Words by

Jóhannes Bjarkason

Photo by

Supplied

Hip-hop artist Birnir lives for 2,000 years

It’s been about a month since Birnir’s third LP Dyrnar came out. His first in four years, Dyrnar comes off the back of the acclaimed record Bushido, which swept music lovers — from die-hard rap fans to hip-hop skeptics — into a unified admiration of the young artist. 

Released on May 27, Birnir claims to still be happy with the outcome. “I was happy with it before it was released and I’m still as happy,” the 29 year old says, wearing a fresh, new hoodie branded with the album title in Actavis lettering. 

“I’ve stopped listening to it. And there’s always a time where I stop listening to my albums,” he admits between drags of his vape. Asked if there’s anything he’d like to change about the album, Birnir pauses to think. “I think it should have turned out this way. If there is something, it’s at least nothing I’d admit,” he grins. 

Rising to stardom in 2017, Birnir arrived out of the burgeoning underground hip-hop scene at the time, alongside names such as Floni, Joey Christ, and Aron Can — frequent collaborators in his work.  

Around that time, the first indicators of Dyrnar came to fruition with the conception of the album track “Far”, which undoubtedly echoes his 2021 single “Spurningar”, featuring club, queer, disco icon Páll Óskar.

“It’s one of the earliest tracks, [that came] when we were finishing up Bushido. Marteinn [Hjartarson] and I were working on its last song,” Birnir explains, referring to Bushido’s “Púls” — a solemn, trap-inspired album closer. “The soundscape in that song turned on something in me,” he says. 

Following the release of Bushido, Birnir began working with producer Marteinn — bngrboy — more extensively. Having collaborated with numerous producers throughout the years, Birnir identified something in Marteinn’s abilities which resonated with him. “Marteinn is a unique producer. He’s got style and taste,” he compliments. 

“We worked nonstop. We just worked on it like any other job. I felt something exciting going on with Marteinn and the type of sound we were creating. Then we reached a certain place, around 2023, where we had the outline of an album,” Birnir summarises. “I can’t tell you exactly how it happened. It just did,” he forfeits.  

Defying stereotypes

With 21 songs on its roster and a run-time of an hour and 18 minutes, Dyrnar is a massive piece of music. An album of such a magnitude inevitably means it fluctuates between high and low points. In a similar vein to its creator, Dyrnar is simultaneously sporadic, yet laser-focused. Disparate influences, atmospheres, and subject matter flow — sometimes effortlessly — between tracks juxtaposed with each other. 

One of Birnir’s most celebrated achievements is to defy hip-hop stereotypes. To a certain extent, he plays into the tenets of rap culture, but is able to identify less-travelled paths, paving them to work in his favour. 

Dyrnar is not a perfect album, but undoubtedly sees Birnir push himself into new territory  — whatever works to serve the music he envisions. 

“I’m obsessed with putting out the songs that I hear in my head. Dyrnar is an album that comes the closest to a soundtrack which I hear within me. You write 20 bad tracks just to write one great song. I think Dyrnar captures that,” he explains. 

“There’s something about creating music that makes me…” Birnir pauses for words. “Happy. I feel a sense of purpose. I’m just attracted to the things that allow me to live happily and purposefully,” he admits. 

A door is the passage between different spaces in a house

“I was thinking about spaces a lot,” Birnir ruminates on the album title, which is Icelandic for doorway. 

“The doorway is the passage between spaces. ‘Dyrnar’ is a word that worked well because I’m jumping between worlds and sounds. It allows for freedom,” he says. “But I just think it looks nice,” he says, almost negating his previous thought. “These letters in this sequence. How the pronunciation rolls the Rs…” he trails off, then begins to emphasise the distinction between a door and a doorway. 

Compared to Bushido, whose cover art sports an MRI scan of his brain, Birnir claims that Dyrnar captures a more existential view of his subject matter — which ranges from self-deprecation, self-reflection, love, and religion. Conveyed in part by its album cover, Dyrnar portrays a sculpted representation of Birnir’s likeness. 

“On Dyrnar, I’m turning more outwards. It’s more related to the world I inhabit rather than my personal experiences,” he says. “You’ll notice there are songs which are incredibly serious — deadly serious — and then there are others which are more playful, where the language becomes more free, and I become more unintelligible,” Birnir describes before turning more philosophical. 

“It connects with the idea that the album examines everything, and nothing, at the same time. It’s the whole shebang: it covers my existence, while at the same time positing that nothing matters. And everything in between.”

This type of artistic nihilism Birnir supposes is — in his words — a newfound discovery. “It’s new to me to realise how important [music] is to me, and of how little importance it is. That’s the juice,” he comments.

“To create the songs and work on them. That’s incredible. That’s what I love most — except for my kid,” he says with emotion. “At the same time, it doesn’t matter at all. I couldn’t care less about a song, y’know.” 

The bust of Birnir

While the album stands strong musically, it is overshadowed by the work of art that is the album’s cover art. It features a real, bronze-cast bust sculpted by artist Ragnhildur “Ragga” Stefánsdóttir. Conceived by creative director Doddi Digital, the artwork is a testament to Birnir’s commitment to the culture of hip-hop.  

“Sculptures are something I’ve always loved. There are statues everywhere around the world, and they always seem to belong to the past,” Birnir starts. “Coming from rap music, everyone’s constantly one-upping each other. ‘I’m better than you, I’m the best.’ People sport these chains or cars or whatever — some kind of bling. Having a statue made of yourself, that’s the ultimate bling! That’s the final boss in this battle for comparison,” Birnir grins. 

“Ragga never deals with this kind of thing, I think. She makes the mayoral busts which are kept in city hall. The statue is just the way she sees me. The neck is long and it’s a great, big work. She sculpted me from scratch which took months,” Birnir shares. “And then, it was cast in bronze,” he continues. “And bronze can last for more than 2,000 years.” 

Dyrnar album cover

According to Birnir, seeing an exact replica of himself was an unnerving experience. “It was a bit unnatural, I thought. It was weird. But as it went on, I started to think how epic it was.”

Due to the patina enveloping bronze, the material is known for its durability. In some cases, bronze sculptures can survive centuries — even millennia. Asked if he’s really thought about the fact that his bust may still exist in 4025, Birnir shakes his head. “I can’t really comprehend that fact. Two-thousand years is such a long time. It’s such a long time and a lot of things get convoluted in the meantime. Maybe it will be destroyed,” he theorises. 

Days after finding out about the statue, the council of Kópavogur commissioned the bust to be erected in the artist’s hometown in the near future. “It’s supposed to be erected in Hamraborg,” Birnir clarifies. “But we want to place it somewhere in nature. On a rock somewhere. I don’t think I’m ready for it to be in Hamraborg for the rest of eternity.” 

Dyrnar is out now on streaming platforms. Birnir hosts his release show at Laugardalshöll on September 20. Tickets are 9.990-17.990 ISK, available at stubb.is