Einar Örn Benediktsson (born 29 October 1962), often billed as Einar Örn, is an Icelandic
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
singer and trumpet player. He was a member of
the Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes () were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpe ...
. He served as a member of the
Reykjavík City Council between 2010 and 2014.
With Björk and the Sugarcubes
Einar has been described as the first punk in Iceland. He claims he became interested in punk rock after reading about
Johnny Rotten vomiting on an aeroplane and listening to
John Peel on his mother's car radio. Einar spent the summer of 1977 in London, where his father worked. Through this, he was able to make contacts enabling the Reykjavík arts festival to book
The Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
in 1980.
In the early 1980s, Einar was the lead singer of the short-lived
punk group Purrkur Pillnikk. Following Purrkur Pillnikk's demise in 1983, Einar became a member of the
anarcho-punk Kukl along with the already notable Icelandic singer
Björk Guðmundsdóttir. During this period, whilst studying media at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the
University of Westminster) he got in touch with several punk groups such as
Flux of Pink Indians and the
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
band
Crass. This eventually led to the release of Kukl's two studio albums, 1984's ''
The Eye'' and 1986's ''
Holidays in Europe'', on Crass' in-house label
Crass Records.
In June 1986, Smekkleysa SM or Bad Taste SM ltd was formed by a group of friends which included Einar, Björk, Sigtryggur, Einar Melax from Kukl, Bragi Ólafsson and Friðrik Erlingsson from Purrkur Pillnikk, Þór Eldon, Ólafur Engilberts and Sjón from the surrealist group Medúsa and lastly Ásmundur Jónsson from Gramm Records. Out of this group the Sugarcubes were formed, with Einar sharing vocal duties with Björk. While with the Sugarcubes, some critics scorned him for his bizarre spoken-word rants and discordant singing, which often overshadowed Björk's more popular vocalizations. Others, however, defended his contributions as an essential component of the group's free-spirited, chaotic ethos. Einar remained with the Sugarcubes until the band's breakup in 1992.
In 2006, Einar reunited with the Sugarcubes for a one-off performance at the
Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík.
Post-Sugarcubes
After the breakup of the Sugarcubes, Einar wrote a newspaper column "Close Encounter" ("about daily life in Reykjavík"), promoted records for the Sugarcubes' former Icelandic label,
Bad Taste (''Smekkleysa''), which he had co-founded, and worked as a bartender. Music went on the backburner: "I was discovering other things, like family life. I wanted to make music a hobby again."
He recorded with
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (HÖH) in 1992: "We were great friends who decided to make music for the hell of it, and it turned into a record" (''Frostbite'', on
One Little Indian). He also worked in concert promotion (two Björk shows,
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
,
Fugees and
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
) and co-founded Reykjavík's first cybercafe The Siberia Cafe: 'We were too early. Those who knew what it was all about preferred to do their Internet hacking at home."
Einar worked for the Reykjavík Arts Festival before moving back to London in late 1997 to set up OLI's Web sites: "I saw this gap, which I could fill. It's always good to get a new perspective."
In 1998, Einar teamed up with Hilmar Örn and former Sugarcubes drummer
Sigtryggur "Siggi" Baldursson as Grindverk. "It's dance music for people who cannot dance. It'll probably be instrumental too. It's not because people have criticised me, I just don't think I've written anything I want to sing." Grindverk released a single album, ''Gesundheit Von K'', on the British-based
Fat Cat Records.
In 2000, Einar collaborated with
Blur lead singer
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
on the soundtrack for the acclaimed Icelandic film ''
101 Reykjavík''. The soundtrack was released by
EMI the following year. Einar also worked with Albarn's project
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...
on the song "Stop The Dams." The track originally appeared as a 2006
B-side on the single "
Kids With Guns" / "
El Mañana." It was re-released on the 2007
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
''
D-Sides''.
Einar has not ruled out future musical projects stating, "I'm waiting to see if the occasion arises. The Sugarcubes wasn't scripted, remember. Of course, I'm older but I would treat the occasion with the same passion!"
Ghostigital
In December 2003 Einar embarked on his first solo project. He debuted with an album called ''Ghostigital'', recorded with the New York City-based Icelandic producer
Curver. It was released by
Honest Jon's Records in December 2003. The name of this first album would later turn into the name of a band, comprising Einar and Curver and a host of collaborators. The music is described as "electronic beat music", drawing in elements of
dub,
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
, Rock and
noise
Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
, combined with Einar's idiosyncratic worldview.
In 2005 Ghostigital signed with the California-based label
Ipecac Recordings co-founded by
Faith No More singer
Mike Patton. Their first Ipecac release, ''In Cod We Trust'', was released in March 2006. On this record Einar's son Kaktus (currently frontman of
Fufanu) plays trumpet. It also features contributions from
Mark E Smith,
Sensational,
Ásgerður Júníusdóttir and
KatieJane Garside.
Ghostigital released their third studio album called ''Division of Culture & Tourism'' on
Smekkleysa SM/BadTaste Records on 12 November 2012. It features contributions from
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads.
Byrne has ...
,
Nick Zinner,
Dälek, and
King Buzzo.
Art practice
In his art practice Einar Örn has utilized a wide range of media; sound art, performance, words, music and multimedia but is currently focusing on works on paper, large scale murals and textile prints. All connected through his playful way of telling stories that simultaneously amuse and baffle.
Einar Örn has exhibited internationally and in Iceland.
Politics
Although he had no prior political experience, Einar was elected to the Reykjavík City Council in May 2010 as a member of the satirical
Best Party
The Best Party () was an Icelandic political party founded by Jón Gnarr on 16 November 2009. The party contested the 2010 city council election in Reykjavík and won a plurality on the Reykjavík City Council, receiving 34.7% of the vote, de ...
(''Besti flokkurinn'') along with Reykjavík Mayor
Jón Gnarr
Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...
and others. Einar was second on the party's
list
A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...
behind Jón.
Besti Flokkurinn – Pólítískt Partí , Frambjóðendur
(accessed 24 January 2012) Einar and other Best Party members were part of the governing coalition in Reykjavík along with the Social Democratic Alliance (''Samfylkingin''). He chaired the city's committee for culture and tourism. The Best Party did not run for re-election in 2014, instead choosing to disband.
References
External links
Official website of Einar Örn
Official website of Ghostigital
City of Reykjavík site
(in Icelandic)
Ghostigital interviewed in Chaos Control Digizine
at MusicBrainz
MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB, Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for ...
Interview with Einar Örn Benediktsson
in ''Chief Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benediktsson, Einar Orn
1962 births
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Living people
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Einar Orn Benediktsson
Kukl (band) members
The Sugarcubes members
Artists from Reykjavík
Alumni of the Polytechnic of Central London