Marching On A Road To Nowhere
Anyone who’s seen the Talking Heads’ phenomenal concert film ‘Stop Making Sense’ knows that David Byrne does not fuck around when it comes to live shows. He doesn’t look
Happiness Is A Sad Song
“I woke up this morning and cheered, ‘There’s miserable weather!’” Melancholica Festival organiser Pete Uhlenbruch said on Wednesday, August 21. If ever an event could im
All The Rage
Emerging upstairs at Faktorý for the Grísalappalísa album release concert was like entering a man cave: hazy lights, musky smells and low growls issued from the front of the ro
GusGus Bid Farewell To Faktorý
The Sunday night in question was special and historical for few different reasons. It was GusGus’ first concert at Faktorý and it was GusGus’ last concert at Faktorý. It was
Seeking Closure From Faktorý
With Faktorý being torn down to make room for another downtown hotel, we had to go check out one of its last shows on July 26. Playing were Benny Crespo’s […]
The Disco Mothership Lands At Harpa
Moses Hightower started warming up the crowd with some of their polite funk and low-key whispered soul. It went down smoothly, and even got kind of gritty in the last […]
An Unbelievable Weekend Of Mayhem
Eistnaflug, “flight of the testes,” is sacred ground for the rockers and metalheads of Iceland. Featuring sets from 70 bands over three days, 700 kilometres out of Reykjavík,
Catching The Eistna-bug
You have to be a pretty hardy soul to attend Eistnaflug. Set in the isolated fjord of Neskaupstaður, the journey alone takes about 9 hours without any stops. I guess […]
Snæfellsjökull Healing
Armed only with rumours that I would most likely encounter cold weather and people doing A LOT of drugs, I headed for the fourth annual Extreme Chill Festival bundled up […]
The Case For Quietude
On a cold, wet Sunday evening, if one has to leave the dry comfort of their living room couch, there are few better places to go than the amber-glowing warmth […]
Stormy Adventure Time
Rauðasandur (English: “red sand”) is a small festival in a relatively remote part of the Westfjords, offering a daytime programme of wholesome fun stuff like seaside yoga, hil
Drowning In This Frank Ocean Do Not Resuscitate
During Frank Ocean’s Reykjavík show—the final one of his European tour—fans drowned metaphorically in the tides of his music and literally in the sea of people pushing towar
The Art Of Encountering Higher Beings
Sure the winter-wonderland scene of an alien polar bear crushing a weak and flailing naked woman was eye-catching, but what really got my attention on the All Tomorrow’s Part
Shop Here, Tax Free (piss on me while I shit)
I’m on the bus on my way to All Tomorrow’s Parties. I almost missed it. Ten minutes before the bus left I was having a drink at Boston with the […]
Can We Fit More Metalheads In Here?
Skálmöld has been one of my favourite bands since they released ‘Baldur’ in the deep and dark winter of 2010. I saw them shortly thereafter in Gamli Gaukurinn and was
RELEASE THE WACKEN!!
One of the great things about Iceland is the way different social/cultural circles sometimes end up sharing the same oxygen in unusual surroundings. So it came to pass on a [&helli
Ice And Sand
It’s not often that most Icelanders find themselves in the middle of the desert. Of Monsters and Men’s Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir isn’t quite sure how to handl
The Winner Takes It All
It’s that time of the year again! Since 1982, the annual Músiktilraunir (Iceland Music Experiments) competition has been waged to find the best in new, unsigned music from Icela
I’ve Never Been North
Close to the northernmost tip of Iceland lies Ísafjörður, a small town nestled deep in the crook of Skutulsfjörður. Several hours of mountain road from the lights of Reykjaví
A Misspent Star Wars Childhood
As I sit down in Harpa’s Eldborg hall to listen to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra play the music from Star Wars, all sorts of childhood memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, [&
Download Morðingjarnir’s “Þú komst með jólin til mín” (feat. Thorunn Antónía)
Morðingjarnir & Thorunn Antónía – Þú komst með jólin til mín Christmas season has arrived in Reykjavík, which means, lots of jólabjór, plenty of holiday déco