Electric Dreams: Hlýnun Jarðar Looks Towards The Future

Tryggvi Þór Pálsson is a member of Reykjavík’s own very productive and skillful DJ crew Plútó, appearing under DJ moniker Hlýnun Jarðar (Global warming). He also dabbles in music production as Ceqi. Tryggvi’s DJ sets are bassy, full of mysterious dialogue samples and, most-importantly, fun, unexpected and dancey.

Stop making sense

Music has long had a special place in Tryggvi’s world. “When I was thirteen, I discovered underground music thanks to various radio shows, like Skýjum ofar, which was my biggest influence,” Tryggvi says. “From there I learned about Þruman, the record shop, and started riding the bus downtown every week to buy records.”

“I think DJ sets should take chances, fluctuate, and keep it interesting.”

It quickly spiralled from there for Tryggvi, who listens to just about everything, from Russian composer Alexander Scriabin to Dutch gabber style electronic music. “As long as it’s interesting in mood or texture,” he explains. “It shouldn’t make too much sense and I think DJ sets should take chances and fluctuate to keep it interesting.”

Up, up and away

Today Tryggni lives in Malmö, Sweden where he works as a chef and regularly participates in parties with both Plútó as well as Malmö DJ crew Astrum. “I was tired of living in Iceland, basically,” says Tryggvi. “Living in Sweden has expanded my horizons and given me the chance to follow and get inspired by the Copenhagen techno scene and rave parties with safe-space policies like Fast Forward.”

Plútó is a planet

Plútó has grown to be an indispensable part of Reykjavík’s nightlife as they regularly perform at and host a number of events—including the closing set of Sónar Reykjavík last year. “We’ve been getting positive reactions to our sounds, which is great,” Tryggvi says. “And we performed a night in Copenhagen earlier this year, which was really fun.”

Tryggvi hopes to perform in Reykjavík next time he is in town and next year he plans on releasing new music that he has been working on. “I haven’t released much of my music,” he explains. “I DJ bits and pieces I’ve made and I like seeing people’s reaction, so we’ll see what the future brings.”

Follow Plútó’s Soundcloud for regular contributions and mixes by Tryggvi. His own Soundcloud features his latest experiments and upcoming music projects.