Machine Gun Etiquette

Trailblazers HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet Melt Into HAMPARAT

On March 21, members of HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet join forces as Iceland’s newest supergroup: HAMPARAT.

When two cult collectives unite, the effect might be akin to a suddenly occurring natural phenomenon. Iceland cannot be easily surprised by eruptions or the Northern Lights, but creative partnerships and projects are some things that will always arouse curiosity and a sense of wonder among the locals.

The upcoming concert of supergroup HAMPARAT, which combines members of HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet, has caused ripples in the local waters. The event at Harpa will see the two forces of nature playing amended versions of each other’s compositions. Tracks such as HAM’s “Vestur Berlin,” “Partýbær” from the Sódóma Reykjavík film soundtrack, and “Stereo Rock & Roll” from AOQ’s debut album will be performed with augmented arrangement.

Helping hands

“Iceland has often been misunderstood and not appreciated like it should,” HAM guitarist Flosi Þorgeirsson comments on the communal spirit of the Icelandic music scene. “It has this unique artistic microclimate where you can easily reach out to musicians and do things together.”

While at first glance, these two units seem to belong to parallel worlds — a meticulous exercise in prog and krautrock (AOQ) versus a guitar-driven act of pisstaking (HAM) —  they share a down-to-earth attitude and inventive approach. These bands are intertwined in a very Icelandic way, sharing drummer Arnar Geir Ómarsson and both having featured late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.

The bands’ common rehearsal space in Gufunes became a playground for future collaboration. “We at HAM have always been fans of the Apparat Organ Quartet, and I’m told they also like our music, so it was really a match made in heaven,” Flosi says. “It’s been so much fun because we can try new things — I’m using new guitar effects, for example. I kinda discovered my inner prog guitar player. With reverb and delay applied in this project, I can allow myself to go into space and create dreamy landscapes.”

In the canon of Icelandic music, both HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet are considered game-changing music collectives. One of the first shows of provocateurs HAM, according to Morgunblaðið, was revelatory. The band, comprised of Sigurjón Kjartansson, Óttarr Proppé, S. Björn Blöndal, and Ævar Ísberg, appeared before an audience at Duushús in March 1988. “They played simple, fast and catchy devil rock,” and “seemed the most interesting collective of the evening,” Morgunblaðið’s journalist wrote at the time.

The review perfectly summed up the concept of a fledgling unit whose name is an acronym for “Happy, Angry, Mad.” A year later, the collective’s second album Buffalo Virgin would be released on the UK independent label One Little Indian (now One Little Independent). The success in Britain followed the lack of reciprocity from the local media industry: Icelandic radio stations rejected airplay for the band’s debut Hold.

In the galactic trenches

Although formed a decade later, in 1999, Apparat Organ Quartet — a brainchild of Jóhann Jóhannsson — also threw a gauntlet to the conventional approach to music. The idea to create minimalist soundscapes evolved into sophisticated prog aesthetics with prevailing analogue synthesisers. Talking to KEXP host Kevin Cole in 2012, AOQ member Sighvatur Ómar Kristinsson explained: “We had to invent a sound that could work with four organs to record this kind of music. For instance, we were trying to do bass lines on a synthesiser.”

Though electric organs and synthesisers have served them well, Apparat Organ Quartet seem content with the addition of guitars. “I can see during the rehearsals that they really like it,” Flosi said. “They have mentioned that some of the songs finally sound like they should have. I feel like these different instruments complement each other.”

Pondering over the influence of the collaboration on his artistic vision, Flosi speaks metaphorically. “Sometimes while playing with HAM, I feel like I’m in a World War I tank in the trenches. But playing the Apparat Organ Quartet compositions feel like travelling in space.”

As a senior band, HAM brings a trademark comedic element to HAMPARAT. “Most foreigners don’t relate to it but Icelanders do,” says Flosi. “The lyrics in our songs are really funny; they are often about betrayal and love, but in a satirical way. We couldn’t be a political band, it just wouldn’t fit us.”

“When we were teenagers, telephone books in Iceland had printed instructions on what to do if a nuclear bomb attack started,” he adds. “Such things implying we might die in a horrible way created in that generation some kind of sarcasm and devil-may-care attitude. I think it’s much more prevalent in HAM than in any other band.”

Catch HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet’s historical concert at Harpa’s Eldborg on March 21. Tickets start at 5.990 ISK, available at tix.is.