''Mjötviður Mær'', released in 1981, was the second album by

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic new wave/

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

Þeyr Þeyr () was an Icelandic New wave music, new wave band from the early 1980s. Origins The origins of Þeyr date back to the late 1970s when singer Magnús Guðmundsson, bassist Hilmar Örn Agnarsson and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (drums and synthesi ...

. It was edited through Eskvímó in 12” vinyl. ''Mjötviður Mær'' was Þeyr's most important work, according to the media. Formed by 12 songs, "Iss", "Þeir" and "2999" could be deemed as attempts to create a futuristic pop style thanks to voice distortions, keyboards and additional rhythm. “Úlfur” is a track that outstands due to its angry mood and thus became into one of the most famous.
Also important are, “Mjötviður”, an instrumental track and “Rúdolf”, a song loaded with rock anger and constitute an antifascist lampoon of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. This record was never reissued. However, some of its recordings appeared in '' Mjötviður til Fóta'' (2001), a special release to commemorate the 20 anniversary of Þeyr's reincarnation. This CD also featured recordings from the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Iður til Fóta ''Iður til Fóta'' was a single released in 1981 by the Icelandic group Þeyr through Eskvímó and it was edited in 10" format. The title translates as "Moving Your Feet" but in Icelandic also forms a pun which can equally translate as "Guts ...

'' (1981).

Cover design and inserts

This album and their second work, '' As Above...'' had both exactly the same front covers, the only difference was the title. The image cover depicted a pentagram with the naked drummer inside it. It is a symbol that represents the interest in

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

that their members had, and it is also a representation of the five-member band, and the perfect proportions of the human being, as defined by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's '' Vitruvian Man''.
The background photograph portrayed

Keilir Keilir – Atlantic Centre of Excellence ( Icelandic: ''Keilir, miðstöð vísinda, fræða og atvinnulífs'') is a private, non-profit, international educational institution located in Ásbrú next to Keflavik International Airport in the ci ...

, a cone-shaped

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

located at the outskirts of Reykjavík and which is believed to have magic powers. The road shown on the image is Suðurgata.
This image is accompanied by runic writings which were taken from Völuspá. The title refers to Scandinavian mythology, where the word ''Mjötviður'', also known as

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional s ...

, means The Tree of Destiny, whose roots penetrate the three Underworld wells, and whose branches and foliage stretch throughout the whole Universe. The word ''Mær'' means ''Fair'' or ''Good''. The inserts of this album contain the lyrics to the songs and also feature several images related to magic and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. Drawings of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...

taken from ''

Theorica Musica The Theorica ( grc-gre, Θεωρικά), also called the Theoric Fund or Festival Fund, was the name for the fund of monies in ancient Athens expended on festivals, sacrifices, and public entertainments of various kinds. The fund was, in certain ...

'', by F. Gaffurio, represent the discovery of numeric relationships between harmonic sounds, known as

Pythagorean tuning Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency ratios of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2.Bruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh edition, 2 vols. (Boston: Mc ...

(se
drawings
. This is also complemented by other illustrations such as fragments of music writings from

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

’s ''Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor, Op. 23'', engravings by

Theodor de Bry Theodor de Bry (also Theodorus de Bry) (152827 March 1598) was an engraver, goldsmith, Editing, editor and publisher, famous for his depictions of early European colonization of the Americas, European expeditions to the Americas. The Spanish Inq ...

from

Robert Fludd Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus (17 January 1574 – 8 September 1637), was a prominent English Paracelsian physician with both scientific and occult interests. He is remembered as an astrologer, mathematician, cosmologis ...

's '' Utriusque Cosmi'', and several pentagram illustrations, including Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's pentagram taken from '' Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' which represents the golden symmetry of the human body. Other symbols featured are images of the Yggdrasil, drawings from Ancient Egypt, and satanic symbols, among others.

Track listing

Track notes

*”2999” is the same as “Technologos” in '' As Above...'' (1982). * The tracks translate to English as 1. Wolf, 2. Duh! 3. Current, 4. 2999, 5. World Tree, 6. The Shout, 7. They, 8. Rudolf, 9. Never Suck, 10. That is Enough, 11. Hva-Than, 12. Unnamed.

Credits

*Vocalist:

Magnús Guðmundsson Magnús Guðmundsson (6 February 1879 – 28 November 1937) was an Icelandic politician. He graduated in laws from the University of Copenhagen in 1907. Magnus was a member of Althingi for his constituency in North west Iceland from 1916 till t ...

. *Guitars: Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson and

Þorsteinn Magnússon Þorsteinn is an Old Norse and Icelandic masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Þorsteinn Bachmann (born 1965), Icelandic actor *Þorsteinn Bjarnason (born 1957), Icelandic former professional footballer (goalkeeper) *Þorste ...

. *Bass: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. *Drums:

Sigtryggur Baldursson Sigtryggur Baldursson (born 2 October 1962) is an Icelandic drummer and singer. Sigtryggur was born in Norway to Icelandic parents. He was a founding member of the Sugarcubes and has been a longtime fixture on the Icelandic punk and alternativ ...

. Tracks:
1: Music: Þeyr. Lyrics: Magnús Guðmundsson.
2: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics:

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (; born 23 April 1958), also known as HÖH, is a musician, an art director, and '' allsherjargoði'' (''chief goði'') of Ásatrúarfélagið ("the Ásatrú Association"). Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson was a pioneer in the use ...

.
3: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
4: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon.
5: Music: Þeyr.
6: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon. 7: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
8: Music: Magnús Guðmundsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
9: Music: Þeyr.
10: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
11: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon.
12: Music and lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. Characters on the record label: Sigga Vala.
Album, design and the wolf logo featured on the record label: Robert Guillemette.
Photographs: Gunnar Vilhelmsson. Acknowledgement: Eyjólfur and Jóhannes Vestdal.

References

External links

Page about ÞeyrWebsite about the history and discography of ÞeyrTónlist.is
- Page about Þeyr. It features mp3 samples (in Icelandic).

- Page about Icelandic music. It includes a section for Þeyr.
Official site of Guðlaugur Kristinn ÓttarssonPage of G. K. Óttarsson at MySpace.comPage of Þorsteinn Magnússon at MySpace.comOfficial site of Sigtryggur Baldursson
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