Author: Bob Cluness - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Author: Bob Cluness

Rafsteinn: Rebirth

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In a break from their usual psychedelic/garage rock recordings on offer from Ching Ching Bling Bling, this five-track EP from…

Run, Fatboy, Run!

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One night last November in a 101 Reykjavík bar, I was enjoying several drinks with some friends. Everything was normal…

Arnar Ástráðsson: State Of Mind

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Arnar Ástráðsson is a songwriter best known for having a song, “Ástin Mín Eina” (‘My One And Only’), that reached…

Múgsefjun: Múgsefjun

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Complexity and experimentalism in rock and pop are to be enjoyed if done with the right level of panache and…

Sin Fang: Half Dreams

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I’m not a natural summer person, so when a piece of music comes along that actually raises my endorphin levels…

Blood Feud: Hiding Behind The Light

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After 2008’s EP ‘Adjustment to the Sickest,’ the former metal covers band known as Blood Feud have finally released their…

Louder Than Hell And Twice As Nice!

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So Eistnaflug 2012 has been and gone. Amongst all the fun and frolics, the growing consensus from both the fans…

Eistnaflug 2012 Saturday REVIEW

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As Saturday dawned and our final musical journey began, the combination of three days of illegal hard liquor, scorching sun…

Eistnaflug 2012 Thursday REVIEW

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“Hey Eyþór! What’s that strange shiny thing up in the sky there?” “I don’t know man, but it’s doing weird…

All Hail To The Technobaron

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The word “legend” is thrown around a lot these days, especially to hype up various over-the-hill groups riding the retro…

Subminimal: Microfluidics EP

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In purely drum and bass terms ‘Microfluidics,’ the second EP from Reykjavík producer Subminimal, does not re-invent the wheel. It’s…

Of Monsters and Men: My Head Is An Animal

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In 2012, Of Monsters And Men rose above all to the status as Iceland’s number one musical export, especially in…

The New Local Hotshots: Tilbury

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One of the hotly anticipated local acts at this year’s Music Mess is Tilbury. Originally founded by Þormóður Dagsson as…

The International Up-And-Comer: Man Made

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Niles Marr, who performs under the moniker Man Made, is one of the foreign acts appearing at this year’s Reykjavík…

Intro Beats: Half Time

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One of the more interesting aspects of Möller Records is the way they seem to act as a refuge for…

Low Roar: Low Roar

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Ryan Joseph Karazija’s self-recorded debut album as Low Roar details his struggles as an American to acclimatise to a new…

Þórir: Janúar

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Þórir Georg’s second solo album under his own name displays both ends of Þórir’s increasingly diverse and expanding musical palette…

Black Metal Coffee Evening

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“Do you have any tea?” “Sorry we don’t have any tea bags. We only have coffee.” Damn… I really don’t…

Music Battle Royale 2012!

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Since 1982, The ÍTR, Reykjavík’s sports and youth council, has put on The Battle of the Bands (Músiktilraunir) as a…

Elephant Poetry: Trash Can Honey

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Elephant Poetry’s second album, ‘Trash Can Honey,’ is pretty much your bog-standard test card rock, complete with bullshit swagger, monochrome…

Helgi Jónsson: Big Spring

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‘Big Spring,’ the second album from Helgi Hrafn Jónsson, contains probably the worst lyrics I heard from an Icelandic album…

Up To Ears In John Cage

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Thursday March 1 was the opening day of the inaugural Tectonics music festival, which would focus on the music and…

Bringing The Breakbeat To Book

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It’s a Wednesday afternoon and I’m passing the time at Prikið while waiting for Karl “Kalli” Tryggvason, DJ and member…

Making Digital Waves Across The World

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Yatra Arts seeks a wider audience for Icelandic electronic music in 2012. That can’t be a bad thing, can it?…

Björk: Biophilia

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As most people on Grapevine’s Facebook will know, I recently had the misfortune of losing my cat. True, in the…