Feature: Árný Márgrét
Árný Márgrét Interview über ihre erste EP „intertwined“
Am 25. Februar erscheint mit “intertwined” die erste EP der Isländerin und vorher liefert sie uns einen Eindruck davon, was uns in den neuen Songs der Songschreiberin erwartet. “akureyri” ist ein bedächtiger Song. Im Vordergrund steht ganz klar das Picking von ihr an der Gitarre. Dazu gesellt sich ihre leicht soulig warme Stimme. Mehr braucht es im Moment gar nicht. Die 20-Jährige aus den doch recht dünn besiedelten Westfjorden weiß ganz genau, wie sie uns verzaubern kann. Dieses isländisch, magische liegt über den Songs und wie auch ihrer neuen Single.
Árný schreibt nicht erst seit ein paar Wochen oder Monaten Songs. Ihre gefühlvollen Folk-Songs schreibt sie schon seit einigen Jahren und ihrer Heimat gilt sie deswegen auch nicht zuletzt wegen beeindruckender Auftritte wie beim Iceland Airwaves als Newcomerin der aktuellen Stunde. Die junge Musikerin überrascht in ihrer Single mit ihrer Vortragsweise ihres Songs und der Lyrik, die wirklich umwerfend ist. Zaghaft, gefühlvoll und mit einer Wärme in ihrer Stimme, stimmt sie die Tracks auf ihrer ersten EP an. In „in tall buildings“ geht sie es sehr gemächlich an. Der Song ist so produziert, dass du sehr nah an der Stimme der Musikerin dran bist. Man spürt ihre Aussprache und somit auch das Gefühl in ihrem Song.
Mit ihr ihr sprechen wir im Interview über ihre Musik, das positive Feedback, das sie bisher bekam und es geht auch um die Einflüsse, die sie in ihre Musik einfließen lässt.
Árný, in December you delighted and delighted quite a few people with your debut single. To what extent was the positive feedback a kind of impetus for the production of your EP?
Árný Márgrét: I had already made the whole EP before I released my first single. So the positive feedback was just a really nice plus.
A lot of people are surprised that in your songs you already address life experiences that are surprising for a young songwriter like you. Why is your music the best example of how to separate age from certain life experiences?
Árný Márgrét: I feel like I am old already but at the same time I feel like I’m a child, age is a weird thing and it doesn’t really tell much about a person. I reflect myself in every conversation I have with other people, so I get so many different views of myself. I’ve been through a lot of different things that have also taught me alot. An adult can hurt just as much as a young person, we all have our stories and that’s what makes it all so beautiful. No one has the same story to tell, and no one has an equal amount of good and bad.
You never really seem to finish a song like that. It’s almost like a wine that needs time and air to breathe. But nevertheless, a wine has to be drunk at some point, a song has to be finished. How does it feel for you when you realize: „Ok, this song is finished now.“?
Árný Márgrét: Sometimes it’s really hard to just decide that a song is finished, because sometimes I feel like I have to follow some kind of rule to make the “perfect song”. But I try to just do what I think is beautiful or if I can’t write anymore then it’s supposed to be that way. Other times I have to live with the song for a while to realize that it’s ready, that it doesn’t need anything else. But it feels really good when I just know right away, it’s just a feeling.
Which element in your music would you say most reflects the attitude towards life you are in at the moment (environment, current center of life in Ísafjörður etc.)?
Árný Márgrét: I use everything in my songwriting, experiences, people, conversations, the weather, my surroundings, a word, a song, it’s basically everything. I am constantly thinking, and sometimes something good comes out of it. I am used to bad winters, a lot of snow and closed roads, I am used to being alone. It’s not that I love it, but I think I’ve gotten so used to it that I miss it sometimes when I’m not home. I’ve always had the mountains really close to me, so when I’m in the city for a bit too long I start to miss them, I start to need them. I feel at home with the mountains in my face and the sea at my feet.
Is there something (nature, social environment, loneliness in a positive sense, etc.) from your homeland and where you live that you would never want to exchange for any money in the world?
Árný Márgrét: The feeling of being home, where there are familiar faces almost everywhere. Also the feeling of being alone in nature, there are so many places here where you can walk or drive to where there is no one, it’s just you and the world somehow. I get really used to things, I like the familiarity. I like knowing every little place around me, to know where to go, to know where to look. I think it’s the feeling of home that I wouldn’t exchange for anything, I get really attached to places and the feeling of them.