Bubbi recalls the darkness left when fishing ships departed

Musician Bubbi says the disappearance of fishing vessels transformed Icelandic harbours, leaving them in darkness. In an interview with mbl.is, he recalls the capelin seasons that inspired his song “The roe is coming”, describing an era that no longer exists.

Bubbi says his experience of seasonal fishing work when he was younger gave him the toughness and determination that helped him establish himself as a musician.

“When I became a musician, I went to every single village to play. In the spring, I travelled around and performed in places where there is barely any settlement left,” he told mbl.is. “I might go for 40 days in a row and play in every place where there were more than 50 people.”

Although Bubbi had stopped working day and night in the fish-processing industry, he was acutely aware of the changes taking place.

“I remember when Guggan left, and I remember when the trawler disappeared from Súðavík,” he said. “What I also noticed at the time, and it was perhaps somewhat symbolic, was the darkness in the harbour. The lights had disappeared with the ships.”

Asked which of his songs best captures that lost period, Bubbi immediately named “The roe is coming”.

“When the capelin was coming in, the boats were almost sinking under the weight of their loads, and in the darkness there were the lights and the glistening capelin,” he said. “That no longer exists as we knew it.”