Guantánamo Detainees Released Into Captivity
After three years in military captivity, Rhuhel Ahmed and Asif Iqbal are touring the globe to present Michael Winterbottom’s documentary film, The Road to Guantánamo. It tells t
Toggi – Puppy
Toggi has spent the last three years honing his début album and it shows. The first single, Heart in Line, is a polished melancholy acoustic pop tune – complete with […]
Donni And Clout – Monkey Paw
Ah yes, improv music: Why? Why the fuck? This is stupid and retarded jam music for stupid and retarded people, and if that isn’t bad enough, they’ve taken the liberty […
Fighting Shit – Forgotten Daughters, Abandoned Sons
Fighting Shit’s second full-lengther is a tasty, if somewhat shallow chunk of thrashcore that speeds through its half-hour with vigorous power, stopping just long enough in the q
Gestir – Burtur Frá Toftunum
This Faroese melodrama doesn’t really focus on its strengths enough to create the rain-drenched mental murk it strives for, but there are slices of brilliance here, such as the c
Vitabar
On the corner of Vitastígur and Bergþórugata stands the legendary local bar Vitabar, a Reykjavík burger fan´s favorite. This is the place most locals will point out to tourist
Caruso
Caruso has long been of the establishments one is bound to notice while strolling down Bankastræti any given night. Its trademark of sorts is an inviting row of candle-lit windows
Coffee for the Coffee Enthusiast
The company Kaffitár (i.e. Coffeetear – reflecting the Icelandic habit of asking for ‘a tear’ of coffee) was established in 1990 by coffee lover Aðalheiður Héðinsdóttir
Reykjavík International Film Festival
Turtles Can Fly Turtles Can Fly, and so can Kurdish cinema. Director Ghobadi’s stated intent is to help breed a true Kurdish culture of cinema and just with this one […]
Nýhil Poetry in the Grapevine:
And Then the Night Came The wood filled with creatures that sang with faded voice and flitted. As the warm breeze they surrounded me, filling me with such gladness that […]
Brain Police – Beyond the Wasteland
Veteran rockers Brain Police return with their fourth studio album, sporting a new guitarist, Búi Bendtsen. The result is more guitar heavy than past albums without losing their d
Tómas R. Einarsson – Romm Tomm Tomm
Bassist Tómas R. Einarsson is an institution in the small Icelandic jazz world. He is known for excellent bass playing on numerous albums with a handful of bands. Apparently he [&
Yes, He Was the Most Strongest Man in the Universe!
I was writing this masterpiece of an editorial, then the blackout hit and I lost all my data…. I am joking of course. While on the subject of jokes… A few […]
Searching for Darkness – a surprisingly successful hunt
Like many Reykjavík residents, I was immensely excited about the planned blackout in the city last week. I had admired the idea of a lightless city since I first heard […]
Culture of Constant Change
Ten months ago, Róbert Marshall was selected to oversee an exciting experiment for 365 Media. The largest media company in Iceland, was creating the 24-hour TV news station NFS. L
Putting Pop on the Priority List
How to support the Icelandic music industry and promote Icelandic music abroad has been an issue of debate year after year with no clear answer in sight as to how […]
The First Brave Step
In September, the Kjalarnes deanery of the national church of Iceland held a conference titled Peace and Conflict Resolution. Present were two special guests, Dr. Rodney Peterson o
Fear of a Colourless Society
It was the spring of 2003 when I experienced Iceland for the first time. The country completely captivated me and I wanted to fit in as much as I could […]
A Basic Form of Communicating
“Music has been intertwined with my life from the age of six. Actually, I didn’t give up my soul to it until I turned nine and started playing an instrument. […]
Connecting Through Music
Musician Will Oldham – sometimes known as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – has in the past decade or so proved to be an unusually prolific and important voice in contemporary music,
Another Glorious Week of Noise
Once again, the whole of Reykjavík, nay Iceland, braces itself to welcome the annual Iceland Airwaves festival and the plethora of young and exciting musical talent it brings, bot