Hrotur are, as near as I can tell, Konrad Groen and Mateusz Weremczuk. The duo are based in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the only project I can find either of them tied to is, interestingly enough, Groen’s credit on Omniups’ All Around The Universe, on which he played… wait for it… didgeridoo.
Classifying Hringvegur is a bit tricky. Even the artists’ own tags on Bandcamp are varied – doom metal, drone doom, noise… and Discogs even adds dungeon synth to the mix. Drone is apt, the sonic density of “H1” coursing slowly and thickly like a rising tide of molasses. Yes it undulates, but almost in slow motion. Knowing that Groen plays the didgeridoo actually makes a lot of sense once you hear this track; you can feel the vibrations emerging from the instrument, almost imperceptible changes to breathing causing it to rise and fall. “H2” introduces more of the noise element, a buzzing like static in the back of your mind causing your sanity to fray and come apart at the seams. “H3” brings more electronics to the table, moving things into a dystopian sci-fi realm, a sort of retro-futurist soundtrack.
The B side of the cassette gives us two more tracks, and I’m intrigued by Hrotur’s ability to inject subtle changes into each track. To my ears each is part of a progression, maintaining the base established in “H1” and layering on new elements. “H4” continues this evolution, the electronics adding moving even further to the forefront, the sensation of an unraveling mind growing and expanding, threatening to swallow my entire consciousness. The dystopian vision is more dangerous here, more immediate, more incessant. So what about the closer, “H5”? Well, “H4” may have been the breaking point, which means “H5” is the new “normal”, the new baseline, the new way of interacting with the world:
Maximillian Cohen: It was given to me. It’s inside of me. It’s changing me.
Rabbi Cohen: It’s killing you, because you are not ready to receive it.1
You can check out Hringvegur on the Hrotur Bandcamp page HERE, as well as buy the limited edition (of 30 copies) cassette.
- From the movie Pi. ↩︎