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PHOTOS & REACTIONS: Bonnie Tyler Eclipsing Hearts At Secret Solstice
Last night, the crowd of Secret Solstice held out for a hero and my oh my did they get one. While the line-up was chock full of heavyweights like Steve Aoki, Jet Black Joe, and Reykjavíkurdætur, it was the Welsh chanteuse Bonnie…
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Underlying Forces: SEINT Explores What Comes After The Apocalypse
SEINT is a dreamy electronic act that announced itself as “post-apocalyptic pop” in 2015, with the release ‘Post Pop/The Last Day with Us.’ The cover of the album shows a nuclear explosion with two figures kissing, enjoying the last moments of their…
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Track By Track: An Elixir For Intuition On Kira Kira’s ‘Alchemy & Friends’
Each piece of music is an alchemical offering; an elixir for courage, a device for distilling faith, a meditation on patience or trust. If not a direct conduit to healing, the music is an act of friendship coiled as an alchemical substrate,…
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Where Nobody Gives A Fuck & Everybody Cares: Skaði’s Colourfully Goth World
Skaði Þórðardóttir emits a golden aura. She’s positive, open, and friendly—the type of girl you want to share secrets with at a sleepover. Her music is equally alluring. Layering goth drum loops with eerie synths and soothing vocal harmonies, Skaði creates music…
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The New Punks: Expecting The Unexpected With Geisha Cartel
Despite only forming a year and a half ago, Geisha Cartel have already proved themselves to be one of the most inventive acts in Reykjavík. Deftly treading between scenes, the three cousins bump an undefinable sound. You can’t label them, and you…
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Track By Track: ‘Klámstjarna’ by Dadykewl
The Dadykewl vibe is one of chill positivity. While he does everything from party bangers to toned-down emotional trap, the singer is known for his no-holds-barred honesty. Love songs, real talk—you’ll find it all on his new album ‘Klámstjarna’. We asked him…
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Cold As Ice: A Rex Pistols Playlist
When asked to make this list I started with a nostalgic list that reminded me of my first trip to Iceland in 2006, where I blew all my money at 12 Tónar. My nepotistic second was a compilation of hits by my…
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Music News: New Festival! Godchilla tour! More Airwaves! Dayum!
Most of Reykjavík’s grassroots indie scene will head out to Borgarfjörður in West Iceland on July 6th-8th to play at Hátíðni, a DIY festival that’ll be held at the BRÚN community centre. The acts announced so far are Umer Consumer, GRÓA, bagdad…
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Grapevine Playlist: Iceland’s New Lo-Fi Indie Wave, Dadykewl, Seint, Teitur & More
Grapevine Playlist Teitur Magnusson – Hverra Manna? Probably the most chill musician in Iceland, Teitur Magnússon is back with a new single. It’s a characteristically sunny and languid pop track with sonorous brass parps, light flute arrangements, and a chorus perfect for…
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Reykjavík Arts Festival: Borko Celebrates The Release Of “The Lover —Music For Dance”
Borko, aka Björn Kristjánsson, is a compelling character. With his impressive, well-groomed beard and his intelligent eyes behind old-school glasses, he seems like a person that lives in a cabin far out in the wilderness. A resident of Reykjavík, he instead goes…
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Reykjavík Arts Festival: Úlfur and Halldór Eldjárn’s Reykjavik GPS Brings Interactivity To Music
It’s one of the first bright days of the summer in Iceland when I meet composer and musician Úlfur Eldjárn at Kaffi Vest. He orders two espressos, one for him, and one for his brother Halldór. “One time, when Halldór was late,…
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Wild Creature: Umer Consumer Takes On A Life Of His Own
Ýmir Gíslason stands on a narrow causeway, watching a bright yellow demolition truck tearing down an old metal industrial tank. The pincer closes and pulls again and again, relentlessly tearing chunks of the building away. Each time it lets go, the whole…
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Sweat & Nostalgia: The Second Night Of Reykjavik’s Deathfest, A Love Letter
Dear Reykjavík Deathfest, After your decent first night of crushing extreme metal, I am full of anticipation when I arrive at Gaukurinn at around 7pm. This night is all about nostalgia. We’ll see two reunions of old and beloved Icelandic bands—namely, Gruesome…
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Metal Is Death: Reykjavik Deathfest’s First Night Turns Gaukurinn To Ash
It’s Friday night. But not just any Friday night. It’s death metal night. For any fan of this subgenre, Reykjavík Deathfest comes close to being their holy grail, featuring international headliners such as Dead Congregation from Greece, Skinned from the USA, and…
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Grapevine Grassroots n° 6: Trippy, Brave & Fresh
I stepped into the smoky-as-ever and surprisingly busy Húrra last week for the sixth edition of the Grapevine Grassroots concert series. Umer Consumer was already onstage, and as I weaved my way through the crowd, I became hypnotised by his trippy, hallucinogenic…
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Music News: Bræðslan Lineup Announcement, New Festival, 12 Tónar Anniversary
The Bræðslan festival, which takes place annually in a fish factory in the remote East Iceland town of Bakkagerði in Borgarfjörður Eystri, has announced its 2018 lineup. Home to just 100 people, the festival sees visitors descend from all over Iceland; this…
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Grapevine Playlist: Sturla Atlas, Kiriyama Family, Mio Dior, Arstaðir & More
As new tracks continue to surface like a pod of spectacularly breaching fin whales, here are the latest tracks from the cold, dark depths of the Icelandic music scene. Snorri Hallgrímsson – Still Life Not to be confused with folkie crooner Snorri…
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Electric Dreams: Dark Prince Fendi Blends Pop Ideology With Rap
“I’m in this shit for me alone. Everybody’s trying to copy me but I’m flexing on them.” So begins Dark Prince Fendi’s seven-month-old Soundcloud track “Gang Shit.” The artist is well aware that he has a lot to offer, and is proud…
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DJ, Musician, Label Guy, Provocateur: Cracking Harry Knuckles
“I’m in a conceptual black metal band right now,” says Frímann Frímannsson, a.k.a. Harry Knuckles. “You’ve probably never seen us because we don’t play live, or make music. It’s just conceptual, just ideas, you know.” He’s completely deadpan, but finally breaks down…
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Dreifing In Bagdad: The Sunny Nostalgia Of The Bagdad Brothers
With their warm, flowing, mellow sound, Bagdad Brothers are a unique addition to the ever-blossoming Reykjavík music scene. They describe themselves as a pop band, but when you listen to their first album (‘Jazz Kid’s Summer Project,’ released last autumn), you can…
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Flip The Switch: Iceland’s Raflost Electronic Arts Festival Comes Online
Do you know what animated notations are? Have you ever been to an algorave? No? Well, then listen up, because the Raflost festival, held from May 23rd-27th, will soon be putting them on the map when they bring the latest electronic and…
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Artist Playlist: SYKUR’s Kristján Eldjárn
Kristján Eldjárn rose to prominence as one of the producers behind SYKUR, one of Iceland’s most explosive electronic pop party bands, whose new single “Loving None” was recently released. He also performs solo as KRELD, including the release of a brilliant and…
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Too Blessed To Be Stressed: Sólveig Matthildur On Robert Smith & Touring Japan
In the short time since branching out into a solo music career, Sólveig Matthildur has caused tidal waves through Reykjavík’s—and indeed the world’s—underground music scene. Having rapidly self-released her first album “Unexplained Miseries & the Acceptance of Sorrow” last year to critical…