re:mote voices

Title:Screaming Masterpiece [Gargandi snilld]
Cast: Sigur Rós, Björk, Múm, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, Bang Gang, Minus, The Sugarcubes, Apparat Organ Quartet, Slowblow, Ghostigital, Mugison, The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Nilfisk, Eivör Pálsdóttir, Quarashi
Director: Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon

Off Beat is a series of music documentaries that are playing in a variety of cinemas across the UK. The series started last week with Crossing The Bridge, an exploration of Turkish music. From Turkey we move to Iceland for Screaming Masterpiece - to be followed by Mixtape Inc (the role of the mixtape in American hip-hop) The Nostalgia of the Future (music from a particular region of Brazil).

Screaming Masterpiece uses the recent success of Icelandic bands like Mum and Sigur Ros, and of course the long term career of Björk, as a starting point. From there the intent is to explore the depths and variety of Iceland's music scene, which it does by staggering from live performance to performance, with some commentary along the way from the various artists.

As a documentary Screaming Masterpiece is perhaps a little light on real content. Similar to Crossing The Bridge, it meanders, seeming to switch from one scene to another with no logic being applied. However, there is some attempt to explain the Icelandic music scene:
1. Reykjavik is like a lot of musical cities, it is wet and grey, leaving little else to do but make music.
2. Iceland has/had such a small scene in terms of sales, that a lot of bands decided to do whatever the hell they wanted since they had no one to cater to.
3. Iceland gained independance in the 1940's and since then the generations that followed have gradually being trying to establish their own identity as a nation.
4. Iceland has an oral history, and part of the strength of the music is the strength of the language.

Without the guidance the likes of Alex Hacke provided to Crossing the Bridge, there are points of Screaming Masterpiece that seem very much for the sake of it, serving little clear point. The inclusion of a night at the president's house is provided without comment. There is a cameo by Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz, who appears to be standing drunk in the street, and manages to make absolutely no relevant contribution.

Of course the real reason that Albarn appears is his own contribution to Iceland, his collaborative soundtrack with Einar Orn Benediktsson (ex Sugar Cubes) for the film Reykjavik 101. Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson also crops up, the head Pagan for the country and probably more well known for his collaboration with Sigur Ros on the Angels Of The Universe soundtrack. Screaming Masterpiece is full of the Icelandic landscape, sweeping panoramas and remote villages - many of the landmarks being familiar from films like Reykjavik 101 and Angels of the Universe amongst others. Like some of the performances, the scenery is breath taking.

Regardless of anything else, Screaming Masterpiece is about the music. While there are some performances, like Minus and Nilfisk, that I could have done without, there are others which are really stunning. Mum appear with a music video for one of the tracks from Finally We Are no One and a collaboration with Slowblow. Sigur Ros provide a couple of pieces, which leave me with mixed feelings as always, though the piece with Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra is striking. Björk appears with All Is Full Of Love, a live performance mixed with footage from Chris Cunningham's video, later followed by Oceania - as infectious a performer as ever. Apparat are Kraftwerkian with their 4 organists and synthetic vocals, mixing in live drums for effect. The lush string and laptop sounds of Amina. There were points through the film where I literally wanted to jump to my feet and start to applaud.