Words by

Sindri Eldon

Reykjavik Music Mess is an independent music festival in downtown Reykjavik, with shows at Nasa, The Nordic House and Sódóma Reykjavík. It is held for the first time from the 15th to 17th of April. We have invited international acts such as Deerhunter (US), Lower Dens (US), Nive Nielsen & Deer Children (GL), FOSSILS (DK) and Tomutonttu (FI) and local heroes such as Mugison, Sin Fang, Reykjavík!, Agent Fresco and Skakkamanage. Here you have the festival schedule. Enjoy the schedule and the music! 

Friday, April 15th
The Nordic House
20:15 Prinspóló
21:00 Samaris
21:45 Nive Nielsen
22:30 Sóley
23:15 Stafrænn Hákon

Sódóma
22:00 Miri DJ set
22:45 Nolo
23:30 FOSSILS
00:15 Swords of Chaos
01:00 Einar Örn + SWC
01:45 Æla
02:30 Miri DJ set

Saturday, April 16th
The Nordic House
20:15 AMFJ
21:00 Hellvar
21:45 Tomutonttu
22:30 FOSSILS
23:15 Orphic Oxtra

Nasa
20:30 FM Belfast DJ set
21:15 Miri
22:00 Borko
22:45 Sin Fang
23:30 Lower Dens
00:15 kimono
01:00 Reykjavík! + Lazyblood
02:30 Quadruplos

Sunday April 17th
The Nordic House
20:15 Hljómsveitin Ég
21:00 Mugison
21:45 Lára Rúnars
22:30 Agent Fresco

Nasa
20:30 Kippi Kaninus
21:15 Sudden Weather Change
22:00 Skakkamanage
22:45 Deerhunter

YOUR FANCY RMM VENUES
THE NORDIC HOUSE: Though not traditionally a concert venue, The Nordic House has long celebrated culture in all its various forms.
SÓDÓMA REYKJAVÍK: With its cramped quarters, excellent sound system and central location, Sódóma is the quintessential Icelandic music venue.
NASA: Inarguably the classiest of Reykjavík’s venues, NASA’s slick décor and plush carpets belie the wild partying that goes on at the dance-floor.
YOUR FANCY RMM ARTISTS
PRINSPÓLÓ: Prinspóló is lovely indie lo-fi from the heart of Iceland. A one-man operation in the studio, it takes to the stage with endearing wit and charm as a full band.
NIVE NIELSEN: Greenland-born Nive Nielsen brings simple, country-themed folk into its own with a hazy, narcotic production that is as endearing as it is intriguing.
SÓLEY: Dreamy and ethereal, Sóley’s piano-driven ballads recall Cat Power and Joanna Newsom at their most assured and elusive.
STAFRÆNN HÁKON: Ranging from minute, intimate guitar twinkling and minimal pitter-patter drum patterns to massive, apocalyptic noise crescendos, Stafrænn Hákon’s music seems to span the entire bracket of alternative music.
SAMARIS: With slow, minimal programming accompanying husky vocals and a sombre clarinet, recent Músíktilraunir winners Samaris might just be the next big thing in Icelandic techno.
NOLO: Tough, genre-driven soundscaping experimentation and outstanding pop hooks make Nolo one of Iceland’s most interesting bands since… well, ever.
FOSSILS: Raging, intense and malicious rock, Fossils make the kind of music that gets you thinking about switching to a meatonly diet and endorsing cannibalism.
EINAR ÖRN + SWC: Einar Örn and Sudden Weather Change mark two disparate generations of Icelandic alternative guitar music, and will combine at the Music Mess to produce gloriously misunderstood results.
ÆLA: Skewed, off-kilter and maddeningly obscure, Æla’s protopunk veers calamitously from song to song with little time or patience for explanation.
AGENT FRESCO: Agent Fresco have been all but crowned the princes of Icelandic stadium rock, with their soaring operatic vocals, snaking chugga-chugga guitar riffs and hard-battered drums.
AMFJ: A one-man death march of genocidal sound destruction, AMFJ would never do anything he’s told, so we won’t even bother to predict what he’ll be like at the Music Mess.
BORKO: Fruity synth and sample fiddling accompanied by melodious acoustic guitar, Borko’s music has been described as being ‘like tiptoeing through a field of daisies while having a bath of champagne.’
DEERHUNTER: An energetic, adventurous pop-rock band from the American heartland, Deerhunter have never been too indie to throw some sloppy rock awesomeness into their music over their ten-year career.
HELLVAR: This noise team smashes together emotion-laden synthpop and snarling guitar hooks to make an invigorating soup of sound.
HlJÓMSVEITIN ÉG: Wholesome folk-rock goodness from one of Iceland’s most underrated satirists, Ég have recently emerged from hiatus to remind people what music was like when it was still music.
KIMONO: Kimono has, of late, been redrawing the battle plans for Icelandic indie with their epic post-rock compositions.
KIPPI KANINUS: Roomy, atmospheric musical experimentation defines Kippi Kaninus, whose contributions to the Icelandic experimental scene over the years have been invaluable.
LÁRA RÚNARS: The energetic pop stylings of Lára Rúnars seldom fail to amuse and delight, with their carefully laden indie instrumentation and catchy singalongs.
LAZYBLOOD + REYKJAVÍK!: Premiering their ‘TICKLING DEATH MACHINE’ show that will run at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Belgium this May, rockist noisemongers Reykjavík! and their sister band, electro-rockist noisemongers Lazyblood will be sure to surprise at RMM.
LOWER DENS: Smoky, laid-back guitar hooks and hollow vocals abound in the music of Baltimore four-piece Lower Dens, and they look to be a band worth watching.
MIRI: Young alt-rock heroes from east Iceland, Miri have made a name for themselves in recent years as an innovative, inventive and altogether fascinating live act.
MUGISON: Blazing a trail that’s led him from skittish experimentation to atmospheric movie soundtracks to full-blown angstridden cock-rock, Mugison has long been considered one of Iceland’s finest indie heroes.
ORPHIC OXTRA: Orphic Extra’s lively, Balkan-style folk pop is nothing short of onstage insanity, with its organized chaos flying all over the place.
QUADRUPLOS: Slick dubstep infused with all the verve and vigour of Iceland’s flourishing techno scene, Quadruplos will most assuredly get loud at Music Mess.
SIN FANG: The euphoric product of one of the Icelandic indie scene’s favourite sons, Sin Fang continues to enthral with its carefully crafted pop symphonies.
SKAKKAMANAGE: This rough, homegrown indie band infuses some fun into the often-drab realities of existence in Iceland, with its tell-it-like-it-is lyrics and DIY production style.
SUDDEN WEATHER CHANGE: The introverted teen anthems of Sudden Weather Change find a boisterous outlet in their charismatic live shows.
SWORDS OF CHAOS: With beats and riffs carefully designed for maximum efficiency head-banging and moshing, the brutal battery of hardcore punk that is Swords Of Chaos has become something of a local legend.
TOMUTNOTTU: Hypnotic ambient from Iceland’s closest cultural relatives, the Finns, Tomutnottu is as utterly incomprehensible and yet irresistibly entertaining as the nation that spawned.