Tag Archives: Guðmundur Óli Pálmason

Guðmundur Óli Pálmason Posts About His Dismissal from Sólstafir

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Sólstafir, with Gummi Pálmason (far left) Photo courtesy of Season of Mist.

 

Guðmundur Óli “Gummi” Pálmason has posted a long missive on his website about being forced out of Sólstafir after 20 years, earlier in 2015. Pálmason was the drummer of the band from its inception through its critical smash album Otta (Season of Mist). His website also claims to be the “official website of Sólstafir”, which is in fact www.solstafir.net

 

An excerpt of the post can be read below. The full post can be seen here:

Statement about my forced absence from Sólstafir

When I woke up on the morning of 20. January and looked at my emails I expected to find an email with my flight details for the Sólstafir tour that was supposed to start the day after. What I found instead was an email from Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, signed by him and the rest of my now ex-bandmates telling me I was fired from the band that I‘ve poured my sweat, blood and tears into for the last 20 years because of communication problems between us that were unjustly being blamed solely on me and me alone.

I called the airline and found out that my ticket had been cancelled without me knowing it. In a state of panic I quickly bought a new ticket, refusing to acknowledge Aðalbjörn’s right to kick me out of a band that I had formed with him 20 years earlier. Aðalbjörn’s response was to make it clear to me that he would refuse to perform on stage with me and this would irrevocably harm the band and ruin any chance of reconciliation between us. Loving the band that I have dedicated my life to I decided it would be worth it to try and solve this matter with worlds instead of war.

I begged them please not to do this, this was not the right way to handle things, but was only given the vague answer that they‘d maybe be willing to reconsider this in a month, or maybe in 6 months or a year, maybe, just maybe. I was forced to sit quietly at home and witness my life‘s work being taken away from me while it was made clear to me that if I’d speak out about this injustice in public I’d have ruined my chance of ever returning to the band.

By this they were trying to get rid of me in a quiet and painless manner (for them), releasing a bullshit statement (hidden inside a start-of- the-tour Facebook post) that I was absent from the on-going tour for personal reasons, telling people to refrain from asking questions. No questions asked, no consequences for them and I was being threatened to shut the hell up.

While the rest of the band was on tour I sat quietly at home, unable to speak out because of their threats of taking away my chance to regain the purpose of my life. But by every day the hope faded and it became increasingly clear to me that I was being kept in a prison of false hope with the penalty of total excommunication dared I speak out.

It became crystal clear to me that Aðalbjörn had no interest in reconciliation when I found out that the very next day he had applied for a patent of the name Sólstafir in his own personal name and I.D., not in the name of our company that runs the band and not with the signature of any other band members. Had I not discovered this by chance (a lawyer friend checking on the name Sólstafir in the Icelandic firm registry) he would have gained 100% intellectual and monetary control over the name and the brand that I had done more than my fair share to create.

Note that Aðalbjörn says he called Sæþór and Svavar to a meeting at Sæþór’s house on the evening on January 19th and they subsequently sent me the email shortly before midnight. Knowing it was my girlfriend’s birthday they must have known I was out for the night and wouldn’t read the email until late the next day. In fact I had been speaking to her on the phone next to Aðalbjörn a couple of days before about what restaurant we should go to. The very next day, before I had read the email Aðalbjörn had already submitted his patent application. This goes to tell that Aðalbjörn’s story doesn’t add up and that he had been dishonest about his intent.

During this time I tried time and again to reach some sort of agreement with Aðalbjörn. I even booked a session for the whole band with a family councillor upon their return and hoped that we could talk things out with the guidance of professionals.

We were given one and a half hour session, to discuss a decision that has had a bigger impact on me than any other event in my life so far. Despite the short time we were given, my ex-band members showed up 15 minutes too late. The weather was indeed kinda shitty that day, but then you just leave earlier.

Once we were all there the councillor said that if things would get heated we’d just take a 5 minute brake, calm down and start again. Aðalbjörn replayed to this with resentment stating that if things would get heated he would leave immediately. So big was his desire to reach an agreement. After sitting quietly listening to the others speak it was my turn to speak and like clockwork Svavar Austmann started interrupting me and finally stood up and stormed out and Aðalbjörn then made good on his threat and proclaimed this the meeting’s end. Thus ended our session with no results, and little or no attempt to reach any conclusion.

While Aðalbjörn was putting on his jacket, before he could storm out I managed to ask him if there was anything he had not been honest about that perhaps he’d like to tell me now. His answer was no. No? I asked. What about trying to get a patient for the Sólstafir name in your own personal name and I.D.? Obviously he had thought he was home free and got very upset and defensive by me asking this, and aggravatedly barked at me “you’re not in this band anymore”. We’ll see about that I said, and besides I still have some right regarding the use of the name and logo on merchandise and other things. His answer was short and to the point: Then get a lawyer! And with that he stormed out.

 


Hope in Melancholy – Guðmundur Óli Pálmason of Sólstafir

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Emanating from the nucleus of the nascent Black Metal scene, Iceland’s Sólstafir has never been the type of act to be pigeonholed in a genre or tied to a movement. Proudly sporting influences ranging as wide as Darkthrone, Goth stalwarts Fields Of The Nephilim and The Smashing Pumpkins, drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason gave us insight into what makes this bold outfit tick. “Darkthrone has the raw energy and punk attitude, Fields of the Nephilim create the most beautiful, dark atmosphere and beautiful guitar melodies, and The Smashing Pumpkins have really influenced especially Addi’s guitar playing, the way he uses octaves for example.”

New album, Ótta (Season of Mist) blends all the bands aforementioned influences to create something which is truly transcendent of both genre limitations and the idea of being connected to any kind of ‘scene’. Based on an elaborate concept relating to the Icelandic timetable Eykt, Pálmason explains passionately how this ancient calendar inspired the new opus. ‘All the names of the songs are based on an Old Icelandic way to tell the time of day, called Eyktir. “Before people generally had clocks they’d estimate the time of day by the sun. In Iceland we’d divide the day into 8 parts, so each spanning roughly 3 modern hours. When Sæþór brought our attention to this old system we immediately realized it would make for a perfect theme for an album. The album starts at Lágnætti (Low Night) and continues through the night. Ótta is the time between 3 and 6 in the morning. Then it’s time to rise with the sun at Rismál, at Dagmál the day is fully begun. Miðdegi is midday and Nón is noon, although in this system noon is not at 12:00 sharp but rather the time between 3pm and 6pm. After that comes Miðaftan or mid-afternoon and finally Náttmál, or night time.”

The lyrics are loosely based on the different feelings of the different times of day. But the times of day are also different depending on the seasons. Some have a more wintery feeling, while others are more associated with summer. Considering their band name originates from the Icelandic word for the sun’s rays, this concept could not be any more fitting for the group.

Creating atmosphere and mood is clearly more a concern to these self-professed ‘Heathen cowboy bastards’. Ótta sees the band moving further away from the metallic elements but still with some great guitar work adding new textures and layers. The cinematic feel of spaghetti westerns characterised by the work of influential composer Ennio Morricone are recalled in Ótta’. Was this a conscious influence?

solstafir

 

“Ennio Morricone has been a massive influence on us.’ Pálmason Confirmed. ‘Saepor brought in this hook that sounded like a country or bluegrass part. We laughed at first but when Addi tuned his guitar to A it really worked. We knew that was the moment it had to be played on the banjo. We checked the metal rule book 101 and that doesn’t mention you cannot use it in a metal song, so we did! I don’t think there is a limit to the instrumentation we can employ in this band. If we think it will benefit our music we will use it.”

Their unique culture has shaped Sólstafir’s output. The band remains resolutely against singing in anything other than their mother tongue having stated that to sing in English “Would be completely unnatural”. It is this determination to go against the grain, remaining faithful only to their own muse which has garnered the Icelandic act such a hallowed reputation. Recording in the remote area outside of Reykavík with Sigur Ros/Alcest producer Birgir Jon Bigirsson at the helm the album incorporates new elements such as strings and the aforementioned banjo to great effect. “We recorded in Sundlaugin which is a studio that Sigur Ros had converted from an old swimming pool. It has a little river running next to it and some trees. I think these beautiful picturesque surroundings really helped us make the album. We used a lot of different guitars and equipment we have not used before. The mix of old and new instruments really challenged us to push ourselves to the next level. we wanted to create a record that sounds timeless.’ Pálmason confirms that the band may admire other artists but he sees Solstafir has having little in common with other artists. ‘I think acts like Alcest have come from different directions from ourselves and continue to move further still. The one thing I see in common with acts like that is both acts try and develop our sound which each album.”

Indeed the bewitching string arrangements are an aspect which makes ‘Ótta’ such a wondrous journey. Pálmason explains how this development came about; “We have been wanting to use strings for a long time, but somehow there was never any need for them, so this time we were very conscious about leaving out some space for the strings. I must say the Amiina string quartet did an amazing job!”

 

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