Now and then, a new music scene seems to spring up out of the ground. The last few years have seen the appearance of a local rap scene that quickly went overground, and the rise of a dark alternative scene hinged around MYRKFÆLNI, which has sprouted a label, festival, and magazine.
The newest arrival is called “Post-dreifing.” The name is a play on “póstdreifing,” which means something along the lines of “postal distribution” in Icelandic. The addition of the hyphen refers both to the “post-rock” genre, and the idea of a post-music industry approach, transforming the phrase into a new genre that’s a play on words with a DIY sentiment.
A big party
Five young men show up for the interview, and ask to be referred to collectively. “It came together when we had a concert with our friends at Grandi,” they say. “There were like ten bands playing. It was called ‘A Lovely Great Time.’ I think we had just one speaker—it was very DIY, with lots of young artists coming together, even if they just had ten minutes sets. It was a big party.”
The atmosphere around the party was charged with positive energy, and led to a will for an ongoing collaboration. “It showed there was a great mood for just doing things,” say the Post-dreifing crew. “Everybody wanted to repeat this mood.”
Pushing forward
The acts that played included Korter í Flog, bagdad brothers, asdfgh., Pink Pons, and Umer Consumer; several of whom appeared on the new label’s first release—a compilation called ‘Drullamall #1.’ All of them had been working independently to get gigs, but when they all pulled together, they quickly realised the value of cooperation.
“It’s a collective,” they say. “We help push each other out, and push each other forward. It’s really a collective of doers. It’s healthy to be surrounded by people who are doing stuff, because you get the feeling that anything is possible, if you just do it.”
Pay what you want
All of Post-dreifing’s output is available online for free, offered at a pay-what-you-want price that includes zero. “We feel like the music industry is capitalistic, and supermarket-style profit oriented,” they say. “We’re kind of against that. We want to create an alternative space for art. That’s perhaps the main point, in the end.”
Physical copies are available, for those who want CDs, or want to show support for the collective by buying something. “We need to have some money to do stuff, but we’re not aiming to make a profit,” they say. “Post-dreifing is really about doing it yourself and showing that you don’t have to make money or have money to do good art. It’s about collaboration and exposure, and helping each other.”
With strength in numbers, a buzz of excitement, and boundless energy, the future looks bright for the group. There’s talk of hanging an art show, and publishing books; they’re holding a countryside festival in July called Hátiðni. “It’s gonna be an even lovelier, greater time,” they finish.
Post-dreifing’s compilation ‘Drullamall #1’ is on Bandcamp and Spotify now; Hátiðni will take place July 6-8th in Borgarfjörður, with a Reykjavík pre-party at R6013 on June 29th.
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