A Faroese Folk Fay
Gamli Gaukurinn, February 12A cold, monotonous and tipsy Wednesday was on its way when I stepped into Gamli Gaukurinn to see the Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir. From the get-go
Fyrir Herra Spock, MacGyver Og Mig 2013
Sveinn Guðmundsson’s debut album is pretty much your standard issue bread and butter lo-fi Icelandic folk twiddle. A deferential mix of gently strummed guitars, soft chewy bass
Nanna Dís Features Her Favourite Photos From Sónar 2014
Grapevine photographer Nanna Dís shares a few of her favourite photos from Sónar 2014. She also has a website that lives here. Day 1 Högni’s first solo project HE was a [&hel
Matthew Eisman’s Favourite Sónar Photos
Grapevine photographer Matthew Eisman picks his favourite photos from Sónar. Day 1 Can somebody tell me what mystic frequency GusGus are always tapped into please? Perennially e
Premiering HE
Högni Egilsson Shows His TeethHögni Egilsson is a busy man. He arrives at Hotel Borg’s cocktail bar in relaxed and confident form, straight off the back of a photo shoot, [&hel
The Music Festival Season Is Upon Us
The first couple of months of the year are usually pretty uneventful music-wise, but the upcoming Sónar festival later this month is something to look forward to. The festival was
Happening This Weekend Feb 7 – 9
As everyone knows, February is the sad and short month that sits between Christmas and Easter, but thankfully we have Sónar Reykjavík to look forward to. We recommend you nab [&h
Mammút Delivers An Electrifying Performance
Ten years of stage experience as one of Iceland’s favourite indie-pop bands has taught Mammút how to roll with the punches. For instance, a bit of minor electrocution at the
Autumn Skies
What beautiful sounds this album delivers; it’s simply a brilliantly-designed and controlled set of pastoral pop songs that delivers an intensity of loving thoughts and vigne
Happening This Weekend Jan 31 – Feb 02
Friday Reykjavíkurdætur The rebellious feminist troupe Reykjavíkurdætur have a show tonight and they call on all the capital’s fierce lionesses to attend and make some no
Penumbra
‘Penumbra,’ the debut album from songwriter and vocalist ÍRiS, does just what the title suggests. Sitting on the edge of shadow and light, this album seems to lose itself
Eliminate Evil Revive Good Times
Earlier in 2013, I was asked by a fellow Icelandic music writer to provide some insight for an academic paper he was writing on the “Scottishness” of modern music that
Happening This Weekend: Jan 24 – 26
The wind is blowing, the rain is drizzling, and the weekend is full of promising events, so it’s business as usual in Reykjavík. Whether you feel like seeing the high […]
Northern Comfort
It seems fair to say that most forms of entertainment value a certain sense of drama. From Shakespeare to Wuthering Heights to Citizen Kane to Arcade Fire, situations and stories [
Happening This Weekend Jan 18-19
This week the weather has not been utterly horrid in Reykjavík, which hopefully is indicative for the weekend to come because it is one absolutely packed with wonderful events. Sa
Top House Tunes Make You Go On And On (And On And On)
Sónar Reykjavík 2014, SaturdaySaturday night at SONAR started off pretty much the same way as the night before. Everyone seemed to be at home or in the local bars, preferring [&h
Harpa Hypnotised by Philip Glass
Philip Glass ÉtudesAn étude from the French for “study”, is a short, often highly challenging piece designed to expand the playing technique of a musician. This often involve
Meet The Venue: Harpa
Over the years, Sónar has become internationally recognised for curating cutting-edge live line-ups, but here at the Icelandic edition there’s another big star at the core o
Tackling Gravity
Animation Director Daði Einarsson talks about the film’s technical challengesWhen it comes to animation, Iceland’s Daði Einarsson is a real veteran. After spending several ye
A Trip Hop Legend
BonoboSimon Green’s alias, Bonobo, took formal shape in the late ‘90s with the release of the 1999 song “Terrapin,” which later found a place on his seminal debut album
A Pioneer of Icelandic Hip Hop
Cell7To say in 2014 that hip hop is solely an American art form is a grave misnomer. While the origin and root are indefinitely seated within black urban culture in […]