Interview with Einar Örn Benediktsson in Zone 02 Magazine

Interview by Matthias Stockmans with Einar Örn Benediktsson, the host of the Edgy Evening of Bad Taste @ Bozar 30. April 2008
Kom allemaal naar IJsland
(Come to Iceland everybody)
Here's an English summary I made:
The ex-punker is back with Ghostigital, a mix of noise, rap and electronica.

Ghostigital @ NASA @ Iceland Airwaves 2007
What can we expect of the Edgy Evening of Bad Taste?
An evening with a focus on music: electronic music with guitars, but also rock music and noise, and even poetry and DJ sets.
Who's coming with you?
I've invited all my friends.
All the different art forms seem to go hand in hand in Iceland?
Within The Sugarcubes, we discussed a lot. Not about music, but about the books we were reading or the movies we saw. Often it ended in a bad repetition of the band (laugh). I've never been afraid of an experiment. I know I'll never have a top 10 hit, or a commercial success. I can not loose, only win by doing a lot of different things.
Why are the Icelanders so creative?
We MUST be creative. We're only with a few Icelanders, everybody seems to know everything about the other one. If you want to distinct yourself, you've got to find new influences.

Ghostigital & Finnbogi Pétursson "Radium" @ Sirkus (January 2008)

Don't you think Iceland has reached its peak in creativity and international recognition?
Totally not. We only can become better, because more foreigners are emigrating to Iceland. So there's a future for all Belgians who want to come to live in Iceland.
A lot of Icelanders go abroad to escape from the island?
Absolute. After a while you've seen it all in Iceland and you need to meet other people. I've studied media in London in the late 70s, where I got in contact with the anarchopunk scene.
Are politics and art related for you?
Politics and art are the same. It's all a question of respect for the individual, otherwise you're doing it wrong. I want to let people think about some issues. Like: what is good or bad taste? Who determines what is good or bad taste?
The Edgy Evening is 8 hours of entertainment. There is a chance that you like 5 minutes of the total program, but those 5 minutes can change your life or give you inspiration. That's enough.
Source: Zone 02 (Nr 185 - 9-22 April 2008)
http://www.zone02.be/
More Einar Örn @ www.myspace.com/einarorn
More Ghostigital @ http://ghostigital.com/
More Bad Taste @ www.smekkleysa.net and http://badtaste4ever.wordpress.com/
More about Edgy Evening @ Bozar @ www.bozar.be
Synopsis, slideshows and video made by Wim Van Hooste.

Ghostigital @ Idno @ Iceland Airwaves 2006