Live Sessions in 2019
Updated: Nov 9, 2020
Time flies when you're having fun, so they say. Well it's definitely the case here.
2019 came and went, camera-in-hand, out and about through the streets of Reykjavik. Some incredible and exciting outings capturing performance in the most interesting of places.
Jelena wandering back to land from the lighthouse at Grótta
Lighthouses were certainly a theme, and we were extremely lucky to be able to film at the scenic location of Gróttuviti (Grótta lighthouse) - an outpost in Seltjarnarnes, which lies just next to Reykjavík.
A popular island for northern lights sighting, relaxing and for local artists - like Björk - to find inspiration.
Jelena hitting the notes in the lighthouse
We took singer-songwriter, Jelena Ćirić, up to the top of the lighthouse and worked the natural reverb of the building (and a little wind outside) into a beautiful rendition of Fig Tree completely a cappella.
New Music is easy to come by in such a thriving musical community. One artist who popped up in 2019 is another singer-songwriter, Ásta, who's shot to prime listening - with an Album of the Year award and being voted one of Iceland Airwaves 'One's to Watch'. Exciting times.
Ásta warming up
We found somewhere uniquely personal to Ásta to film our session. The highstreet fashion store, 38 þrep, in the heart of downtown. A place well-known to Ásta - growing up at the store - it provided the perfect setting to feel comfortable performing in front of the camera. And a brilliant session with the closeness and intensity of the performance, set to the backdrop of walkers-by, wandering past without any clue of what's happening inside. Fantastic!
Welcoming sign at the Reykjavík Tool Library
Lastly but not least, Davið Rist. We chose a location towards the sea for this live session - the Tool Library or Munasafn Reykjavík based up in Grandi (they've moved downtown now!)
A place where things happen, where the old is recycled and new stories created, it was the perfect place for thoughtful songwriter Davið to strum and sing. And so, on one windy afternoon, we drove out to meet him there, along with Anna, of the Tool Library, and started filming the happenings.
Davið is all smiles pre-session
And so, with a hammer here and a wrench there, a whirling of some cutting and the strumming of Davið's guitar (as well as much laughter) that was the end of our 2019 sessions. Short and sweet.
Over the course of the 2019 summer and into the winter (where all the thinking is done, amongst the darkness and the fairy lights) many new ideas sprang up. The start of new beginnings... stay tuned for more.