Published: September 13, 2010 9:48 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight September 2010 Edition
Svavar Knutur
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Svavar Knutur
Indie Folk Singer/Songwriter Svavar Knutur makes beautiful music full of enriching soulful lyrics that fans will love. The magic of his music comes from his heart, passion, and desire to make music that matters. In this spotlight with our Webzine, Knutur expounds on his musical influences and why he enjoys performing, songwriting, and singing. Here is the online conversation with Knutur in its entirety. Enjoy!
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. I wanted to thank you for this second interview with our Webzine. How has 2010 been for you so far?
Svavar: I'm really sorry, I don't think I've been interviewed by you before, but thank you for this first and hopefully not last interview. :D
But 2010 has been a year of amazing discoveries, travel and beautiful memories. Also, some very nice songwriting. It has certainly raised my hopes.
Isaac: My bad. I am sorry for that slip-up Svavar. This is our first interview. :-)
Isaac: Out of all of your influences, who would you enjoy working with and why?
Svavar: I'd love to sit down with Joni Mitchell and just listen to her philosophize and just sit in adoration. I would also thoroughly enjoy someday sitting in a cabin with Kris Kristofferson and just strum those guitars together writing songs about coffee and beer. Of my more current influences, I'd have to say sharing a studio with the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie or Josh Homme. Man... My head just overflows with all those people whose brains I'd just love to pick.
Isaac: What can you say has been the biggest accomplishment so far with your music career?
Svavar: My biggest accomplishment so far must be making the jump from day job to full time artist in a post crash Iceland. That took a lot of self-convincing, stupid optimism, and idealism. Also, increased touring in Europe and Australia has really been providing me with new fans and friends.
Isaac: Are you happy with where you are at with your music career at the moment?
Svavar: I'm ecstatic with my life right now. I'm poor and struggling but doing the things I love. My first solo album came out last year and another one is coming out next year with a bunch of new songs and I'm already getting a lot of mail from friends and fans. I have yet to get a nice distribution thing going, but the DIY approach is working well for me right now. There's always room for improvement though and I'm constantly working to making things better.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Svavar: For me, the relationship you have with an audience when you're alone with a guitar or in an intimate setting, playing lyrically charged songs and just tearing your heart out are just so beautiful. I absolutely love it when I click with an audience on a personal level and my songs hit home. I don't think you can do that with a lot of noisy drums and distortion although that's really fun too. And with this relationship comes the possibility to spread positive ideas and help people wake up to everyday philosophy.
Also, being one with your instrument and that simplicity of the harmony of the voice and one instrument, be it guitar, piano or whatever. It's magical.
If there is one more thing I can point out, it's that artists and listeners in the folk/songwriter genre aren't as obsessed with an artist’s age. In the pop and rock genres, people tend to be very ageist, but when it comes to being a troubadour, people generally look past your age and listen to your words and your songs. I love that.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Svavar: I think you need to be patient with yourself and lose all expectations of "Fame" and focus more on your relationship with your audience. You have to be ready to strip to your essence. It's also pretty important to have a disciplined style both on the guitar and your voice and complete sincerity in your words.
... I could have said "Guitar" ... That would have been funny...
Isaac: How do you handle people in the music industry who promise you things but do not deliver?
Svavar: I write their name in my little black book of people not to trust in the future, move on to the next person and don't dwell on it. Getting angry or disappointed at people that have no personal connection to you is futile and a waste of energy.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Svavar: One cover? I love covers! I love to take songs by Beyonce or 80's songs or 90's techno and turning them into acoustic guitar versions. One of my favorites has always been” No One Knows” by Queens of the stone age. I slowed it down to a folk-bluesy ballad, but then gradually increased the intensity until in the end it's as fast and eager as the original. That was fun. Also, I have a very special take on Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, that usually upsets some Jeff Buckley fans...
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Svavar: Complicated question. Good is such a loaded word. In my opinion good equals true, but some people think good means successful. Let's stick to my version. In my opinion, a good songwriter is dedicated to truth. Your words have to ring true. You have to be dedicated to bleed. It's good to have a sense of humor about life too. And also, you have to find something that's unique to you. And it's not enough to be a half-troll from Iceland. You have to have stories and a vision and a message to your audience.
Amazing hair doesn't hurt either...
Isaac: I am bald shaven so I would know about that one :D.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Svavar: Well... It's been easier since I quit my day job and became a full time musician. But it's hard on the family. I have to set aside chunks of time, like days or weeks for my daughter, because sometimes I won't see her for months. But sometimes I bring her along for a tour and that's amazing, my favorite time. Music also makes it difficult to maintain your relationships with your friends outside the music world, as you are always somehow involved in something, so again, you just have to set aside time for your friends and family. It's very taxing, now that the income is completely reliant on my musical success, but it's also a great incentive to work harder.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Svavar: Wow! I guess the idea of independence from a lot of factors must be a major player in that. Independence from the money making PR machine that tries to squeeze artists into some kind of "lowest common denominator" mold. This idea that an artist always has to fit into a niche and also to appeal to certain demographics. People are always trying to categorize everything. And I'm sad to say that the Indie world is just as guilty as everyone else. Indie has in a way become an establishment, no less beauty and surface oriented than the "mainstream machine" it criticizes.
For me the true measure of being independent is not letting anything but yourself influence who you are, what kind of music you write, how you look and what you say, not your fans, not your manager, not your label, no one.
I think truly independent musicians always float up to the top like cream and beneath them; there is always the hordes of pretenders.
Svavar: Fucking fantastic! Life just keeps getting better my friends and it's wonderful already!
Or a meteor will strike earth and we will all die. Either way...
.
Whoa... just a thought... have you ever just considered if meteor was actually spelled meateor? Whoa...
