INTERVIEW : HJàLMAR
Interview by : Benjamin Leboyer
Pictures by : DR
on Monday, November 26th 2012 - 8 300 views
We start our reggae-around-the-world series with Iceland. It is (very) cold in Reykjavik when we go to meet Hjàlmar, the pioneers of reggae in Iceland. Formed in 2004, the band is the spearhead of the genre on this island so far removed from the Caribbean (in every sense), and has been rewarded several times. They even went to Kingston in 2009 to record their fourth album. They insist on singing in their native language, and received a further award for it in November 2010.
As they are putting the finishing touches to their seventh album, due out in early 2013, we meet them at the Faktory café-concert, in a narrow street of Reykjavik (the country's capital), where the band took its first steps. A warm atmosphere despite the temperature outside, before one of their sold-out shows.
Reggaefrance / What does Hjàlmar mean?
Hjàlmar / Steini: Hjàlmar means helmet in French. It started as a pun and in the end it stuck.
Siggi: It's also a surname in Scandinavia, so it worked out well.
How did the band come together?
Siggi: I've been making music since I was a child; I come from a family of musicians. In 2004, a friend who played rock 'n' roll and had a studio helped me record a first track. I met Steini and the other members of the band, and we decided to play reggae together and do a few gigs. It was the first time in Iceland, and above all with lyrics in our own language. The audience took to it. Steini had written some lyrics, so we recorded our first album, "Hljodlega af stad", right here at the Faktory.
What themes do you tackle in your songs?
Steini: We write mostly about nature, Iceland's nature and our relationship with it. Society and utopia are also regular subjects. And I write science-fiction songs from time to time, where I put myself in a character's shoes and give them a part to play.
Siggi: We didn't want to be yet another band singing in English; the songs had to speak to Icelanders. We're not a roots reggae band, you can feel the influence of folk in our music, reggae with a Nordic twist!
 En Jamaïque, j'ai ressenti une compréhension mutuelle du fait que nous vivons tous sur des îles 
How is the reggae scene doing in Iceland?
Siggi: There are lots of bands here, it's going well, and the audience is hungry for culture and likes discovering new things. I think making music on an island is easier, everybody loves music on islands... It's the same in Réunion, isn't it?
Steini: We do nothing but music, but we live modestly because it's hard to sell many albums. That's why we're involved in several projects at once; for example, Siggi is leaving next week for Cuba to record with new influences. A personal project, but within the Hjàlmar concept.
Do you tour much in Europe? Where have you been to play?
Siggi: We play mostly in Iceland and Scandinavia, but we did a festival tour in Holland this summer, a gig in Slovakia, we went to Russia last winter and also to Estonia.
But never in southern Europe?
Steini: No, never. We'd love to have the opportunity to play in Spain, France or Italy, but you have to knock on the right doors and make yourself known. The internet is a good way to do that, and we know we're being watched from all over on YouTube. We hope it can happen, but travel is expensive and takes good organisation.
You recorded an album in Kingston in 2009; you must have felt quite out of your element!
Siggi: It was magical! A trip to spice up our music and record in incredible studios, with legendary musicians (the recording took place at Harry J Studio and at Tuff Gong, with Cat Coore, Sticky, Robbie Lyn and Dean Fraser, among others, editor's note). We shared through the music, and I felt a mutual understanding of the fact that we all live on islands.
Steini: We played a little gig there, it was nice to be able to introduce our music to the Jamaicans.
A few words on Iceland, how do you feel about the country?
Steini: Iceland is a great place, there is so much to see. Nature is everywhere, which is good for creativity! It's cold, it's windy, and it can be dangerous because of storms, avalanches, volcanoes... Remember the 2010 eruption, the one that made headlines because of the planes (the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano severely disrupted air traffic worldwide, editor's note).
Yes, it's crazy, because everyone talked about the airlines but never about the people who lived near that volcano...
Siggi: Everyone thinks of themselves first, and of their own little troubles! We need to care about others, we need change! There should be more respect too, and we should devote ourselves to being positive people.
What are you up to at the moment?
Siggi: We've just finished recording our seventh album, which will be out in February or March 2013. It's a little darker than what we're used to doing, not negative, more sarcastic. It doesn't have a name yet, and we're finalising one last track with a Finnish virtuoso, Jimi Tenor.
Í gegnum móðuna, from the latest album to date, "Órar":
Borgin, from the first album, "Hljóðlega af stað" (2004):
Hjalmar in Jamaica:
More info on Hjàlmar: http://hjalmarband.com
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