Gleðivíma is the official Reykjavík Pride song for 2024. It is the first song released by Margrét Rán Magnúsdóttir under the name RÁN, and features Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson.
She discussed the song in an interview with mbl.is:
“The reason I asked Páll to join me was the concept of the song. The lyrics are partly about me looking back to when I first went to Pride, and it was such an incredible explosion of joy,” Margrét told mbl.is. When she first attended the festival, Páll Óskar had recently released the song International, which was very popular at the time.
“It was very much the Pride song of that year, and this is in some ways my coming-out song. So I thought, ‘Oh my God, it would be amazing to have Páll Óskar on it,’ bringing the whole thing full circle.”
Margrét then contacted Páll Óskar, who was more than happy to take part. “He is simply wonderful. He is incredibly entertaining and so much fun to work with. I would definitely be interested in making another song with him—perhaps one that we would create together from scratch,” she said.
Drawing on her own Pride experience
Margrét explains that Gleðivíma is about the liberating experience of attending her first Pride festival. “I am talking about how freeing it somehow was for me to come to Pride when I was fifteen. It was so important for me at the time to see that this was where I belonged. This was the safety net that would catch me. Here were people like me,” she said.
She wants to convey the joy of being able to belong somewhere, as well as how incredibly exhausting it is to hide behind a mask. “It is awful not to be yourself. Perhaps if you come to Pride, you will see the light,” Margrét said.
“This incredibly impressive 3D artwork was created by Jakob Hermannsson of Strik Studio, and the photograph was taken by the talented Elísabet Blöndal,” she said of the artwork accompanying the song. The image is based on the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson on Arnarhóll.
Read the full icelandic interview on mbl.is: A proud queer person who never intends to stop being visible
