Music
Most read
Latest
-
Grapevine Playlist: JFDR, una schram, Matthildur & More
What’s going on in Icelandic music today? Lots. Folk, rap, trap, oddly appealing cheese musicals… you name it, and you’ll find it in Iceland. Hera – How Does A Lie Taste? In her new song, Hera asks the important questions. Just how…
-
Electric Dreams: bbbbbb On Their Newest Concoction
Icelandic electronic music producer Bjarki needs little introduction by now. But, if you do need one, calling this Berlin-based musician an ‘experimental rave engineer’ could make things clearer. This year saw the release of his album ‘Happy Earthday’, which he described as…
-
Music News: Víkingur Ólafsson Slays, Söngvakeppnin Gets Crowded & Kælan Mikla Heads To SXSW
Iceland’s most pleasant and prodigious pianist—and former Grapevine cover star—Víkingur Ólafsson was named Artist Of The Year at the 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards. For those not in the know, this is a big deal. Previous winners of the award include heavyweights…
-
Halldór Eldjárn: Finding Stillness In This Hectic World
Eldjárn—the Icelandic word for “fireiron”—suggests a sort of burning rage, but Halldór Eldjárn evokes anything but. Taking a seat at the Grapevine office, the computer scientist-cum-musician, calm and centered, carefully observes his surroundings. Halldór just dropped his solo album ‘Poco Apollo’ in…
-
Artist Playlist: A Dreamy Autumn with Elín Sif
This autumn is a busy time for young singer-songwriter Elín Sif, best known for her up-beat indie-pop tune “Make You Feel Better.” She’s about to drop her debut album as well as play her first Iceland Airwaves gig. Nevertheless, Elín Sif carved…
-
Artificial Intelligence, Brian Eno And The Displacement Of Air: The Making Of Halldór Eldjárn
Musician Halldór Eldjárn has been drawing a lot of attention recently for his AI-approach to composing, as well as his homemade percussion-playing robots. Here’s what has made him the artist he is today. Generative music The concept of generating music has always…
-
SYKUR Gives Birth… To A Long Awaited New Album
Sugar is the name for sweet tasting simple carbohydrates used for making food sweeter. SYKUR is the name for Iceland’s favorite electro-fab-party-techno-pop group. Now, the band’s fiery frontwoman Agnes Björt Andradóttir, and guitarist Kristján Eldjárn are ready to chat about the long-awaited…
-
Track By Track: ‘Songs 4 Crying’ By KARÍTAS
A newbie on the scene, KARÍTAS brings a delicate mix of harmonic pop and trap. Backed by producer Dadykewl, she’s here with her first EP ‘Songs 4 Crying.’ We sat down with KARÍTAS to talk about the release, track by track. If…
-
What Is My Energy?: una schram Brings Pop R&B To Airwaves
“Energy is something I think about a lot,” chanteuse una schram, lowercase, please, says delicately over the phone. She’s currently in Bristol, starting a B.A. in music, and won’t be back in the country until just before her Airwaves debut this November.…
-
Dada Pogrom: 30 Years Of Tech Noire Crushing Music
A text-version of “Star Wars” plays on a 70s computer as Kenneth Vladas Balys, who grew up in Iceland and Canada, walks around his art studio at Grandi, introducing some new bass synthesisers he’s been making by himself. The studio is a…
-
Grapevine Playlist 18: The Soul Of The Beat
Moses Hightower – Lyftutónlist The Icelandic kings of soul, Moses Hightower, are back—with a vengeance, but with a piece of elevator-music (that’s the literal translation of the title of the song). The title doesn’t promise much, but it’s actually some quality music…
-
Grapevine’s Playlist: Attitude & Butter Edition
Like waking up with nine extra arms that have been tidying up your house and doing your taxes while you were asleep, here are the some new tracks from the Icelandic music scene that caught our attention—for better, or for worse—this month.…
-
We’re Not Sports Persons: Supersport! Aims For Top 10 Pop Hit
Bjarni, Þóra, and Dagur of Supersport! are all cuteness and smiles as they sit around a table at Kaffibrennslan. The band is fresh off an enchanting Culture Night performance, where, forgoing the stage, they decided to sit in a patch of grass…
-
Track by Track: ‘Unbroken’ By ZAKAZ
ZAKAZ is a one-man atmospheric post-black metal project known for its cathartic soundscapes and emotional songs. Here, ZAKAZ go through his newest EP, ‘Unbroken,’ track by track. All of these songs are deeply personal and were written in a period of total…
-
Best Remembered Secrets: The Dreamy Lo-Fi Of Hipsumhaps
“Hipsumhaps is a word that we thought described the band perfectly,” Jökull Breki Arnarson explains. Along with his collaborator Fannar Ingi Friðþjófsson, Jökull is sitting back in his grandparents’ garage, which they’ve turned into a makeshift studio. “It’s a word that doesn’t…
-
In Character: The Sublime Intensity Of gugusar
Guðlaug Sóley Höskuldsdóttir is shy. Sitting in her family’s Grafarvogur home, backlit by the late-summer sunshine, the 15-year-old songstress—who performs under the name gugusar—speaks quietly and punctuates each of her thoughts with a nervous laugh. She’s never been interviewed before and frankly…
-
Let Me Be What I Want To Be: LaFontaine Opens Up
Jóhannes LaFontaine, better known under is electronic-music moniker LaFontaine, is a known figure in Iceland’s clubbing scene. He started making music when he was eleven and has numerous solo projects and collaborations under his belt, not to mention countless live and DJ…
-
Music News: Tangerine Dream, Airwaves, & Björk
One of the biggest icons of electronic music, Tangerine Dream, has painted stadium-sized soundscapes for no less than half a century and now they’re bringing their art fo the ExtremeChill festival. The festival’s 10th edition will be taking place in Reykjavík from…
-
Emotional, Intimate, A Little Experimental: ‘Vast’ Is A Work Of Ambient Art
Viktor Orri Árnason is probably best known in Iceland for his work in the band Hjaltalín, but lately, he’s been doing his own thing. Most recently, his own thing is collaborating with fellow Berlin resident and musician Yair Elazar Glotman to create…
-
Melody-Minded Chapters: The Visual Classical World Of Gabríel Ólafs
Gabríel Ólafs’ debut album ‘Absent Minded’ is out now on One Little Indian, available on all streaming platforms and in stores on vinyl. As Icelandic artists continue to establish themselves in the world of modern classical music, a new generation of musicians…
-
Björk, The Knife And Fever Ray – An Experiment
In a musical exchange, Icelandic icon Björk Guðmundsdóttir and Swedish artists Fever Ray and The Knife remixed each other’s songs. The outcome is experimental… and just a little bit disturbing on Björk’s side. Fever Ray and The Knife tackle Björk’s “Features Creatures”…
-
How Does One Become Lord Pusswhip?
Þórður Ingi Jónsson, or Lord Pusswhip, is definitely an oddball when it comes to music. He is one of the rising stars in the electronic music world. He also once interned at the Grapevine. Here, Lord Pusswhip told us what made him…
-
Artist Playlist: Lift Off With Plútó
Eleven-member DJ group Plútó comprise the most comprehensive knowledge tank of dance and electronic music in Iceland, essentially like an art collective, but without the pretentiousness. Here, five members of Plútó disclose their favourite Icelandic track. Kocoon Subterranean – My Style Is…