Edward Hancox's Blog, page 12

Nordicana 2014

I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing copies of Iceland, Defrosted at Nordicana this Sunday.

Nordicana is the UK’s only festival to combine Nordic crime & thriller film & fiction, a genre that exploded after the release of Stieg Larsson’s The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) books and films, and the hugely popular BBC FOUR aired TV series, The Killing, Wallander, Borgen & The Bridge.

Now in its second year, Nordicana embodies everything that we have come to love about Nordic culture, including the food and drink, fashion, interior design, furnishings and even the music!

Nordicana takes place on;

February 1st & 2nd

Doors open at 9.30am on Saturday and 10am Sunday

The Old Truman Brewery

Ely’s Yard

15 Hanbury Street (Off Brick Lane)

E1 6QL

Watch Hafdís Huld’s new video:

I’m currently in love with the video for Hafdís Huld’s Queen Bee. It’s really krútt as the Icelanders would say, but I really love the Icelandic map that appears in the open book about halfway through, complete with exploding volcanoes, Reykjavik landmarks and a gushing Geysir.

Have a look for yourself;

Lay Low: Talking About The Weather

Lay Low is singer/songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir. She has a distinctive, rich voice, and a penchant for blues or country style music. It’s this combination that makes her music stand out from the crowd.

She has just returned to the scene with her latest album Talking About The Weather, a wonderful album which plays to her strengths. The album opener is a slinky, sexy song, banishing all previous accusations of Lay Low being just another acoustic singer/songwriter. Other songs have a deep south feel to them replete with twanging guitars. The whole package sounds fresh, and just skips along like walking through autumn leaves. She is quickly becoming of Iceland’s finest artists.

You new album is called Talking About The Weather. Where did that title come from?

It started off as just a title of one of the tracks. But then after looking at the ready album and the lyrics it kind of just fitted perfectly as a reference to the theme of the album.

Who are more obsessed with the weather – the English or Icelanders?

I would have to say Icelanders… but I know that the English talk a lot about the weather as well. But my weather obsession has come to new heights after I bought and old farmhouse and move back to the countryside. My morning coffee internet browsing has turned its way to all the weather and road condition websites. l

What’s your top tip for coping with Iceland’s ever-changing weather?

Don’t count on anything! Just be ready for everything.. sun, rain, snow, frost…



How would you describe Talking About The Weather? Have you changed anything this time around?

This is the first time that I recorded and produced the album myself. I’ve had great lessons from previous co-workers and wanted to have a try at doing this one by myself. I learned a lot! But at the same time gained some very necessary self-confidence for future music making.

Talking About The Weather is in English. How do you decide whether to use English or Icelandic in your songwriting?

I have to make a decision each time I start. Last time I did an Icelandic album, using poems I borrowed from women writers. This time a wanted to write them myself and English got picked as the language. I’m a bit slower in writing lyrics in Icelandic. hopefully in some years I’ll be able to collect enough songs to have a whole album in Icelandic.

I know you are bilingual. Do you ‘think’ in Icelandic or English?

I think in Icelandic…. but when I’ve spent a long time away from Iceland or Icelanders I tend to slip to the English thinking, but it doesn’t really feel normal to me.

Will you be touring your new album in Iceland and Europe?

I did a little tour in Iceland in December which was a lot of fun. Now we’re just looking at plans and seeing what the stars have set up for me. Hope to be around a lot, I’m a wanderer.



Please don’t play Fríkirkjan again without checking with me first. I was very sorry not to be able to see you perform in such a special place. How was it?

It was amazing, like you know, Fríkirkjan is magic. I always love playing there. This was my 4th release concert there. Great to see the changes in my music, and in me between the years. The first year I was so nervous that I kind of blacked out the whole concert. This time was much more relaxed and I was able to enjoy myself… about time!

Originally published on Iceland Review Online.

Book Review: The Haunting of Reykjavík

This is clearly an attempt at giving the old fashioned collection of ghost stories a new twist. It has the requisite spooky artwork; grasping hands looming out of focus, shadowy figures and atmospheric landscapes. Oh, and a cappuccino with a skull imprinted in its froth. No, really.

I was really looking forward to this book by Steinar Bragi. I’ve heard a few Icelandic ghost stories in my time, and unlike the ones I’m used to in the U.K., they are often more intricate and sinister. Not so here. There are a few good yarns, but others are so half-hearted that they leave the reader feeling as if this book was a struggle to fill.

Móakotslind Spring is included, for example, for being the source of an outbreak of typhoid fever in 1906 resulting in 98 residents dying as a result. There is no ‘haunting’ here, just a tragic tale that does not deserve to so glibly included amongst such tall tales.

Then there is a mawkish tale of a horse being butchered for meat, and then subsequently turning up in the purchasers dreams. I mean, is that all you’ve got?

Other stories seem more authentic, but would have perhaps been better left in the caring hands of the families to whom they belong, rather than being brought out kicking and screaming into the daylight in this book.

All in all, this feels like the old standard ‘all filler, no killer’ that reviewers used to use for rock albums. It is especially apt here.

2/5

Originally published on Iceland Review online.

ATP Iceland

I can’t wait for this!

Takk 2013!

2013 was a crazy year for me, especially in light of the release of my debut book, Iceland, Defrosted. It is just over a year since I launched the Kickstarter campaign to publish Iceland, Defrosted. As you know, things have taken off somewhat since then.

Not wanting to ‘blow my own trumpet,’ Iceland, Defrosted has been so much more successful than I ever imagined. I don’t consider myself to be an author, so I’m amazed that anyone reads it at all. But they have, and continue to do so. Iceland, Defrosted is constantly at the top of the Amazon Bestseller lists for books about Iceland, and at one point, its ebook version was racing Karl Pilkington and Bill Bryson up the charts.

By January, it’s cover had been designed, and shortly afterwards, the final drafts were off to my editor. They arrived back brutally, but essentially butchered. I took solace in seeing Sigur Rós play live near my home town, before throwing myself back into the fray.

It must have worked, as the reviews have been outstanding, with National Geographic, Wanderlust, Iceland Review (have you heard of them?!) and others showing substantial praise. The Amazon & Goodreads reviews have also been brilliant, no doubt aided by my loyal Kickstarter backers and Daily Life readers.

Launches in the summer were like a whirlwind—London with its packed out crowd baking in the heat, the mis-timed Reykjavík event (the whole city had gone to their summerhouses in the country) and the busy Shropshire evening with so many familiar faces. In London, Axel Nikulásson, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, to give him his full title, started proceedings with a rousing and exceedingly kind speech and even called me an “Icelander in training.” The very talented ÍRIS played at both London and Reykjavík launches—I was truly lucky to have her support.

In August, I managed to interview Brynjar and Nanna from Of Monsters and Men, before catching their performance. I’ve been a fan of the band from the start, and it was a real pleasure to hand them a copy of Iceland, Defrosted. I just hope they enjoyed it. The best performance of the year, in my humble opinion, had to be Pascal Pinon in a wonderful church in Grundarfjörður, which completely blew me away.

I’ve made new friends in the process, in real-life and online. I get lovely emails from other Iceland fans on a frequent basis, and these really make me smile. The photo competition was a success with (crazy?) people sending photos of Iceland, Defrosted from all over the globe. I was asked to provide some advice for a magazine ‘Ask the Experts’ section—how bizarre is that? I’m not an expert on anything!

Anyway, enough waffle.

Things are still ticking over too. I have some reading/signing events in January and February (eek! nervous!), my usual columns with Iceland Review, and a possibility of having Iceland, Defrosted published in both German and Icelandic. After that? I guess I should settle down and write that difficult second book.

Upcoming Author Events:

Shropshire Libraries is delighted to welcome author Ed Hancox to speak in two of our libraries, on Friday 7 February 2014, which is the day before National Libraries Day (8 February).

Ed will be at Shrewsbury Library at 2.30pm on Friday 7 February, and Bridgnorth Library at 7pm the same evening.

This will be a fascinating talk by the author of “Iceland, Defrosted”, which concentrates on the places, people and experiences found in Iceland, soundtracked by the coolest Icelandic musicians, all wrapped up in the warmest lopapeysa (an Icelandic sweater), and jump-started with the strongest coffee.

Iceland, Defrosted is less about ‘wars’ over codfish, flight-halting volcanoes or globe-shattering financiers, and more about relaxing in natural hotpots, sharing barbeques in howling winter storms, eating waffles and rhubarb jam whilst watching playful Arctic foxes and desperately, desperately searching for the elusive Northern Lights.

Ed will describe not only his travels, but the journey of writing and subsequently crowd-funding a book which is quite clearly not the next “50 Shades of Grey”. A warning though: this event contains scenes of outstanding natural beauty, and several thousand puffins.

Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, libraries and culture, said:

“National Libraries Day is a culmination of a week’s worth of celebrations in Shropshire’s libraries, and throughout the country. I am delighted Ed is coming to Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth to talk about his inspiring book concerning a wonderful country, which isn’t as far away as we might think. I encourage everyone to book a ticket to these events.”

To book £3 tickets for Shrewsbury Library, call 01743 255308 or email shrewsbury.library@shropshire.gov.uk.

To book £3 tickets for Bridgnorth Library, call 01746 763358 or email bridgnorth.library@shropshire.gov.uk.

New Hafdís Huld

Hafdís is back with a new song ‘Queen Bee‘, which is rather lovely and sweet, and the promise of a new album and tour in the spring.

I love Hafdís’ music, but her live shows are even better, with her quirky character bubbling over on stage, with stories of farmers, dogs and pink houses punctuating the songs.

Hafdís kindly agreed to be interviewed for Iceland, Defrosted and features in the book.

Review: The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

I’m not a huge fan of Ben Stiller, let me start by saying that. Tropic Thunder left me cold, and Meet The Fockers (both films) tested my patience. The only film I’ve ever enjoyed him in is the superb The Royal Tennenbaums, where he flourished under the direction of Wes Anderson.

It may seem strange then, that I’ve chosen to see The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, which both stars and was directed by, Ben Stiller. Essentially a remake of a film that itself was a remake of a 1939 book, this version of Walter Mitty has something else. Iceland.

The story goes something like this; Walter is a day dreamer who has been nowhere and done nothing. Prone to frequent flights of fantasy, his job at ‘Life’ magazine in New York City is at risk following a take over. Walter is entrusted with the negative image for the final magazine cover. It promptly goes missing, Walter takes it on himself to find the photographer, and therefore the image. At the same time Walter is being inspired by / trying to impress Cheryl, played by Kristen Wiig.

His travels to locate the errant photographer (who is conveniently adverse to both phones and email usage) take him to Greenland, Iceland and the lower Himalayas. During these travels Walter sheds his old life, via adventures such as wrestling a shark, avoiding a volcanic eruption, and photographing a snow leopard.

Iceland features prominently throughout the film, featuring as itself, Greenland and even Afghanistan. There is some slight of hand involved here, which could be disconcerting if it wasn’t so damn beautiful. Stykkishólmur is the setting for the Greenlandic scenes, except when Höfn stands in for Nuuk airport, whilst – I could be wrong, here, and I’m sure an Icelander will correct me -Seyðisfjörður seems to have doubled for Stykkishólmur itself in some scenes. Confused? Wait until Skógafoss and Vatnajökull appear to have been transplanted into the Himalayas, or even that Eyjafjallajökull seems to have moved on the map.

Maybe I’m being pedantic here. Iceland looks truly wonderful throughout. Stiller should surely have been paid handsomely by the Icelandic tourist board for just the shot of him skateboarding past the gorgeous Kirkjufell alone.

There are a few amusing moments in Iceland too; cue an Icelander trying to teach Walter to say ‘Eyjafjallajökull’, the two Icelandic kids on the forecourt confusing him with rapid fire Icelandic, or the discovery of a US pizza chain in rural Iceland. If that wasn’t enough of Iceland for you, don’t worry, the film has liberal dollops of ‘Dirty Paws’ from Of Monsters and Men all over its soundtrack and trailers.

In conclusion then, Walter Mitty doesn’t have the strongest story line, but this is more than made up for by the inclusion of copious scenes of Icelandic scenery. It’s fine as a post-Christmas, feel good film that doesn’t necessarily test you in your too-much-turkey-and-chocolate haze.

In the end, of course, Walter wins the heart of Cheryl. One of their long distance calls between New York and Iceland sums things up.

‘Is it nice?’ Cheryl says.

‘Its really………..beautiful’ Walter replies.

New Year’s with ÍRIS

ÍRiS has had a hell of a year, she’d tell you. 2013 passed in a whirlwind for her. Not least, she released her debut album, Penumbra, following a successful spell on new Icelandic crowd-funding website Karolina Fund.

Penumbra found an appreciative audience, with its piano driven tunes providing suitable foil for ÍRiS’ goosebump-enducing, yet elegant voice. Concerts in Berlin, London and Reykjavík, including the obligatory Airwaves shows were welcomed by her growing audience with open arms.

But what I really wanted to know is what happens in Iceland over the New Year, and what plans ÍRiS has for 2014.

New Year’s Eve is a big deal in Iceland. It’s kind of the big party after the more family orientated Christmas. Why do you think this is?

It can be quite over the top actually; fireworks for millions and millions of Icelandic króna blown up from backyards as far as the eye can see. It still makes me smile like a kid every year by the way; there is nothing like it. And even after the big economic fall down in 2008, people still fired up their money as usual. Perhaps a mindset drawn from people’s new gained positivism for the year to come and a wanting to forget yourself in the moment. Call it a theory. The firework display is a good indicator of the night’s upcoming mayhem. I am quite sure that there is a Guinness World Record in place when it comes to the amount of money spent on flash powder per capita for this one night of the year.

A lot of the sale revenue does however go to the search and rescue squads of Iceland (Björgunarsveitir). The ones you really want to have the means to come a save you, if you find yourself taking the wrong turn in the highlands without a compass, or stranded at the top of our beloved Esja (Reykjavík’s landmark mountain). So this excessive money spending for what becomes smoke at midnight can be rationalized somewhat, because it is all for a good cause.

What do you have planned for your New Year’s Eve?

I learned in my studies that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Although I do agree in many cases, I have decided to take my chances and not organize anything, until last minute. Aiming for the unknown perhaps, but in my experience the best evenings are when everything is open and most importantly, the expectations are not over the roof. Free flowing into 2014 sounds pretty good to me.

What would your recommendations be for visitors to Iceland over Christmas and the New Year?

For Christmas, I’d say enjoy the lights in the dark, wine and dine, preferably some local dishes such as hangikjöt (smoked lamb). The midnight firework mayhem at New Year’s Eve is one event that should not be missed. Actually you really can’t miss it, unless you find yourself a safe haven in an underground shelter. But fear not, it may look crazy but that is the fun part, I assure you. A good place to be is at Hallgrímskirkja church for the extravaganza. Or even better at a roof top or simply as high as you can get. If you can find a panoramic view you are good to go. Then perhaps try to land in a good celebration and “paint the town red” (as we say in Icelandic, with the best of intentions).

How was 2013 for you?

Definitely one of the busiest years so far, but also the one of the most memorable. While multitasking at full speed, releasing my debut album Penumbra, finding a new home, making a living and studying again, I have found myself in a rather amusing turmoil. I cannot wait to see what 2014 has in store. Whatever I get myself into, I will likely go all in, like usual.

Your album has been called one of the best Icelandic albums of 2013, not just by me. How do you feel about this?

Overjoyed, really. It is a very pleasant feeling to see a project you’ve invested so much of you time and energy in, finally gaining this positive attention. The process of releasing this album turned out to be way more mind boggling and multilayered that I originally thought when I was setting my sights on the studio. But I’m definitely pleased to have been persistent enough to release it, especially when the welcome committee is so motivating!

What are your plans for 2014?

Well, for one: continue the follow up of Penumbra, since the album was released only late this year. Also, I will be recording new material, and hopefully I’ll find new delightful dilemmas to keep me occupied until I take part in the next firework frenzy.

Originally published on Iceland Review Online.

Photo © Nanna Dís

For more details on ÍRIS please go to her website.