Songwriting in the middle of nowhere: Borgarfjörður

Songwriting seminar in the middle of nowhere

At restaurant Fossatún in Borgarfjördur foreign and Icelandic artists performed songs written during a five-day collaborative songwriting workshop held at Hótel Glymur in Hvalfjördur, west Iceland, Thursday evening.

IR’s Zoë Robert and Eygló S. Arnarsdóttir attended the evening, which was the culmination of a seminar – the first of its kind to be held in the country – aimed to foster better ties between Icelandic and foreign musicians.

The initiative was organized by Icefusion Ltd founder Ginny Graham and UK artist Chesney Hawkes.
Hawkes, who was made famous by his 1991 British chart-topping single “The One and Only” described the workshop, or “retreat,” as a great success. “I’m very proud – the songs are great,” he said.
Fifteen artists, including ten foreign artists attended the event. Foreign artists included Nik Kershaw, Teitur from the Faroe Islands and Young UK Indie artist Claire Toomey. The Icelandic contribution included up-and-coming singer Bryndís Jakobsdóttir and guitarist Gummi Jóns.
Kershaw, best known for his 1984 UK hit single “Wouldn’t it be good” said, “I’ve done workshops before, but nowhere like this.” He was quick to comment on the remoteness of the workshop location. “There’s nothing else to do! We’ve tried to immerse ourselves into everything. We’ve all turned off our phones,” he said.
“It’s been a great learning experience for everyone – no matter how long we’ve been doing this,” Kershaw added.

Workshop participants, all carefully chosen, established artists or songwriters, were assigned to writing groups, which were alternated twice daily. Artists were given access to instruments, an engineer and a recording studio. The collaboration resulted in over 35 songs being recorded.

“It was a fantastic experience, energetic experience. We wrote two songs a day, it was wonderfully hectic,” said Teitur.
“I’m up in the clouds on a natural high. No kidding,” Jakobsdóttir agreed.
According to Graham, the idea for starting her company Icefusion, which ran the songwriting workshop, was inspired by her will to share her passion for Iceland with others.
Icefusion is holding a holistic workshop around the solstice in June and a second songwriting seminar next fall.

Source:
http://www.icelandreview.com
Borgarfjörður is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. The waters of Borgarfjörður appear to be calm, however the fjord is on the contrary a rather dangerous part of the sea because of its undercurrents and shallows.
The inner Borgarfjörður seen from the east
There are many flat islands lying in the fjord, but for the most part they are uninhabited.
Near Borgarnes, the hringvegur (road no.1 or "ring road") passes over a bridge of 0.5 km in length at inland portion of the fjord. Roundtrips from Borgarnes
The land around the fjord has been inhabited since the time of Icelandic settlement. Events in the Icelandic sagas such as that of Egill Skallagrímsson are situated here.
The name of the fjord seems to come from the farm of Borg, which according to the sagas was founded by Egill's father Skallagrímur, who took the land around the fjord and accordingly gave the fjord the name of Borgarfjörður.
More:
http://www.borgarfjordur.com