Entrevista : Agent Fresco

Voltamos à conversa com bandas da gélida Islândia, desta vez Agent Fresco. Já falei deles cá no blogue : são um quarteto muito jovem, formado em 2008, que se estreou com o EP "Lightbulb universe" no mesmo ano. A recepção foi brutal: a banda foi nomeada para vários premios ( Icelandic Music Awards ) lá na ilha, e, como eu acho que as coisas boas devem ser partilhadas por todos, achei que já era tempo de tirar a exclusividade à Islândia, no que toca à Agent Fresco. E sim, Vitor Bruno Pereira = Gerry Miroux, dai me tratarem por Gerry na entrevista.

Pereira - Please introduce yourself and describe what Agent Fresco is all about.

Agent Fresco - (Arnór) Good day to you Gerry! We are all together here at the rehearsal space and are happy to answer your questions! We are Arnor (Vocals) Borgþór (Bassist), Hrafnkell (Drums) and Þórarinn (Guitarist) and Agent Fresco is all about a passion for performing and expressing ourselves.

P- Agent Fresco is quite an original name for a band; its not easy to relate it to any musical genre. Where did you get the name?

(Arnór) I guess that you kind of answered the question by asking it. We just wanted a name that wouldn't really "stamp" us on any genre right away, cause we enjoy the freedom and luxury of surprising listeners and our own ears.
The name though will forever stay a secret, sorry! It's in my belief that the music shapes the name, so somehow, you really don't need to know more.

P- Your debut Ep, "Lightbulb Universe", had a great reception. Were you expecting to have your music recognized so quickly? (congrats on the "best new act" award, at the Icelandic Music Awards, by the way )

(Borgþór) We didn't really expect the process to be quite so fast but Iceland is a progressive market in music and I guess we did something right!

It is amazing how fast new acts can gain recognition in such a small market and we are probably a good example of such a group.

P- Can you tell us what are the concepts behind that album?

(Þórarinn) It's bridging the gap between the childish and the mature. I love playing with concepts that are naive and some of the ideas we use are stuff I wrote when I was very young.

(Arnór) yeah, and lyrically this EP came out like an opening and closing chapter for me personally. A lot of the focus lyrically and musically, as þorarinn put it, has been made for the instant ear and eye and the more, in lack of a better word, challenging ear and eye. The words in this EP cast a long shadow and there's definitely something for those who enjoy losing themselves reading the booklet.

P- Are already planning a follow up?

(Arnór) Yeah Buddy! (Þórarinn) Lightweight baby! (Hrafnkell) Yoyoyo! (Borgþór) Woooooo!

P- What can you tell us about it?

(Þórarinn) We would like it to be as soon as possible but we have no specific date. We are currently writing. Most of the songs have a specific concept musically, lyrically or a mixture between the two.

(Arnór) Not more than a month after the first release, we started thinking about themes and ideas for the album. It never leaves our minds. We're busy bees, that's the only thing we can say for now I guess.

P- What do you expect from the rest of 2009? Do you guys have any tours planned?

(Hrafnkell) We just got home from playing in Denmark and we're going to be working for Reykjav�k city all summer playing our jazz set, but we are planning something big in the fall! More to be announced later this summer on our myspace and facebook pages.

P- Icelandic music is well known for having some unique artists, with a singular sound and a unique approach. What do you think of it? Is it a good place for a band like yourselves to be ?

(Borgþór) The music scene is so small that no one can afford to be like everyone and still be successful. Our most visible artists (Bjork, Sigur ros) have very unique sounds and thus, their musical endeavors are all the more visible internationally.
Shows in Iceland are also incredibly diverse. We have bands such as ourselves playing alongside electro acts, hardcore, metal... Just about all the musical genres can be represented at a single show.
For us it is the perfect place to start but we hope that at the finishing line we'll have made our marks elsewhere as well.

(Keli) That was very well put, Boggi!

P- How about playing live, is it easy there? Are there a lot of venues?

(Hrafnkell) There is actually a shortage of venues in Reykjav�k, which is terrible, but because there is so many bands and such a vibrate culture, nearly every bar in Reykjav�k offers live music from all genres.

P- Talking about "Lightbulb Universe" . Your sound seems influenced by a lot of different genres of music; what inspires you, when writing a song?

(Þórarinn) We are all open to all kinds of music and our musical taste is completely without any prejudice. Most of my musical ideas actually come when I am not in front of an instrument. I then write them down in a notebook and convert them to the instruments later.

(Arnór) Regarding the melodies and lyrics, they pretty much show up right away, most of the time, don't know why, me and Þórarinn just click together. Call it, man love! And countless of nights are being used by writing a ton of ideas/thoughts, until something shines through, personal and universal enough to please me and the listener. But I'm extremely anal about sounds, words and thoughts, they all have to dance together in my mouth and slide through my throat, if not, the song won't get recorded.

P- I know that Arnór is from Denmark. How about the music scene there? Is any different from the Icelandic scene?

Well, I was born in Iceland, but moved when I was 5 years old and stayed in Denmark for almost 16 years, so I'm pretty much raised in DK and in love with the country.
The main difference, in my opinion, is the lack of import of live music in Iceland. It's so rare that foreign artists visit Iceland. That, of course, could be a positive aspect as well, for the Icelandic artists. They usually visit us for the excellent festival Iceland Airwaves and a few art and music festivals, but that happens very rarely.

P- What do you guys do, besides the band?

(Arnór) Well we all work for the Reykjav�k city right now, as Hrafnkell said earlier, and that lasts us out July. When this is done I'm back to the Naked Ape, printing and coloring stuff. (www.dontbenaked.com). The other guys are almost done with high school.

P- Is it easy for a band there, to live off music? Or is it only possible for big artists, like Sigur Rós and Björk?

(Borgþór) As I have said before, the market is really very small so it's not easy to make a living only by making and playing original music. Most of the money in Icelandic music is made by teaching and playing jazz or classical music.
Of course there are also some session gigs to be had but those are mostly reserved for older, more educated musicians.

P- What have you been reading, watching and listening lately?

(Borgþór) I've been reading some nerdy fantasy novel by Robin Hobb and also some manga. I watched a terrible sci-fi movie last night. It's called Star Crystal and was only remarkable for it's music, which was awesome. I've been listening to Bohren & der Club of Gore, Earth and Emiliana Torrini.

(Arnór) Oooookay, uhm, David Lynch owns my nights, I just bought THE DEFINITIVE GOLD BOX EDITION of Twin Peaks and I'm reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Caps lock is always needed, when talking about the great Lynch. LYNCH!!!

(Þórarinn) SUDOKU!!!

(Hrafnkell) I read minds.

P- When can we expect you guys to play here in Portugal?

(Arnór) I know of the Caos Emergente festival, but that's extreme metal as far as I remember, other festivals slip my mind, I'm afraid. ah just give us some money and we'll be there asap!

P-Thanks a lot for your time!

AF- Thank you for the interest!