A sonic assault

Lord Pusswhip, aka Þórður Ingi Jónsson,  is a 21- year old hip hop producer/rapper who has been taking the Icelandic hip hop scene by storm with his lush, psychedelic and confrontational sounds. Inspired by chopped ‘n’ screwed, horror films and pranks, Pusswhip has already produced for quite a few names in the underground rap world abroad such as Antwon, Metro Zu and Th@ Kid, as well as playing in Brooklyn with hip-hop and punk legends Dälek and Stuart Argabright.  Mbl.is found out more. 

How would you describe your sound in one sentence?

I want to be futuristic and retro at the same time, like a whole other modern world that could have been, if that makes sense. I don‘t really want to confine it inside genres but I guess you could say something like psychedelic or experimental hip hop. The biggest compliment I‘ve gotten for my beats was definitely „like El-P‘s mutant kid brother“.

 What is your first memory of Airwaves?

I think my first memory of Airwaves was the Neon Indian show. My friend just stood catatonically the whole time staring at the guitarist because she had just tried marijuana, the devil‘s weed for the first time. Then I had to run over to NASA (R.I.P) because I was reviewing another show for Reykjavik Grapevine at the time. Basically, my first memory must have been working for Grapevine, writing about shows.

Best and worst Airwaves experience?

Best Airwaves experience was maybe going crazy dancing at James Blake‘s show in 2010, when he hadn‘t started doing that singer-songwriter shit. Also, Fufanu last year was amazing.

Best Icelandic band ever?

Þeyr at their prime, awesome occult post punk that could have been huge but they were just too lazy I think.

What can people expect of you in concert? What is the live experience like?

A sonic assault, I‘ve got a live drummer now which I‘ve never tried before. It should sound like a blast to the senses. Very loud and very fucked up.

What have you seen so far at the festival?

I had an awesome time at Nguzunguzu last night, cut a rug and everything. Besides that I really enjoyed seeing Börn and Svartidauði, two very promising Icelandic bands.

Any tips on how to survive Airwaves ?

Be adventurous! You‘re probably never going to see these assholes again!

Whats next on the agenda for Lord Pusswhip in the wake of Airwaves?

I‘m collecting features from different rappers and artists so I can release my first EP on Bad Actors Inc, a Canadian label that has a bunch of amazing acts. I‘m also releasing two videos soon which peeps should be on the look-out for.

Catch Lord Pusswhip off-venue today at Dillon at 19:00 and Paloma Bar at 22:30 and on-venue on Saturday at Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn at 22:00