s music, but also our music has a futuristic feel to it. We get inspiration from all over, and we get lots of inspiration from records that came out in 2010 and 2011 as well like Fever Ray and James Blake. We also get a lot of inspiration from classical music. Hopefully it’s our contribution to future music in a way because it’s almost all digital, and we’re very proud of that. It’s not cheesy, but interesting. I think it’s a bit different because some people listen and don’t understand the language, so I don’t know what kind of an experience that is. I hope people are still able to enjoy it.

Do you picture people listening to it in a spaceship?
I never thought of that, but it would be really cool if anyone had the chance to do that. Definitely!

There are a lot of literary references as you said, what kind of poems or literary allusions are seen in your lyrics?
It’s from the Romantic era, it’s very dramatic and has a very emotional landscape: the words, phases, and stories. A lot of it is about nature and natural elements. It’s described in a very passionate manner. I really like that because there’s much more to interpret because there are lots of big feelings and big emotions, so there’s more to choose from. It’s a nice way of writing – it’s very specific. It has a rhythm and a way its read. It’s easy to sing it because it’s already some kind of a song.

What’s your favorite Icelandic romantic era poem on the record?

I think my favorite poem is this song called “Hafiõ,” which means “The Ocean.” It’s about a very dramatic relationship with the sea. In Icelandic history, we’ve always been very dependent on the sea because it gives life to the fish, but also takes it away with all of the men at sea. So, there’s a contrast between those two things: giving lives and taking lives. I think it’s very useful. It’s captured very well in the song and lyrics. There’s a dramatic melody and chord progression. It’s nice and melancholy in a way.

I know we were supposed to get Icelandic dinner in New York City, but what’s your favorite Icelandic food?
I think fish. Definitely cod or salmon. We used to only eat fish for thousands of years, so it’s very typical Icelandic. You can eat more extreme things like sheep’s head. It’s not very common. It’s the tongue, the eyes and everything included. It’s a pretty wild dish. You can also get shark. It takes horrible, and I don’t like it. That’s also a food people used to eat back in the day.

So, I know Iceland has an app that you need to check to make sure someone is related to you before you date them. Have you used it? Do you use it regularly?
It’s kind of more like a joke. If you were related to someone that closely, you’d definitely know them by now. You wouldn’t end up going home with them after a night out. I actually don’t know anyone that uses it. There’s a website database where you can check out how closely related you are, but it’s more older people that do it because maybe they used to know someone’s grandparents from somewhere.

Good to know. I’ve heard stories about it. So, your record showcases the beauty of Icelandic poetry, what’s your favorite part of Iceland? Do you find that place reflected in your music?
I think the southern coastline is extremely beautiful. There are black beaches, mountains and glaciers. There are lots of places to walk and hike. Subconsciously I think we’re really influenced by it. We never really purposely go out into nature specifically to look for inspiration because everywhere in the city you can see mountains and the ocean. You’re surrounded by landscapes everywhere you go. You’re not really aware of it; it’s just a subconscious thing that happens.

Silkidrangar is out via One Little Indian now.

Ilana is on Twitter. Follow her - @lanikaps

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