Matthías interview on quitting Hatari - translation
Some sad news in Fréttablaðið today. The tl;dr is that Matthías is quitting the band to focus on being a father, but this is not necessarily the end of the band. Translation below the cut.
Matti quitting Hatari - trading in the leather suit for a dad sweater
[Image caption: Matthías holds his daughter Sóley on the photo on the right. He says the high point of his week is to see her dressed in this cute strawberry outfit.]
Musician, playwright and copywriter Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson has decided to leave the band Hatari which he has worked with for the past few years. He aims to concentrate on being a father but says it's impossible to quell his creative spark.
"I basically realized when I became a professional singer that I get no real joy out of singing for people," says Matthías, who recently became a father. He says the fatherhood role has changed how he prioritizes his life.
"When you have a child you start to prioritize and you just have to do what you want to do," he says. Matthías currently works as a copywriter at advertising agency Brandenburg.
"Being a father in a 9-to-5 job is my primary objective right now. Of course, writing is never too far away. I've got a movie script churning away and another theater translation as well," says Matthías, who says it was a surprise that he'd ended up as the frontman of a popular band.
"It wasn't really ever the plan to become a singer. But of course Hatari was a fantastic idea and this doesn't necessarily mean the band is breaking up," says Matthías, who says the members of the band understood his decision and Hatari's fans won't have to despair, as the band will continue.
"It's a rollercoaster that has taken me places I never imagined a person could go."
The performance took on a life of its own
Hatari has for a long time been a name nationally known by both children and adults, especially after the band represented Iceland in Eurovision, which brought them international fame.
The band, which could be classified both as a traditional band and as performance art, quickly became known for its live staging and cool costumes. Matthías says the idea of the band took on a life of its own early on.
"It was performance art that kind of lived its own independent life and went faster than anyone could imagine or control. It just happened and took on a life of its own. It seems to have just been in the right place at the right time."
Diverse influences
The band originated with Matthías and Klemens Hannigan, who also sings in the band.
"It was really Klemens who was the reason we started doing anything to begin with. He sort of ordered me to scream something into the microphone the day we got bored of playing Civilization at his house," says Matthías, but also that he was writing a lot of poetry at the time, much of which made its way into the band's songs as lyrics.
"I was writing a lot of poetry at that time, and I was in a group of young poets that were a great inspiration to me. But also the band Laibach was always behind the ear," says Matthías. That band has been widely influential across a diverse flora of bands in the so-called "industrial" genre; among others, it was a great influence on the band HAM in its time.
Wanted to deceive the audience
Another thing that directed Hatari's creativity was their goal to deceive and defy the expectations of their audience, which was an effort to refuse to let the band be pinned down as one thing and gave them a lot of creative freedom.
"We were always trying, secretly and openly, to defy the audience's expectations. When we'd been stamped as a satellite of the heavy metal scene in Iceland, we went and cut off the long hair," says Matthías. Of course, this was also part of the band's role when it participated in Eurovision.
"The audience's expectations for Eurovision are of course as they are, and we perhaps don't exactly fit like a glove there," he says.
The warm blanket of late capitalism
Matthías has worked a wide variety of jobs over the years, both as a playwright, dramaturge and lyricist, but he also recently applied for a job as the programming director of Rás 1 [Channel 1 of the Icelandic state radio broadcaster].
"It's a radio station I have a great affinity and affection for, and I've previously made a radio series called Allir deyja [Everyone Dies]," says Matthías, who first got involved with radio as a news reporter.
"I've been a host at RÚV, but I first got involved with it through the newsroom when I was a news reporter. But I have strong feelings about the cultural role that the state broadcaster serves," he says.
When asked if it's hard to satisfy his desire to create in a traditional job, he says it is complicated but inspiration can be found in many places.
"The desire to create doesn't go anywhere, and I'm reading stuff in the evening after the girl's asleep and taking Fridays off and finding little chances where I can to work on scripts and translations and other things. The playwright and screenwriter doesn't die so easily," says Matthías, who also finds inspiration in his current job. "There's also creativity in writing advertisements for random companies. It's more fun than you might think, and especially in good company like I have at Brandenburg," he says.
When asked if the frontman of the anti-capitalistic band Hatari has now fallen for good for the ideology of libertarianism and market forces, he says so.
"I'm heading into the warm blanket of late capitalism," says Matthías who looks forward to experiencing its comforts. "All I crave now is safety, stability and disposable income to take vacations. Those are all ideas that were very alien to me less than a year ago. The rhythm of my life has taken kind of a U-turn, and I don't feel like taking weeks to rock and roll abroad fits into that new rhythm. But it was a fascinating experience to do it when I did."
Matthías was a guest on the afternoon radio at Útvarp Saga, where they gave away tickets to the Gamla bíó concert on Friday. The giveaway went on to have multiple plot twists. Please read this, it's an hour long and took a ridiculously long time to translate even with a lot of summarizing and it's some excellent Hatari trolling of a kind we haven't quite seen since Eurovision.
The show opens with "Biðröð mistaka". The host introduces the song, Hatari and Matthías, and explains that they'll be playing a concert on Friday (July 2nd) and will be giving some lucky listeners tickets to the concert and listen to some more of their songs.
The host welcomes him, and he thanks her for a good introduction. She names the other members of the band and mentions that she was expecting Klemens too; Matthías explains that he was going to be there, but said he was feeling ill. She asks if he's been vaccinated, and Matthías says he's pretty sure he has, but in these trying times it's best to not take any chances.
She asks if they've been mostly laying low during the pandemic. Matthías says they have - there was the streamed Airwaves concert, but they don't think that's quite the same thing, so really this is their first proper concert in a year and a half. He talks about how they'd been in the middle of arranging a tour in Europe, and it'd gotten delayed, and then delayed again.
The host asks where they were supposed to be going, noting that they've become known abroad. Matthías says Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, "and more", but it'll be next summer.
She talks about how this has been a big disruption for musicians, who've made all kinds of plans and even sold tickets. Matthías agrees, and adds that the same happened with Borgarleikhúsið, the theater where he's working as a playwright - that meetings started to be about what to delay or cancel altogether, instead of what new and exciting projects they could take on. Everything got delayed indefinitely and it's been pretty depressing. But, he says, they've been doing a bunch of stuff, and it can be good to get a bit of distance and time for other things.
The host says they got a lot of attention with their Eurovision participation, not least for their costumes - that they were compared to Lordi. But also, that Wikipedia quotes them as saying the band's themes include death, the overhaul of human society, the inherent pretense of human existence, consumer society, and the end of the world. What does he have to say about that?
MATTHÍAS: These are just some light, fun topics that we want to tackle to bring joy to listeners. Everyone has their own interpretation of it, of course. It's born as part of this project, these themes and this sound and this visual aspect that you also mention. It happens as part of a conversation, and for a time it was just growing and growing in directions we couldn't even foresee, and just becomes a self-perpetuating machine that goes where it wants to go. And that's what Hatari has kind of been. But the songs are of course expressing a kind of frustration, and each person can connect to that in their own way.
HOST: But how about this, both death and the overhaul of human society. Are you calling for a revolution?
MATTHÍAS: Well, revolution can mean a lot of things. Revolution can happen in the listener's personal life, or in some position that we take as a society. Take environmentalism, or the way we treat to one another, or of course the new constitution, although I wasn't going to go into that too much today.
HOST: No, that's not quite on the agenda.
MATTHÍAS: But you can interpret all our songs with respect to the new constitution.
The host asks about the pretense of human existence part, whether society is fake.
MATTHÍAS: Nah, society isn't fake. But we are always playing a certain role. We are always putting on a kind of performance. Just the two of us in this interview are playing certain roles. To dive beneath the mask and see what lies beneath it is perhaps one of Hatari's goals, and perhaps there's some more Hatari-like world under that mask, under the performance that we put on for each other.
The host reminds listeners of the number to call into the show to get tickets, and says she's going to play a song called "Niðurlút", and asks Matthías about it.
MATTHÍAS: This song is one of our calmer, more sincere songs, really a bit of a love song. It was GDRN ("Guðrún?" "Yeah, Guðrún") who lent us her voice for this song on the album.
They play the song, and the host again explains about the concert and that some lucky listeners will get free tickets. They get the first caller, an older man named Stefán, who would love to get lucky, having never called in for something like this before (although he relates a story of winning on a slot machine once). He says he was thrilled with Hatari in Israel, that it wasn't the usual dull nonsense, and Matthías says that's good to hear. However, he would mainly like the concert tickets for his daughter and granddaughter - it'd be nice to come along, but that might be asking too much. The host throws him over to talk to Matthías.
MATTHÍAS: Stefán, I guess I have to be the one to explain that this giveaway has some conditions attached. By the instructions of our publisher, anyone who calls in for a ticket must resign from their job. If you resign, then you get a ticket. Is that something you'd be willing to do?
STEFÁN: That's kind of impossible for me because I will be 77 years old this year, but I am a painter. I can give you a painting one of these days.
MATTHÍAS: Ah, this is an unforeseen circumstance that I don't have exact instructions for. I suppose we must put you on a list. You will get two tickets in your name - I will put you on a list. What's your name?
They note down his name and date of birth, in 1944. The host notes that he's a "child of the republic" (Iceland became a republic in 1944) who wants Hatari tickets. Stefán says Matthías should listen to the show that was on earlier ("You could've puked listening to it," he says), which he says he will. Matthías says again that since it was his mistake to not make clear the conditions ahead of time, in these unforeseen circumstances he must get the tickets, and he hopes he enjoys the show and that they think about the themes they've been discussing.
After Stefán hangs up, Matthías says again that they really should have clarified the conditions, and for the next person they're really going to need assurance that they're quitting their job, because he's not sure if he was even allowed to give away those tickets, though he and the host agree that Stefán deserved them. "And I'm not about to ask the guy to stop being an artist. That's a bit too much."
The host says she had no idea about these conditions, and Matthías says that's totally his fault and it's mandated by Relentless Scam Inc. ("It's called Relentless Scam?" "Yes, that's the publisher.")
The host reiterates the conditions before putting on "Hatrið mun sigra".
After the song, she confronts Matthías about how it's a bit steep to require people to quit their jobs to get a ticket.
MATTHÍAS: Yes, I understand that that's not always easy, but these are the conditions set for these free tickets. We made an exception for a previous listener, but while "Hatrið mun sigra" was playing, I was informed that I cannot make further exceptions. The next person who calls must resign from their job, and must assure us that they are truly resigning to get the tickets.
The host asks about how during their trip to Tel Aviv, there was a film being made, and apparently confusedly thinks Iceland Music News made the film.
MATTHÍAS: Well - Iceland Music News - the film is one thing, it was directed by Anna Hildur and it was called A Song Called Hate, or "Lagið um hatrið" ("The Song About Hate"). It's been soaring ever since, and is just a wonderful documentary on this journey and asks questions about the role of artists in this complicated world. On the other hand, Iceland Music News was a media organization founded around the Eurovision journey, and it published short videos, one per day while we were abroad, I think it's twenty videos or something.
HOST: And people could follow you?
MATTHÍAS: Yeah, and it's all on YouTube.
HOST: So that's icelandmusicnews.com, then?
MATTHÍAS: Yeah, and just Iceland Music News on YouTube, brought to you by the media organization's sponsors, for which we are grateful.
They have another listener on the line, who says he's at work at that very moment. His name is Haukur. He would very much like these tickets and says he's a great fan of Hatari and it would make him very happy.
HOST: Right. But you know that there are certain conditions. I'll let Matthías explain this to you.
MATTHÍAS: Yes, Haukur, I don't know if you were listening earlier. We're talking about an overhaul of human society, capitalism and more, and I've been told by our publisher that whoever receives these tickets must resign from their job, whatever it is. You say you're at work. Where are you? Where do you work?
HAUKUR: Well, I knew about these conditions, and I'm calling here, talking a bit quietly because I'm shaking on my feet, because I'm genuinely considering quitting my job. This just means that I need to have you on the phone to verify that I'm quitting my job.
MATTHÍAS: That would be best.
HAUKUR: I just need to close the laptop I'm sitting by and I need to stand up from my desk and get into the department head's office.
HOST: Where are you working?
HAUKUR: I'm working at Sjóvá insurance.
HOST: What?
HAUKUR: What I need to do, I just need your support, I'm just going to -- presumably you need to get some kind of proof.
MATTHÍAS: Yes, Haukur, we're with you, we're with you in spirit, and you can have us on the phone, by all means.
HAUKUR: Okay. I'm just going to close the laptop. I'm doing it reluctantly but...
MATTHÍAS: You're getting these tickets if you do this. No question. You can have three tickets.
HOST: How long have you been working at Sjóvá?
HAUKUR (whispering): I've been -- I've been here for four years.
HOST: And you're not happy, or?
HAUKUR: And I'm -- well, there are multiple sides to that, but I'm not quite safe to talk about that in detail in the environment I'm in right now. I've just closed the laptop and I'm just going to stand up and I'm just going to do this.
HOST: But Haukur, you know what this means for you, you're losing your job if you do this.
HAUKUR: Yes, but I've thought about this, and I'm a man who -- I'm usually pretty slow to put my thoughts into words, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been considering resigning from this company for a while.
HOST: And you're just going to get Hatari tickets instead?
HAUKUR: Yes. I mean, that's a pretty good opportunity to grab, and combine my longing to quit my job and at the same time get tickets for a concert with this amazing band. I'm on my way and I'm just going to -- you can hear, maybe --
HOST: Yes.
MATTHÍAS: Yes. We're with you.
HOST: We need to hear your phone well.
HAUKUR: Sorry, yes. I'm here now, and -- [clatter] Oh, fucking hell. Sorry.
HOST: We need to hear your phone well.
HAUKUR: Hjördís?
HJÖRDÍS: Yes? Come in.
HAUKUR: Hey, Hjördís, uh, I was just going to...
HJÖRDÍS: I'm just going out and...
HAUKUR: I was just going to say that I've decided that I've made a decision to resign from my job, here.
HJÖRDÍS: You're resigning?
HAUKUR: Yes. I've made that decision.
HJÖRDÍS: Right. I mean, you're going to have to ask - because we did a status meeting this week and [?]
HAUKUR: No, it's just, I'm just doing this on my own terms and don't really want to get into it more deeply. I'm just coming here to announce this and leave it at that.
MATTHÍAS [quietly]: What.
HJÖRDÍS: Well, I'm sorry to hear that, I think our working relationship was going well, but then I'll just handle -- so you're quitting in September?
HAUKUR: No, I'm just quitting, now. I'm just going to walk out.
MATTHÍAS: He's just going to walk out.
HJÖRDÍS: You're just going to walk out?
HOST: Well... don't we need to talk to him?
HJÖRDÍS: I'm just -- I'm flabbergasted. We had a good talk this week --
HAUKUR: I'm actually on the phone. So I was just going to let you know --
HJÖRDÍS: You're on the phone?
HAUKUR: Yes. I'm on the phone. And I'm even -- Are you still there?
HOST: Shouldn't we talk to her?
MATTHÍAS: Haukur -- Haukur --
HAUKUR: Yes?
MATTHÍAS: That's great. We'll put you on --
HAUKUR: It's Matthías from Hatari.
HJÖRDÍS: It's Matthías from -- can you explain -- Haukur, you're not just walking out of --
HAUKUR: Yes, I am.
MATTHÍAS: Haukur, what's your full name?
HAUKUR: I'm just -- I'm just going to leave. I'm just --
[door slamming]
MATTHÍAS: Haukur.
HAUKUR: I'm just walking out. I'm out in the corridor.
HOST: Wait, don't just leave on bad terms. Explain it to --
MATTHÍAS: Haukur, what's your full name?
HJÖRDÍS: --in the middle of a conversation, it's disrespectful to our working relationship and to the company. You don't understand what's going on, and I think you should come in here and talk to me about it and we can finish this calmly.
HAUKUR: I'm sorry, Hjördís, I wasn't going to leave on bad terms, I just wanted to announce this quickly because I'm on the phone and I just needed to finish a phone call. But what's, how is it, can I get these tickets?
MATTHÍAS: Yes, Haukur, I'm putting you on a list, you'll get three tickets in your name. What's your full name?
HAUKUR: That's -- Matthías, can you --
HJÖRDÍS: What is going on. Have you lost your mind? Should I call your wife? Should I call an ambulance?
HAUKUR: No, no, no, no, hey --
MATTHÍAS: Well, you'll figure this out peacefully. I'll put three tickets on your name.
HAUKUR: I'll just say goodbye. No conflict! I'm saying goodbye to Hjördís, on good terms, and bye-bye, we're cool. What was that, do you need information?
HOST: But Haukur, does your wife know?
HAUKUR: My wife? I, uh...
HOST: I heard you said...
HAUKUR: No, I'll just go home to my wife and tell her about it.
MATTHÍAS: You can invite her to a Hatari concert, Haukur. What's your full name?
HAUKUR: It's Hauk-- can I send it to you by e-mail?
MATTHÍAS: Yeah, sure, you can do that.
HAUKUR: I don't like giving it on live radio.
MATTHÍAS: Yes, information. You can just send it to [email protected].
HAUKUR: Wait, hang on.
HOST: Capitalism?
MATTHÍAS: Capitalism.
HAUKUR: Wait, I need to get a pen, and I have to go back in to get a pen.
HOST: [sigh] Look...
HAUKUR: Hjördís, can I have a pen?
HJÖRDÍS: Can you have a pen? What the hell is wrong with you?
HAUKUR: I'm just going to write it into the phone. What was that, it's capitali-- capitalism?
MATTHÍAS: Capitalism, with a c, like in English.
HAUKUR: Can you spell it for me?
MATTHÍAS: Yes. C - A - P -
HAUKUR: C - A - P -
MATTHÍAS: I - T -
HAUKUR: I - T -
MATTHÍAS: A -
HAUKUR: A -
MATTHÍAS: L -
HAUKUR: L -
MATTHÍAS: I - S - M -
HJÖRDÍS: [?] is on the way.
HAUKUR: Hang on. Capitalis, and then what, m?
MATTHÍAS: Yes, capitalism.
HAUKUR: Like Magnús?
MATTHÍAS: M like in Magnús, at svikamylla dot is.
HAUKUR: Svikamylla.is.
MATTHÍAS: Haukur, you'll send us that information, and there'll be three tickets in your name, and I just...
HAUKUR: Thank you so much.
MATTHÍAS: You deserve praise for your anticapitalistic spirit, quitting your job for Hatari tickets. I know our publishers at Svikamylla will be thrilled to hear that.
HAUKUR: That makes me deeply happy and I -- viva Hatari!
MATTHÍAS: Thank you, Haukur.
HOST: Haukur, good luck.
HAUKUR: And viva Útvarp Saga.
HOST: Thank you for that. Thank you.
HAUKUR: So that's it. I'm feeling great.
MATTHÍAS: That's good. It's good to hear that.
HAUKUR: I feel great. I'm free. I feel like I've taken a 1000-kilogram backpack off my back and it's all thanks to you. I'm about to cry, I'm so grateful.
MATTHÍAS: That's good news. Have fun on Friday.
HAUKUR: Thank you so much.
HOST: Right, thank you.
HAUKUR: Goodbye.
HOST: Matthías. He--
MATTHÍAS: That -- that's how that went.
The host says they'll cut to commercials, explains the lines will be open and that people will have to quit their jobs to get their free tickets.
After the commercial break, she explains the conditions again and then:
HOST: This is a little -- Matthías Tryggvi, this is a little --
MATTHÍAS: It's bold. It's bold.
HOST: Is this just the policy of -- Is this one of the themes of the band?
MATTHÍAS: Well, I'll just say for myself, I just get certain orders when I come in here for an interview at Útvarp Saga. It's the publisher who insists on this. The publisher's goal, of course, we've said this publicly on numerous occasions, the publisher's goal is to destroy capitalism. So, like Haukur who quit Sjóvá, whether that's simply considered part of that plan, I can't say.
They get a new listener calling in, whose name is Ásdís. She is going to quit her job as a homemaker and make her husband do it instead. They speak to the husband too; they got engaged fifty years ago, and he thinks it's an exciting challenge. Matthías takes their word for it. The host asks if she's going to the Hatari concert, and if she's been following them. She says she has, and they're solid boys, and all of them. Matthías thanks her and acknowledges the dancers and everyone too. The host asks what Ásdís will do now that she won't be homemaking, and she says she'll go fishing and golfing.
HOST: Matthías, this must be something you weren't expecting.
MATTHÍAS: I don't know -- I don't know what I was imagining when I got these instructions, but this must be beyond expectations. The revolution has begun, at Útvarp Saga.
HOST: That's what you're singing about, it's the revolution. I get the feeling that's what's motivating you, an overhaul of human society.
MATTHÍAS: Yeah, that's one of the things we think about, among others.
That's all the tickets. They go over the winners again.
HOST: First it was Stefán Sigurðsson, painter.
MATTHÍAS: Yes. He got an exception because I couldn't ask him to quit painting, and it was an unforeseen circumstance, and additionally the conditions hadn't been made quite clear.
HOST: They hadn't been explained.
MATTHÍAS: That's on me. I'll just have to pay those tickets if the publisher refuses to put him on the list. Then we got a call from a Sjóvá employee.
HOST: Yes. That was pretty dramatic.
MATTHÍAS: That went how it went. I saw reason to give him three tickets, because it was, as you say. And then Ásdís quit her homemaking job, on live radio.
HOST: Yes. I thought that was great, to even think of it. We should have asked if we could follow up on how it's going, call her in half a year. Does the husband still live with her?
MATTHÍAS: Yeah. It is a huge amount of work.
HOST: Absolutely. It's a lot of work that has been underrated all the way up to today, though of course many things have changed to be a lot better. Are you diligent with cleaning at your place?
MATTHÍAS: Yeah, I've lived with housemates. There were five of us together in an apartment for a time. You had to keep a schedule with the cleaning and so on. I think I pulled my weight.
The host says she thinks it's good for young people to take a semester of the Homemakers' School, and Matthías agrees.
Finally the host asks if there are any new songs they'll be playing for the first time on Friday.
MATTHÍAS: Yes, it's fun to tell you that we're aiming to debut a song that's been in the works for a long time. It's called "Dansið eða deyið" and it's a kind of motivational song. We have performed a sort of prototype version of it a long time ago, but we've kind of revisited the song in all the lockdowns, and publishing it has been a long time coming. We're doing that this Friday.
The host says she's going to play another song, but Matthías cuts in to say that the tickets that were not given away during the show can be bought on tix.is, and that they'll be selling T-shirts at the show.
Finally, they play "X" as an outro.
Notes
As you may suspect, Haukur's call is a bit. Hjördís I'm quite sure is the voice of Dísa from Iceland Music News, and although I'm not 100% on Haukur I'm pretty sure he's probably Hákon. You may note the names share a certain similarity too. I'm not sure how much the host knew about how this would play out exactly here, or exactly how much of the conversation was scripted (did Matthías write the script?) versus improvised. The host sounds kind of legitimately surprised when he says he's working at Sjóvá (a genuine insurance company); I wonder if she had assumed he'd be supposedly quitting his job at Iceland Music News.
The bit where I translate Haukur as saying "Fucking hell" is originally "Andskotans djöfulsins", two different epithets for the devil, which is a common way to emphatically swear in Icelandic.
Dansið eða deyið (Dance or Die) - NEW transcript/translation
This is my best effort to transcribe and translate the new version of "Dansið eða deyið" played at the Gamla bíó concert yesterday. It's always harder to make out lyrics from concert footage; most of Matthías's lyrics are the same as the old version, but one line isn't and it's giving me some trouble, while Klemens has entirely different lyrics and while I have the gist I'm not 100% sure on all of them.
Icelandic transcript
MATTHÍAS:
Þrælar!
Gengilbeinur ræningja!
Tannlausu kjölturakkar!
Sníkjudýr brauðmylsna!
Blindingjar og aumingjar!
Neytendur og klámhundar!
Grindhoruðu betlarar!
Marklausu peð!
Leiksoppar hrægamma!
Úrhrök!
Sameinist, ómagar, bak í bak og dansið!
KLEMENS:
Í byrjun alls skal ég vera með þér
Áður en ég dey skal ég dansa með þér
þá skal ég dansa með þér
MATTHÍAS:
Varpið hulunni af hendi myrkrahöfðingjans!
Steypið af stóli þrælapískaranum og látið hann súpa eigið meðal!
(?) okið!
Sameinist, ómagar, og þrælið aldrei framar!
Bak í bak og dansið!
KLEMENS:
Í byrjun alls, má ég vera með þér?
Áður en ég dey skal ég dansa með þér
þá skal ég dansa með þér
Og deyja með þér, og deyja með þér
Saman hvert sem ég firrtur fer
Deyja með, öll (?) deyja með þér
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer
skal ég dansa með þér
MATTHÍAS:
Dansið
eða lútið oki kúgarans!
KLEMENS:
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer
MATTHÍAS:
Það er núna eða aldrei!
Dansið eða deyið!
KLEMENS:
Í byrjun alls, má ég vera með þér?
MATTHÍAS:
Dansið
eða lútið oki kúgarans!
KLEMENS:
Áður en ég dey skal ég dansa með þér
MATTHÍAS:
Það er núna eða aldrei!
KLEMENS:
Ég fer með þér, fer með þér
MATTHÍAS:
Dansið!
KLEMENS:
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer
skal ég dansa með þér
Transcription notes
From sound alone, the Matthías line I don't have sounds like "Setjið allt í okið!", or "Put everything into the oppression!", but that just doesn't make any sense, so I'm guessing it's something else but I can't guess what.
No idea on the Klemens bit I left as a question mark; it's just very unclear. Some of his lines aren't super clear to me even though I have written something that basically make sense; I'm not 100% on "Saman hvert sem ég firrtur fer", for instance. As usual, if you can hear something better or think I'm off somewhere, please contact me.
English translation
MATTHÍAS:
Slaves!
Servants of robbers!
Toothless lapdogs!
Parasites on breadcrumbs!
The blind and the pathetic!
Consumers and degenerates!
Emaciated beggars!
Meaningless pawns!
Puppets of vultures!
Wretches!
Unite, rejects, back to back and dance!
KLEMENS:
At the beginning of everything, I will be with you
Before I die, I will dance with you
I will dance with you
MATTHÍAS:
Unmask the hand of the dark lord!
Dethrone the slave-driver and give him a taste of his own medicine!
(?) the oppression!
Unite, rejects, and slave away no more!
Back to back and dance!
KLEMENS:
At the beginning of everything, may I be with you?
Before I die, I will dance with you
I will dance with you
And die with you, and die with you
Together wherever I go, deprived
Die with, all (?) die with you
Before I go, before I go
I will dance with you
MATTHÍAS:
Dance
or submit to the abuse of the oppressor!
KLEMENS:
Before I go, before I go
MATTHÍAS:
It's now or never!
Dance or die!
KLEMENS:
At the beginning of everything, may I be with you?
MATTHÍAS:
Dance
or submit to the abuse of the oppressor!
KLEMENS:
Before I die, I will dance with you
MATTHÍAS:
It's now or never!
KLEMENS:
I go with you, go with you
MATTHÍAS:
Dance!
KLEMENS:
Before I go, before I go
I will dance with you
Translation notes
Refer to the translation notes for the old version for Matthías's parts.
Klemens's "I will..."s are all skal ég, as opposed to mun ég, which would also translate to "I will". The difference is that mun ég just makes a plain statement that you will do something in the future, while the connotation of "skal ég" is, oddly, either "I resolve to..." (a declaration that you will ensure that you will do this) or "Sure, I will..." (implying that you're offering to do this for someone else). In this context, the connotation of his lines feels more like the latter - I'll stay and dance with you before I go, rather than Before I go I WILL have a dance with you.
Spillingardans and Klámstrákur as played at yesterday's concert in Gamla bíó.
The Spillingardans speech here goes:
[Við erum Hatari!
Við erum öll Hatari!]
Við erum þrælar og við erum drottnarar!
Við erum vörur og við erum neytendur!
Við erum öll óviljandi orsök óendanlegra hamfara!
Og við dönsum sama hamfaradansinn!
Spillingardans!
Translated:
[We are Hatari!
We are all Hatari!]
We are slaves and we are masters!
We are products and we are consumers!
We are all unwilling causes of unending disaster!
And we dance the same dance of disaster!
Spillingardans!
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