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20 Years After Takk…, Sigur Rós Keeps Having Fun
Looking back at the band’s seminal record with Georg Holm “In a weird way, it almost feels longer ago,” says Sigur Rós bassist Georg Holm, speaking to me ahead of the 20th anniversary of Takk… on September 12, from Milan, where the…
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Grapevine New Music Picks: KUSK & Óviti, Páll Óskar & Benni Hemm Hemm, & More
Every day, I check the forecast for the cooling signs of autumn. Still, the oracle manages to surprise me with double-digit temperature, leaving us all in a state of desperation for that crispy air. After a few months of not compiling the…
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Addressing Misconceptions: This Year’s Vaka Folk Arts Festival
Fiddle workshops, embroidery, a feast, poetry, and a folk DJ set: this is the 2025 Vaka Folk Arts Festival. Since its inception in 2015, this festival has celebrated the folk arts traditions of Iceland and beyond, spanning music, dance, spoken word, and…
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RnB Artist Kris Brings Poise And Professionalism To The Stage
Kristening a debut album Starting their third concert series Hauslaus in September, Reykjavík Brewing Company’s venue Tónabíó shifts its focus to platforming upbeat and dance music. On September 13, newcomer Kris premieres her forthcoming EP what’s past. Recently celebrating the release of…
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Pavement, Silver Jews, And Bob: Pavements Screening Draws Icon To Ísafjörður
There are bands that try exceptionally hard but don’t matter. They might result in an online discussion of a pedal-board, or, in the best of all possible worlds, a fashionable t-shirt. One such band just arrived in Iceland, performed earnestly, and left…
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Growing Sounds: Sin Fang Experiments With Mushrooms For Svepparíkið Score
“Sorry, we’ve been soundchecking,” says musician and composer Sindri Már Sigfússon, perhaps better known as Sin Fang, as he greets me at the door of his studio at the music company INNI. “I’m just gonna take this guy out, and we can…
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Alaska1867 Lands In 101 Reykjavík
After a few years spent simmering and cooking, bleeding-edge rapper Alaska1867 burst onto the 101 scene with force in 2025. The 222 EP was a statement of intent; hit single “SOS” is one of the sounds of the summer. With an Airwaves…
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What Does BKPM Stand For?
The quintet discusses their inspirations, debut album, and enigmatic name I meet BKPM in the basement of 12 Tónar, just four days after their release concert that was held in the very same space. “I felt the energy was quite electric,” drummer…
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Single Review: Of Monsters And Men’s Ordinary Creature Has Extraordinary Appeal
Iceland’s best-selling alt-folk band creates masterful pop tune with local influence What does a band do with world fame and 15 years of performing together? In the case of Garðabær indie folkers Of Monsters and Men, they hone their craft. Their new…
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Billy Corgan And The Pumpkins Energise Sold Out Crowd At Laugardalshöll
Smashing Pumpkins play Reykjavík 30 years late, but firing on all cylinders “I don’t wanna go to the fucking Blue Lagoon,” spits Billy Corgan, spikily. “I wanna go to the black lagoon, where all the goths go.” He breaks out into his…
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String Theory: Jack Armitage’s Strengjavera
A grand piano sits in the Nordic House, wires streaming out of its frame, as magnets pull its strings to create eerie and captivating sounds. Jack Armitage — a 34-year-old musician, coder, composer, researcher, and doctor of media & arts technologies —…
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Music Reviews: Iðunn Einars, Elín Hall, lúpína
Whether you’re looking for music to soundtrack your week or your video game, Issue 12’s music reviews have got you covered. lúpína, a musician and producer, was also featured in our back quotes for this issue, where you can read her thoughts…
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Let’s Play Hide And Seek
Feluleikur seeks unusual performance spaces If you were to play a game of hide and seek in Reykjavík, I’d venture to say a basement, an old tower, the elevator of an art museum, and underneath a vintage clothing store are all proper…
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Autechre On Darkness, Spotify, And Fish Sticks
The revolutionary electronic duo reflect and opine ahead of their performance at Harpa Rob Brown and Sean Booth have just a few hours before they perform in Warsaw, Poland, and their tour manager, Mark, gives me a heads-up that “30 minutes” is…
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Bass And Guitar +1: Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi And Hróðmar Sigurðsson Release Their First Collaborative Album
The Reykjavík Grapevine has diligently followed the career of Icelandic bassist and composer Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi. The latest release featuring Ingibjörg is her most intimate. Titled +1, the record celebrates the creative partnership with her husband, Hróðmar Sigurðsson, who also played on…
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The “Disgustingly Wholesome” OPIA Community Welcomes Everyone
Grapevine talks with Managing Director Hildur Maral Since its founding in July of 2023, Ólafur Arnalds’ OPIA Community has united musicians, creatives, and fans of the musician within its multi-faceted hub. OPIA Community is “three-pronged;” they have six signed artists within their…
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Lose Yourself To Music: The Many Inspirations Of Katla Yamagata
Katla Yamagata hit the scene with a bang in September last year, when her debut EP Postulín (“Porcelain”) dropped, seemingly out of nowhere. Produced by JóiPé, it’s a 13-minute journey through five smooth, contemporary pop songs, including a notable guest appearance from…
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Music Reviews: BKPM, RAKEL, Alaska1867 and Birnir
Grapevine is hot off the press, and so are these single reviews! Check out musician, and now Grapevine contributor, Sævar Andri Sigurðarson’s reviews of these three songs below. “Vínarborg” by BKPM Single — July 22 Experimental post-punk group BKPM have been hard at…
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Demonic Agoraphobia At Austurbæjarbíó
Here’s a rundown of Reykjavík’s biggest Versló affair Twenty-three artists, three days, two stages, one new venue: this is the 2025 Innipúkinn. In this year’s iteration, indoor demons will take refuge in Austurbæjarbíó. Back in 2014, a Grapevine writer previewing the event…
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Music Reviews: Ólafur Arnalds, OMAM, And More
If you’ve been living under a rock, or only read The Grapevine online, then you don’t know that we’ve started doing album (and single) reviews again! On this happy Friday, we’ve decided to publish our past six reviews for your viewing pleasure.…
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Smjörvi Is Young, Wild, Free
Smjörvi’s latest EP #ung og eirðarlaus feels like the intersection of cyberculture and hyperpop Gaining ground in 2017 with the outrageous and eccentric track “Engar myndir”, Smjörvi — whose real name is Tjörvi Gissurarson — shies away from the hip-hop limelight, opting for…
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Hometown Heroes: Hardcore Group Gaddavír Play Wacken Open Air
Gaddavír is a pillar in the punk community “Are you a weeb?” asks Gaddavír frontman Kristján Alexander Reiner Friðriksson as I meet up with the longstanding hardcore punk band. He’s showing me new band merchandise, rows of red t-shirts stacked in a…
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What An Artist Brings To The PIKKNIKK
This summer’s Nordic House concert series “I never know exactly what will happen, and that’s part of the fun,” Victor Shepardson tells me of his upcoming set for the PIKKNIKK concert series. Victor is one of seven artists performing in the free…