Alison MacNeil transitions in Iceland's changing music scene
Lead singer of Icelandic band Kimono says music culture is flourishing in Reykjavik
Alison MacNeil, a Canadian expat from Cape Breton Island, is changing her life and her music as Iceland changes around her.
MacNeil, a singer and guitarist, fronts Icelandic rock band Kimono. The band, which has a loyal following in Iceland and has toured in Europe, will release its fifth album later this year.
- Listen to Solomon Israel's documentary on Alison MacNeil on CBC Radio's The World This Weekend at 6 p.m. Saturday.
When she moved to Iceland 15 years ago, Alison MacNeil was Alex MacNeil, biologically male. She began her gender transition in Iceland, which passed a bill protecting the status of transgender people in 2012.
"Being in a band and being the singer and transitioning, that's been pretty heavy," MacNeil said in an interview with CBC's The World This Weekend. "In a way I've had to learn to sing all over again for the new material, but I also don't want to abandon everything that we've done in the past."
Being in a band and being the singer and transitioning, that's been pretty heavy.- Alison MacNeil
MacNeil, 37, said Kimono's music draws on the "outliers" of '70s, '80s, and '90s rock, "when people play their instruments a little bit differently and not just straightforward."
Specific influences include alternative players like Sonic Youth, experimental rockers like Fugazi and Polvo, and more famous acts like Led Zeppelin and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Bassist Gylfi Blöndal pairs mathematical precision with melodicism. Drummer Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason straddles a fine line between power and finesse, mostly keeping his talents in reserve for robust, frenzied moments.
MacNeil, whose uncle Kenzie MacNeil wrote the Cape Breton anthem The Island, glides through intricate guitar licks with ease and grace. Her powerful voice and haunting English lyrics complete Kimono's sound.
As MacNeil has changed, so too has Reykjavik. Only 120,000 people live in the coastal capital of Iceland, but the city is home to a flourishing music scene.
The global recession of 2008 hit the country particularly hard. In recent years, Iceland's fast-growing tourism industry has helped lead its financial recovery. Downtown Reykjavik is awash in tourists, along with shops and restaurants catering to a foreign crowd.
"Right now it's very tourist-oriented," MacNeil said. "There's a lot of hotels cropping up everywhere … it's been very difficult to find places to play here."
Even if Reykjavik has lost some of its character, MacNeil said the city is host to an authentic music scene.
"It's just a lot of people playing music, a lot of people who are interested in doing something interesting, not just something that's commercially viable."