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Track By Track: ‘Kill The Moon’ By Kig & Husk
Kig & Husk is comprised of music veterans Frank Hall from the band Ske and Höskuldur Ólafsson, who made international headlines in the late 90s with the energetic hip-hop outfit, Quarashi. This new album is a notable departure from their earlier work,…
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Christmas Beyond The Stratosphere: A Concert For Theremin and Hulda
Seven days before Christmas, Reykjavík musician Hekla Magnúsdóttir will team up with multimedia artist Lilja María Ásmundsdóttir to perform a groundbreaking concert. You may know Hekla as one of Iceland’s foremost practitioners of the theremin, the otherworldly-sounding electronic instrument invented in the…
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Eivør’s Cross-Cultural Global Roots
“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” offers Faroese musician Eivør Pálsdóttir as she settles into an office chair. “I miss it all the time.” Of course, she’s not referring to The Grapevine’s pleasant but essentially rather functional business premises. She’s referring to Iceland;…
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Íslands In A Stream: Live From Reykjavík
Live From Reykjavík—Iceland’s newest live music event—had its second annual outing last month. It’s a hybrid affair: a live stream to bring the music to an international audience, with a few hundred people present at the event’s four venues to bring an…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Fríd and Ægir
This week we bring you soaring soundscapes, serene underseascapes and cyclical clickscapes. Grab some proper headphones or plug into some decent speakers for this; your ears will thank us later. And check out everything we’re listening to right now on The Grapevine’s…
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A Night Out With The Demons: Skrattar Is Keeping The Rockstar Lifestyle Alive
We’ve all heard wild tales of rock bands’ raucous nights with groupies, drugs and wacky behaviour. However, it seems like this destructive culture is dying out. Gone are the nights when TVs were thrown out hotel room windows by deranged rock stars—and…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Borko, Brynjar and Pusswhip
Prick up your ears! It’s time once more for The Grapevine to pour some fresh harmonic honey into them. And once we’re done, check out everything we’re listening to right now on The Grapevine’s New Music Picks playlist on Spotify. Lord Pusswhip…
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Grapevine Grassroots: Live Track And Interview With BSÍ
The lo-fi DIY punk of BSÍ has been playfully poking its finger into the ribs of the Reykjavík music scene for a couple of years now, and has always tickled The Grapevine’s fancy. The band, duo Silla Thorarensen and Julius Rothlaender, took…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Damon Albarn, Teitur Magnússon & ZÖE
Heads up! It’s time for this week’s Grapevine new music picks. Check out everything we’re listening to right now on The Grapevine’s New Music Picks playlist on Spotify. Damon Albarn – Royal Morning Blue In a recent interview with the Grapevine, Albarn…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Jónsi, Jóhann & Skúli Sverrisson And Daníel Ágúst & Co.
Heads up! It’s time for this week’s Grapevine new music picks. Check out everything we’re listening to right now on The Grapevine’s New Music Picks playlist on Spotify. Jónsi – Obsidian Jónsi—interdisciplinary artist and a founding member of Sigur Rós—has released his…
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Björk’s Choral Concert Soars
A musician announcing plans to “re-imagine” a well-loved body of work in the live arena can induce a shiver down the spine of the devoted fan. In anticipation of the results? Or of dread at what might transpire? Perhaps a mixture of…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Inspector Spacetime, Árný Margrét & John Grant
Tomorrow sees the return of Live From Reykjavík! You can choose to brave the Icelandic chill to catch the live music across the city, or stay toasty and watch the global stream at home. Either way, all three of this week’s picks…
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Maybe A Swan Song: Hipsumhaps At Harpa
Fannar Ingi Friðþjófsson, best known as the mind behind Hipsumhaps, might be about to sing his last. On November 12th at Eldborg in Harpa, Hipsumhaps will be giving a performance that for Fannar, may ring out the coda of his musical career,…
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Wist From The Westfjords: The Gentle Folk Of Árný Margrét
Árný Margrét creates sublime, wistful songs that draw on themes of love and longing in the best tradition of heartfelt roots music. She has just returned to Reykjavík after studying abroad, and confides that she’s already missing what she describes as her…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Of Monsters And Men, Sóley And CeaseTone
Monsters! Phantoms! Skulls! And… erm… CeaseTone! It must be Halloween weekend. Get your spooky on with our recommendations for the best new Icelandic music on offer, and check out everything we’re listening to right now on The Grapevine’s New Music Picks Spotify…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: Kælan Mikla, Látún & Stereo Hypnosis
As leaves fall and the northern hemisphere embraces that autumnal feel, our thoughts turn to what the hell we will talk to the other parents about when we take the kids out trick or treating. Get ahead of the curve on all…
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Track By Track: Eleqant By Quest
Info: To listen to Quest is a quest in itself. Their first album, “Eleqant” is humorous, allowing the band to be tacky at times, while something undeniably cool permeates their surroundings; some hipster vibe you can only find with someone that has…
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Live From Reykjavík Returns
Music fans will have to wait until 2022 for their next fix of Iceland Airwaves, after gathering restrictions put paid to the festival for the second year running. But the good folk who run Airwaves are determined not to leave the nation’s…
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KÓPÓ! Herra Hnetusmjör Brings The Flow And The Fest
The landscape of Icelandic rap has been ever-evolving since the first fully Icelandic language rap albums dropped in 2001. While English-language hip hop existed in Iceland before this point, the linguistic shift provided a crucial turning point which continues to influence the…
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From ‘What If’ To Reality: GDRN Talks Storytelling Through Music And Acting
Telling your story takes courage. Telling someone else’s story takes empathy. Guðrún Ýr Eyfjörð Jóhannesdóttir, or GDRN as she’s known in front of the mic, is no stranger to either. First launching into the public eye as a refreshing young voice in…
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Track By Track: ‘Deluge’ By Boncyan
Boncyan—Iceland’s resident mature boy band—is composed of Janus Rasmussen, Sakaris and Tom Hannay. After a slew of fun, mature boy band releases, they are finally dropping their first EP. We sat down to hear it out—track by track. Turn It All Around…
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Music News: Romeo & Juliet, KK, Hildur Guðnadóttir & More
It’s always an event when Iceland’s most interesting director, Þorleifur Örn Arnarson, puts on a play in Iceland. German-speakers can see his older work in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. But for those that don’t understand Icelandic, don’t worry, we got you. Þorleifur…
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Grapevine Playlist: Vök, Rebekka Blöndal, Matthías Hemstock, And More!
Vök – “No Coffee At The Funeral” If you understand the importance of coffee in the fabric of Icelandic culture, then the title of this song will make sense as a metaphor for the painful absence of something essential. Grieving loss is…