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Name: Kristinn Smári Kristinsson
Nationality: Icelandic
Occupation: Guitarist, composer, producer
Recent release: Kristinn Smári Kristinsson teams up with German drummer Michael Heidepriem for II, out now via Hout.
Recommendations: This might be the question I struggled with the most at the moment so reaching for something from the past that had a considerable impact on me at the time I discovered it.

Messiaen - la nativite du seigneur - la verbe (second half); Ligeti - Passacaglia Ungherese

If you enjoyed this interview with Kristinn Smári Kristinsson and would like to find out more, visit his official website. He is also on Facebook.

To keep reading, we recommend our interviews with Kristinn's bandmates in the band Minua:

[Read our Fabian Willmann interview]
[Read our Luca Aaron interview]



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I have a faint memory of going to a concert at a very early age with my parents where I was completely captivated by two long tones. I can't remember any of the details, only this one interval - it was a minor 3rd. I sometimes think back to this feeling, although Im not sure it was even a real memory.

I grew up with music all around me with both my parents being classical musicians. I started playing the cello when I was 5 but switched to guitar in my teens which became my main instrument. My curiosity led me through various listening phases but through my studies I was exposed to a lot of jazz, which I became quite passionate about for a time. Electronic music was another great discovery.

My passion is in many ways driven by curiosity and I am always interested in aspects of music I haven’t heard before, but I also greatly appreciate simplicity.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

For me that depends vastly on the music and how I approach listening to it. I tend to like music that is more physical in a sense (but not in dance kind of way) where you are drawn in by the sound and can allow yourself to zoom out into sort of limbo, and just sense the music.

For many years I used to fall asleep to music so that might contribute to how I focus my listening.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

I think the biggest challenge for me was to be able to hear my own thoughts and stay true to my own ideas throughout my studies.

After finishing my master in Switzerland I moved to Berlin where I finally had the time to work through everything I was exposed to. These three years were extremely valuable to me, I had the freedom to figure out where I wanted to go musically and took a turn towards more introspective music making.

However, meeting all the musicians along the way I have collaborated with has been very influential. The collective explorations through the electro-acoustic trio Minua and the minimal-jazz-quintet Monoglot play a big role there.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I am an Introvert. I used to think that personal identity should not necessarily reflect the music one makes but in later years I found that as a performer I can never fully commit to playing music I don’t relate to personally.

Ideally I like to be out of focus and keep the spotlight on the music and the collective sound rather than on the identity of the performing musicians.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

I think the role of an artist is to make their own set of rules, which ultimately are what defines them.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

In a way I'm always striving to write the perfect music for myself. I'm interested in the space between genres and in creating music that I can envision but haven’t heard before. That process often leads me in unexpected directions and sometimes I stumble on something that I think is special, and hope is innovative in some way.

I do honour the tradition but like to explore things that are unknown to me, work with new technology and come up with different ways to approach composition. True innovation, however, seems as imperceivable as perfection in music.

I have been on the just intonation path for some time now, although it can seem limiting and poses many obstacles when it comes to performance I think there is a lot to be explored there.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

The guitar has been my main instrument as a performer. But lately the focus has shifted more to electronics, digital synthesis and manipulation of the guitar sound through a laptop and controllers.

I use Logic and Sibelius for writing music, often coupled with a Max Msp patch to extend the possibilities of the softwares. Experimentation through Max plays an important role in how I form my ideas.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I usually wake up around 10, have a coffee and always eat porridge for breakfast. Apart from that my routine is constantly changing.

On a free day I like to try to concentrate on one main thing during the day, or a group of similar tasks. For chores like emails and such I try to do it right away as long as it is not going to consume my day. In that case I finish them in batches at a later time.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

After I finished my master in 2016 I moved to Berlin and planned to work on a solo project which led me on the path I am still on today - experimenting with things I barely understand.

At this point as I was interested in many different aspects of music. Therefore my compositions became quite complex on many levels, in a way that I just didn’t like it anymore. Thus I ended up taking everything apart and using only fragments of what I originally intended. I released quite a minimalistic solo guitar album, Module, mostly utilising hocket technique where my own guitar playing was intertwined with a self-sampled sequence.



One other aspect of the original project was a drone like guitar setup that originally was meant to play only a small role in my new music but became an album of its own. I had written out many composition but found that they didn’t work quite as well in performance as I had intended so I threw everything out. In the end I improvised the whole Amidst album in a few nights shortly after I moved back to Reykjavík in 2019.



The making of these albums greatly influenced on how I approach music today. The vision is perhaps only a starting point but the resulting music can end up being something very different.

Very recently I released a duo album II with drummer Michael Heidepriem which continues building on this foundation.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

Listening to music with others has a big effect on how I perceive it. Again I think it depends on the music but in general I like listening to music in solitude.

However, a shared listening experience, in a concert for example, at a moment where you feel like the whole audience is experiencing the same thing, can have a great effect.

I love to collaborate with others creating music. It can be hit or miss, but often the results can open up some new doors for me.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

I don’t really know. I enjoy making music for myself but hope someone else can relate to it as well.

Music can take many roles in society but I like it to be able to stand alone for what it is.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

It seems that music can sometimes provide a sense of relief when dealing with these topics. Perhaps it is somewhat like religion in that sense.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

I believe our understanding of the universe can only increase our understanding and perception of music. As an artist I think learning about sound physics and psychoacoustics is extremely valuable as well as adopting new technology to further my creativity.

When you look at music history it seems our understanding of music and how it developed it is more or less in tune with science - but not entirely. The intellectual and more creative side to music can feel like a constant battle with - perhaps - a universal truth. (at least when it comes to harmony)

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Not really when it comes to writing musi. Although I am much more passionate about my music than my coffee.

Performing seems like a different thing altogether. It requires focusing all your concentration on a single moment, yet being able to forget your self and serve only the music. That would be ideal at least.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

I read once that when deaf people sense the vibration of music the experience triggers the same responses in the brain and is very similar to an experience of a hearing person.

I think a lot can be said through various timbres, its resonance and interaction of different elements in a composition. Perhaps it is like a binary language where certain rhythmic variations have obtained some meaning through cultural association. There are also familiar elements we easily relate to, like a human-like sound can create more of sentimental effect.

Of course, everything depends on the context and how the music relates to different art forms, but I generally don’t look for messages or specific meaning in music. At the very least, I don’t understand it.