Hatari (band)
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Hatari (; ) are an Icelandic
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
, industrial and
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band and
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
group from
Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
. Their public image incorporates elements of
anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...
and
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
attire. The band currently consists of Klemens Hannigan, Einar Stefánsson and Davíð Katrínarson, the latter of whom replacing original member Matthías Haraldsson in 2023. They have released an album and an
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
, encompassing several singles. Hatari represented Iceland in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...
with their song " Hatrið mun sigra", finishing tenth.


History


Early history (2015–2018)

Hatari was formed in mid-2015 by cousins Klemens Hannigan and Matthías Haraldsson. At the time, Klemens had begun writing
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
that Matthías would provide screaming vocals for. Klemens later presented the songs to Einar Stefánsson, who joined the duo as their drummer. Klemens and Einar, together with drummer Sólrún Mjöll Kjartansdóttir, had previously also formed the band Kjurr in late 2012; in the band, Klemens played the guitar and provided vocals, while Einar played the bass. Throughout 2016, Hatari performed five times, including appearances in Reykjavík, at Eistnaflug, at LungA Festival, and at Norðanpaunk, prior to their break-out performances at Iceland Airwaves, held at Kex Hostel in Reykjavík, on 31 October and 6 November 2016. The band's debut
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP), named ''Neysluvara'', was released through Svikamylla ehf. via
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and
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
on 31 October 2017. Leading up to the EP's release, the band also released
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s for two songs from the EP, "Ódýr" and "X". In December 2017, Hatari was featured on the song "Hlauptu", released on the album ''Horror'' by Cyber. On 21 December 2018, Hatari announced that the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of Svikamylla ehf. had passed a resolution to dissolve the band. However, Hatari did not dissolve as they appeared at
Eurosonic Noorderslag ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, the Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the f ...
, a music event held in the Netherlands, shortly after that. Simultaneous to the dissolution announcement, Hatari released the music video for a new single, "Spillingardans".


Eurovision Song Contest (2019)

In January 2019, Hatari was confirmed as one of the ten acts competing in Söngvakeppnin 2019, Iceland's national selection for its entry in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...
, with their new song " Hatrið mun sigra". Hatari won Söngvakeppnin 2019 in March that year, and thus represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. In the lead-up to the competition, Hatari made headlines with a number of political statements over the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other matters, resulting in
Jon Ola Sand Jon Ola Sand (; born 21 December 1961) is a Norway, Norwegian television executive. He was the European Broadcasting Union's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest from Eurovision Song Contest 2011, 2011 to Eurovision Song Contest 20 ...
, the executive supervisor of the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU), warning them that they had reached the limit of the EBU's patience, and would be disqualified should they choose to bring its political statements to the stage. However, when Iceland's televote score was announced at the end of the final, members of Hatari held up banners displaying the
flag of Palestine The flag of the State of Palestine () is a Triband (flag)#Tricolour, tricolour of three equal horizontal stripes—black, white, and green from top to bottom—overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the Hoist (flag), hoist. It displays the Pa ...
. As a result, the EBU imposed on RÚV the minimum possible fine of . Overall, Hatari received 232 points in the final, finishing in 10th place.


Subsequent releases and tours (2019–present)

On 23 May 2019, the day of their homecoming concert, Hatari released "Klefi / Samed", a single featuring Palestinian musician Bashar Murad, with a music video. The video was filmed in the desert by
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
, Palestine, and the song features lyrics in Icelandic and Arabic. A further single, "Klámstrákur", was released that October. Hatari's first album, ''Neyslutrans'', was released on 17 January 2020, also featuring the four prior singles. A
remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...
, ''Neyslutrans Remixed'', was released on 19 February 2021. On 17 July 2019, Hatari announced their 2020 "Europe Will Crumble" tour, with Cyber as their supporting act. On 29 January 2020, a few hours before their concert at the Copenhagen venue
Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...
, a fire broke out, but nobody was hurt. The second of two tour legs was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. It was replaced by the "Dance or Die" tour, which was announced in November 2020 and advertised with a "post-human experience".


Members

Hatari primarily consists of musicians Klemens Hannigan, Davíð Katrínarson, and Einar Stefánsson, as well as several contributors.


Klemens Hannigan

Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan (born 20 December 1994) is the group's vocalist and is the cousin of Matthías. He is the son of Nikulás Hannigan, the head of the trade office division at Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Rán Tryggvadóttir, a lawyer for legal firm LMB Mandat. Klemens has three daughters and married Ronja Mogensen on April 3, 2020. He graduated from
Tækniskólinn Tækniskólinn ( Technical College) is an upper secondary school in Reykjavík, Iceland, providing both Vocational education, vocational and Education in Iceland#Upper secondary, specialized programmes. It was formed in 2008 through the merger of ...
as a furniture maker.


Davíð Katrínarson

Davíð Þór Katrínarson (also known as David Thor, born 23 March 1993) is a vocalist for the group who joined in 2023, following the departure of Matthías Haraldsson. He has performed with the group since 2017, and appeared as the lead vocalist on the song ''Helvíti'' on the band's 2020 album ''Neyslutrans'', credited under his stagename Svarti Laxness. He was announced as a member via social media, and made his first appearance with the band as a member at the 2023 edition of
Iceland Airwaves Iceland Airwaves is a music festival held annually in November in Reykjavík, Iceland, since 1999. Its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international. Background The event is promoted and produced by Iceland Music Export ...
. He is also an actor, and has appeared in shows such as '' Trapped''.


Einar Stefánsson

Einar Hrafn Stefánsson (also known as Einar Stef, born 1 September 1992) is the drummer and producer for the group. He is the son of Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson, the Icelandic
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to Japan, and former ambassador to the United Kingdom. Outside Hatari, he is also the bassist of
Vök Vök are an Icelandic dream pop and indietronica band from Reykjavík. The band was formed in January 2013 by singer Margrét Magnúsdóttir and saxophonist Andri Enoksson after two years of working together. The name "Vök" was suggested by ...
, an Icelandic
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and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
group formed in 2013. Einar married Sólbjört, a dancer for the group, on 30 July 2023, and they have a daughter together.


Matthías Haraldsson

Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson (born 17 February 1994) is a former vocalist for the group and is the cousin of Klemens. He is the son of
Gunnhildur Hauksdóttir Gunnhildur Hauksdóttir (born 1972) is an Icelandic visual artist. Works of art created by Hauksdóttir consist of audio, video, performance such as dance, sculpture, drawing and text. Early life and education Hauksdóttir was born in Reykjav ...
, an artist, and Haraldur Flosi Tryggvason, the owner of LMB Mandat and brother of Klemens' mother, Rán. Outside of Hatari, Matthías is a playwright; he graduated from the
Iceland University of the Arts Iceland University of the Arts ( ) is an Icelandic institution of higher art education, located in Reykjavík, which offers the only university-level degrees in the arts in Iceland.Lisa Z. ValdimarsdottirIceland Academy of the Arts, Department of ...
with a one-man play entitled ''Griðastaður'' ( ''Sanctuary''), which was later shown at the Tjarnarbíó theatre in Reykjavík. Matthías subsequently won the "Newcomer of the Year" award at the Grímuverðlaunin 2019. He also acted as a news reporter for Icelandic broadcaster
RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...
. He married Brynhildur Karlsdóttir on 19 August 2023. They have 2 daughters. He announced his departure from the group in March 2023.


Contributors

Contributors for Hatari include Sólbjört Sigurðardóttir, Sigurður Andrean Sigurgeirsson, Ástrós Guðjónsdóttir, Ronja Mogensen and Birta Ásmundsdóttir, all of whom are considered part of Hatari. All five act as choreographers and dancers for the group, while Sólbjört and Ástrós also provide backing vocals. Sólbjört first joined the group as a dancer in 2016, acting alongside Ronja, who had previously done the group's make-up. The backing line-up changed several times; the line-up with Sólbjört, Andrean and Ástrós was arranged by Sólbjört in the preparations for Söngvakeppnin 2019. Andri Hrafn Unnarsson and Karen Briem are costume designers for Hatari, and Ingi Kristján Sigurmarsson acts as their graphic artist. In 2022, Íris Tanja Flygenring joined Hatari as a touring dancer, filling in for Ástrós who could not participate in the tour due to pregnancy, while Andrean did not participate in the tour for personal reasons.


Discography


Albums


Extended plays


Remix albums


Singles


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2015 establishments in Iceland Anti-capitalists Anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe Icelandic electronic music groups Icelandic performance artists Icelandic punk rock groups Musical groups from Reykjavík Industrial music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants