Morgunblaðið – Ideas and Audacity
Wednesday, December 18th. –People in the news.
Ideas and audacity
Music – Album: Switchstance
Switchstance, is a cd from the rap-group Quarashi. The band is made up of Sölvi H.Blöndal, who takes care of the rhythmic part of the music, Steinar Orri Fjeldsted and Höskuldur Ólafsson, who both rap, and Richard Oddur Hauksson who Dj’s. Jóhann Jóhannsson in “Nýjustu tækni og vísindi” helped with the recording, but the one who was in charge of the recording was Hrannar Ingimarsson who also played the keyboard. Viðar Hákon Gíslason from the quartette of Ó. Jónsson & Grjóni helped the band out with the making of guitar- and baselines. The band publishes itself, Japis distributes. 21.00 minutes.
FINNALLY THE TIME CAME that and Icelandic rap-cd came out and there’s no reason to be sorry about it even if it is of the shorter kind, no more than five songs, since it’s purpose is first and foremost to introduce the band Quarashi. Some of the band’s members have been quite busy pursuing music, even if it hasn’t quite had any ties to rap-music, but it shows that they know that form of music well in the way they handle their work. Straight off in the first song you can hear Quarashi’s special traits, tight baselines and a heavy beat. The rapping of Steinar and Höskuldur is quite good, although Steinar seems to be leading in that collaboration with sharp and fun lyrics even if they’re in English. There’s actually no more than one song in Icelandic on the Cd, and hardly that, but it’s worth it to give the guys a shot at making something new with Icelandic lyrics, there truly is a need for that.
The comparison to the Beastie Boys has been an easy point of argument for those who have covered the band or discussed it, but also an unfair one, because in reality the only thing Quarashi and the Beastie Boys have in common is to be white, their tone-language is quite different and the emphasis is completely different and much heavier with Quarashi. Beastie Boys started their career in heavy-rock-rap, but Quarashi comes from a completely different and interesting direction. That can be well heard on the fourth song of the band, Lone Rangers, where the brilliant baseline holds the song up for the most part, but the fun vocals of Margrét Kristín Blöndal give the song a very fun aspect. Great song that underlines that in Quarashi there is enough of both ideas and audacity.
The final song on Quarashi’s single is a fun breakbeat song, maybe it’s just meant to be a fill-up, but it’s a very good song none the less and the band should make more of those.
This year has been very giving to music-lovers, lots of renewal and fresh-streams and Quarashi put in one of the most fun and heaven-sent releases of the year. The CD-cover and booklet should also not be forgotten since they are extremely successfully made and the man who designed them, Reynir Harðarson, will without a doubt be successful in that line of work in the future.
Morgunblaðið, Árni Sæberg.