The Two Sides of BSÍ
Most artists tend to craft collections of songs so that they fit together to describe a particular mood, or fit a certain style, and many do it brilliantly. Though it often means that some songs are left out of the equation because the tracklisting doesn’t have a place for them. This is why I was so enamoured with BSÍ’s debut album, a record that might as well be two different bands entirely. They called it ‘Sometimes Depressed…But Always Antifascist’.
BSÍ - Silla Thorarensen and Julius Pollux Rothlaender. Image Credit: Maria-Carmela Raso.
BSÍ, which very well seems to stand for ‘Brussels Sprouts International’ is a duo comprised of vocalist/drummer Silla Thorarensen and bassist/keyboardist Julius Pollux Rothlaender. Hailing from Iceland, they released their self-titled debut EP in 2018 which curiously features artwork of them at the foot of Reykjavík's central bus terminal, also happening to have the same name as their band.
Silla and Julius formed BSÍ with the approach of trying different instruments, an example of which is Rothlaender performing synthesizer with his feet while playing bass. Taken from the first EP, the duo’s live performance of ‘ekki á leið’ shows this in action.
“Sometimes Depressed…But Always Antifascist.”
As well as being available to buy as a single album and on recycled vinyl with artwork in Icelandic or English, BSÍ released both halves of their record as separate EPs on their Bandcamp page. The ‘Sometimes Depressed…’ half is a collection of slower, more melancholic songs, while the flipside, ‘But Always Antifascist’ is faster, with protest songs, and with some lyrics in their native language.
Beginning with waves of synth and later augmented with complimentary bass notes from Julius, Silla’s vocal is soft and clear, ‘Come back to me, back to me…’ A drum machine is added and it’s possible that in live performance, Silla would be playing the synth as seen in renditions of the band’s other songs. The beauty in ‘My Lovely’ is in the simplicity of it. With BSÍ avoiding overcomplicating the track, it takes you under its wing, gently easing the listener into this record.
In the age of highly engineered and crafted music, it’s refreshing to hear Silla counting in ‘TAL 11’ with her drumsticks, like she’s bringing in a band performance that was captured in a moment. This song introduces elements of guitar, added more as a cherry on top rather than a constant guitar track. And I like that - it’s not the main focus, nor does it detract from the core band performance.
Despite the additional parts on this track, BSÍ remain a duo even on stage, with the electric guitar on a track. To help replicate the band’s studio production, Silla uses a telephone in the video above to give her voice the same middle frequency distance it has on the record.
‘At times I felt low and little, other times you felt slow and sad. You gave me something to hang onto, seeking the comfort that I never had.’
The rhythm changes again in ‘Old Moon’, with Silla holding the beat with a soft bass drum and the sparse timekeeping of a tambourine. Equally, the guitar and bass playing is gentle, both with a clean tone, while atmospheric synthesizer can be heard throughout, especially as the track dissipates into a long fade-out. Interestingly, the tambourine seems to glance inconspicuously from side to side in the mix, like a ticking clock.
Amongst the melancholia of ‘Sometimes Depressed…’, BSÍ have snuck in a track that audiences can dance to. They’ve managed to achieve the same mood as this side of the record, while still expanding their sound with a more upbeat rhythm section. The duo also add samples to their music here, with little glimpses of voices early on.
For the most part, the first part of the record was recorded in Reykjavík by Alison MacNeil, with the exception of TAL 11. Just like the album, ‘Uncouple’ seems to be split into two halves. Following the upbeat section is a second part backed with white noise, almost absent of a beat and more vocally drawn-out than before.
‘Surely something, better coming, our way, surely, something better, coming our way…’
‘Sometimes Depressed…’ comes to a close with ‘25Lue’, which is given visual treatment with the aid of the 1989 Studio Ghibli film ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’. BSÍ return to using a drum machine, this time with a vintage sound that may have been heard on records as far back as the late 1970’s. Similarly, the synths could also hail from this era. As with Uncouple, there are also samples existing in the background of 25Lue, like it was recorded in a busy train station. In this track, Silla Thorarensen records her voice in multiple layers, with the final section in particular being a brilliant outro to the album’s first side.
Opening ‘But Always Antifascist’ is a day out at ‘Vesturbæjar Beach’. Silla and Julius’ rhythm section is a constant here, while more erratic guitar sounds flit around and extra layers of guitar and synth accent the music underneath. The fun BSÍ are clearly having in this song is wonderfully embodied in the music video, which I’m happy to say was my very first exposure to the duo. Sometimes you have to just sunbathe even on the grey days.
The introduction to ‘Feela það’ rings out like a siren. Silla’s vocal comes with a hi-hat count whilst Julius’ bass guitar pulses underneath. Silla plays and sings with the most passion heard on this album so far. What I love about Rothlaender’s bass playing is his trebly tone. When combined with his preferred method of playing with a pick, it gives more attack and assertion into the band’s music, which really comes out on the ‘Always Antifascist’ side.
BSÍ’s use of sampling continues in Feela það, where the band utilises Samirah Raheem's confrontation with Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson during L.A.’s 2017 SlutWalk. In the video, Peterson accuses Raheem of being a slut, with the latter reclaiming the word without its typically derogatory meaning.
The greenscreen extravaganza above is the music video for ‘My Knee Against Kyriarchy’, and is the band’s latest visual outing. The word ‘Kyriarchy’ is a wider encompassing term describing what BSÍ stand against, which includes (but is not limited to) racism, sexism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia.
The recording for ‘But Always Antifascist’ (and TAL 11) was completed in Berlin with Thomas Götz, while the entire record was mixed in London by Francine Perry. For the mastering, the album travelled across the world to New York City to be in the care of engineer Sarah Register. While the differing musical styles benefitted from the sounds of alternate working environments, it’s the characteristics of using the same overall mixing and mastering engineers that bring a sense of unity to this record.
I love the thick and raw punk sound of ‘Dónakallalagið’, with distorted bass and vocals. The accented drum parts are a surprise that change up the beat, with the final minute being the noisiest part of the entire record. Thematically, the lyric continues in the same thread as Feela það and My Knee Against Kyriarchy, highlighting the issue of sexual harassment and why people shouldn’t have to put up with that in the world we live in today.
‘Alltaf Alltaf Stundum Alltaf’ finishes off the album with a little bit of everything BSÍ has explored in the nine tracks previous. As well as keeping hold of their upbeat rhythm section, they insert a sample of an angry phone call which is concluded by the band declaring: ‘This message is too stupid for this mailbox and will automatically be deleted’.
In the aftermath of this phone call, the band introduces synthesizer, which sounds beautiful under Silla’s layered vocals. If the drums were stripped away, this arrangement would fit right in with the ‘Sometimes Depressed…’ part of the record. As the tempo slows down, it feels as if BSÍ are bringing the album back to where it started. They show that not only are they capable of exploring softer tracks with punkier ones, but even putting both sounds together in the same song - the perfect way to close out this record.
Read on for our Q&A with BSÍ, who are currently on tour supporting The Vaccines in the U.K. Conducted prior to the tour and their first headline show in London, the band answer all our questions together, except for the ones personally addressed to them.
Image Credit: Maria-Carmela Raso.
1. Your debut album 'Sometimes Depressed...But Always Antifascist' is very much a record in two halves. Was that a conscious decision made during the writing process, or did that happen after you had all the songs finished?
It kind of happened in the middle of the writing process. We found ourselves coming up with songs that were going in rather different directions. We were wondering if we should only go with either the soft and quiet or the loud, fast and raw songs but then we just decided to say 'fuck it' and go with both at the same time. We felt it represented us very well as BSÍ and as the persons we are.
2. With the sequencing of the album, the softer 'Sometimes Depressed' side comes first and the noisier 'Always Antifascist' second. What led to this decision?
It was the title of the record that sort of decided that for us. We borrowed it after having seen it in a slightly different version on a t-shirt of a punk football fanclub that's advocating for mental health awareness in the football scene.
3. You recorded much of the first half with Alison MacNeil in Reykjavík and the second with Thomas Götz in Berlin. Did the different recording locations have much influence on the sound of those songs?
Yes, definitely, in some ways. We recorded with Alison in the intimacy of her home/living room studio, whereas the Berlin recordings happened in more of a punk rock setting, in Thomas' studio in East Berlin.
4. As well as those recording locations, this album has travelled the world! Were you able to attend the mixing sessions with Francine Perry in London, or the mastering sessions with Sarah Register in New York City?
No, unfortunately not. Covid didn't allow us to at the time, but we were able to get a glimpse of it through video calls and listening sessions.
5. With the album's writing credited to you both, how is a BSÍ song typically born?
We usually start jamming something on drums and bass in our tiny 'Vesturbæjar Beach' studio in Reykjavík, and then we see where the song carries us.
6. The video for '25Lue' features footage from 'Kiki's Delivery Service', what inspired the use of that film for your lyric video?
We asked our friend Ymir Kim from Seoul to make a video for us. He had made similar music videos to his own music (check it out!) and he felt that this footage was a good fit for the song.
7. 'Vesturbæjar Beach' looks like it was shot on a chilly day! Was it a lot of fun to make that video?
Yes, it was really chilly and cold, and in that sense a challenging video to shoot. But working with Snæfríður, Arína and Maria-Carmela made it all worthwhile and a lot of fun! The highlight of the day was when a very confused police officer tried to stop us while we were dancing in swimming suits on a roundabout in the middle of winter.
8. As a fellow drummer I'm always fascinated to know a drummer's influences. Silla, who are the drummers you've really looked up to?
Oh, hello, fellow drummer! <3 Hmmm I don't have any famous drummers that I look up to. What inspired me most when I started playing were Hrafnhildur, the drummer in Gróa, and Fönn, the drummer in Ateria. Gróa and Ateria are Icelandic bands that everyone should definitely listen to!
9. In 'Feela það', you sample Samirah Raheem's confrontation with Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson in 2017. Did her empowering words inspire this particular song?
We really wanted to make another kind of 'Bú on you' song that had some fuck the system influences to it. The working title was 'god is a slut' (in hindsight it is a more legendary title) and then we found this youtube clip. And yes, it fit perfectly to the vibe of the song.
10. Similarly, there's a telephone sample in 'Alltaf Alltaf Stundum Alltaf'. Where does that come from? What's going on there?
It is a recording of a conservative lady calling a right-wing radio station in Iceland, ranting against everything that we are, i.e. feminist, queer, open-minded, inclusive and environmental-friendly.
11. I've never known a musician to play a keyboard with their feet whilst playing another instrument with their hands. When did you start developing this skill Julius?
We kind of had to figure out creative ways to use all our hands and feet as a duo. I was just inspired by Silla doing exactly that, using all her hands and feet while playing.
12. There are a lot of hand-drawn pictures in the 'Dónakallalagið' video, who drew those?
Our friend Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson a.k.a. susan creamcheese. He also made the amazingly hyperactive video for 'My knee against kyriarchy'. It's always the best to work with him!
13. You have a support tour with The Vaccines in the UK coming up, what are you most looking forward to about playing these gigs as well as your headline show in London?
We're just soooo excited to play concerts!! and play for new people, travel around England, driving for hours in a van on the left side of the road while having many‚ trúnó‘s! We are so happy and thankful for this opportunity, and we‘d definitely want to tour in the UK soon again after this one!
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Visit BSÍ’s Bandcamp to purchase their music digitally and to place vinyl orders if you’re based in Iceland.
For international orders of ‘Sometimes Depressed…But Always Antifascist’, visit Tomatenplatten’s Bandcamp here.
Follow BSÍ on Facebook @brusselssproutsintl and on Instagram @bsi.band.
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