Hekla - Gjá

A Closer Listen

In Gjá, we return to the spectral world of Turnar, one of our top ten drone releases of 2025.  The new EP is taken from the same sessions and draws from the same deep well.  The illustration color has changed from grey to red, but remains as dark and mysterious as an Icelandic winter; headed once again into this winter, the music seems even more fitting than it did when Turnar was released on the cusp of spring.

Hekla is one of the world’s few theremin virtuosos, with a signature sound that sets her apart from her contemporaries.  Joining forces with organist Kristján Hrannar and adding cello to her productions has resulted in a cavernous, reverberant sound, more like a cave than a chapel, although one can also imagine one of the many deserted churches sprinkled around the Icelandic landscape, doors open to the public, which may include the occasional visitor from the fae.  The EP offers a siren call: come in from the cold.  The unsuspecting visitor finds themselves warmed, then trapped, but the music is so beguiling that one surrenders rather than struggles.

The three tracks flow together as one, extending the spell for the duration of the EP.  If the siren does not capture her prey, it is only because the spell breaks before the enchantment is complete. “Værð” rises from quiet origins, the theremin like a lead vocal, wordless and sublime, reaching frequencies seldomly heard.  The music proceeds in stops and starts before bowing to “Vitrun,” whose initial sweetness is soon swallowed in shadows: a storm front of distortion and drone.

“Hinn Sýnilegi Heimur” brings the curtain down like the first paralyzing snowfall: no one ventures out, but the darkness finds a way in, winding through the cracks in the windows and the openings beneath the doors.  In the bass tones, one can hear the beast, shuffling around the perimeter of the house.  The final cello notes offer no closure, only the continuation of the cold.

Due to its concise nature, Gjá packs an even greater punch than Turnar.  If Turnar is a novel, then Gjá is a short story, or a cautionary tale told around a fire.  Its spell is so insidious that even when the music ends and one is free to move, one rushes back into its arms.  (Richard Allen)