Sonic Extremities: A Preview Of RVK Noise Fest

Þórir Georg books purely harsh noise at R6013

“Noise just keeps becoming more and more interesting to the point where it becomes the only interesting thing,” Reykjavík music legend Þórir Georg tells me in the basement of 12 Tónar. April 12-13 will see the first “RVK Noise Fest,” Þórir’s initiative housed at storied DIY venue R6013.

As a musician, some of his (numerous, uncountable) projects have been adjacent to the noise realm. But as the years have gone on, his focus has shifted towards noise. “In a way, this is kind of an end point where you can go with sonic extremities,” he notes, adding that once you discover this end point, it’s hard to go back to anything less.

Now, he’s putting on the first iteration of RVK Noise Fest. The two-day festival’s schedule is brimming, from noise legends like AMFJ (we’re not biased, promise) and KverK, folks migrating to noise projects like D.I.A (of Svartþoka) and SIN ALMA (Krummi of Mínus), to an Akranes-based group “of maniacs” who are making just their second performance ever. (Their only other performance saw them playing “really primitive, weird, digital, grindcore music” for just a few minutes, all while chugging kókómjólk, and then proceeding to throw up on stage.)

“I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for many, many years,” Þórir says of the festival, adding, “when I decided on doing this, I wrote down a dream list of who I wanted to play, and every single one said yes.”

Noise has been in Reykjavík for a while now, but there’s much making this festival a first of its kind. “I would say there are like small pockets aching, that are inching their ways towards becoming a scene,” he observes. A goal of this festival is to unite artists Þórir knows individually, hoping to foster connection and build a network that can eventually evolve into a more established scene.

Noise Purists

Many artists make noisy music or experiment with noise, but Þórir aims for pure noise with this festival: “I wanted it to be almost exclusively based on harsh noise music. I wanted as many of them as possible to be what I would just call a noise artist. Not a noise-adjacent artist.”

“I wrote down a dream list of who I wanted to play, and every single one said yes.”

He’s also not shy to note that noise is, by definition and design, not a popular or easy-to-listen-to genre — it takes intention to seek out and appreciate noise, He’s very clear about this: “this isn’t for everyone, it’s for anyone, but it’s not for everyone.” With this punk ideology, R6013 is the perfect venue for the festival (and it helps that Ægir and Þórir are friends, and both will be performing). “This belongs in this basement, and not in an art museum or a gallery,” Þórir states.

In conjunction with the festival is the advent of Þórir’s new label, “Reykjavík óhljóð forlag,” whose first release is Þórir’s project Skjálfti’s They are bad people, they deserve to suffer. The festival and label are wholly intertwined in intention, as he explains, “but as with the festival, I wanted to create something that was just focused on noise music — a noise label. Not a punk label that would sometimes put out a noise thing.”

As we wind towards the end of our conversation, Þórir leaves me with such an encapsulating final sentiment that I couldn’t put it better myself. So, if you’re thinking a noise festival is something for you, here are Þórir’s thoughts: “It’s at R6013, so anyone can come. If you don’t have money, you can come. If you just want to check it out, just come and check it out. And if you think it’s horrible, just leave and don’t pay. And if you feel like sticking around then pay a little bit — or whatever.”

“I’m just hoping this will lead to more things happening and more people doing things. That’s always the dream.”

RVK Noise Fest will be held at R6013 April 12-13. You can find Skjálfti on Bandcamp, and information about the festival on Instagram @rvknoisefest.