In this monumental concert the film Hamraborgin: Ode to noise will be premiered. The film by Úlfur Eldjárn and Patrik Ontkovic is based on Eldjárn’s musical piece which in turn is inspired by Hamraborg and the vibrant musical scene of Kópavogur. (Read more below)
Also premiering is the dimensional performance and musical work, Ljósið og ruslið, by Benedikt Hermann Hermannsson and Ásrún Magnúsdóttir. The piece is performed by a powerful women’s choir and a band. (Read more below)
The concert is free but be timely since seats are limited.
Hamraborgin is a new music film by Úlfur Eldjárn and Patrik Ontkovic. The film is based on Úlfur’s score: Hamraborgin – An Ode to Noise, which was composed for seven drummers and electronics. The trigger for the work was a discussion about how many influential drummers had come from Kópavogur throughout the years, not least in relation to the great growth there in punk, heavy rock and death rock. It can be said that the municipality of Kópavogur has in some ways formed a cultural counterpoint to the capital and has become the geographical center of underground music in Iceland.
In the film, the performance of the piece is captured on film and mixed with footage shot in and around Hamraborg in Kópavogur. Where a legendary bus station could be found as well an underpass, where several generations of Kópavogur teenagers hung out. The cultural institutions of Kópavogur later rose on the same spot, including Kópavogur’s music school and its electronic music studio, where many musicians, including the author of this composition, took their first steps in making electronic and noise music. Today, one of the best concert halls in the country, and the flagship of culture in Kópavogur, Salurinn is also located in Hamraborg, where the performance of the work took place.
The seven drummers featured in the film are as different as they are many. Most of them were raised in Kópavogur, but they all have in common that they have somehow swam against the current.
Ljósið & Ruslið is a dimensional stage- and musical piece by the composer Benedikt Hermann Hermannson and the choreographer Ásrún Magnúsdóttir. The piece is written for a women’s choir and a band. The band consist of drummer Ívar Pétur Kjartansson, accordion- and keybordplayer Margrét Arnardóttir, guitarist Benni Hemm Hemm and bassist Ása Dýradóttir who also sings in the choir. With Ása in the choir are 30 women who sing all the songs and dance a simple choreogarphed dance by Ásrún but Ásrún also sings with the choir. The creative director of the piece is Ragnheiður Maísól Sturludóttir who is of course a part of the choir.
The performance consists of 12 songs but each song has its own setting, its own choreography, soundscape and exposition. The songs travel from bittersweet ballads to exciting dance-pop and then conventional choir compositions. Then songs take on gray mundane life but also hopes and dream. The choreography is simple but the choir takes on different shapes and forms.
The consists of all kinds of women. Some are musicians and/or have experience with singing in a choir. Others are dancers and choreographers or stage performers, others are simply curious and progressive women who wanted to participate. A women’s choir of this size has alot to get across to its audience.
