Author: Dr. Gunni
Þeyr Has Spiritual Intercourse With The Nation
by Dr. Gunni
In 1981, a flock of serious men came out of the woodworks—often wearing long grey or black overcoats. They probably…
Dr Gunni History of Icelandic Music Rock Part 18
by Dr. Gunni
Ahh… 1981. The best year in Iceland’s rock history. At least for me, a 15 year old whose life music…
Dr. Gunni’s History Of Icelandic Rock Part 17
by Dr. Gunni
The rhythm section of Utangarðsmenn—Magnús and Rúnar—came from the tiny village of Raufarhöfn. Brothers Mike and Danny Pollock were the…
Dr. Gunni’s History Of Icelandic Rock Part 16
by Dr. Gunni
Punk and new wave came late to Iceland. In 1979, all Icelandic records were still either disco, foamy pop or…
The Progressive Folk Rock Brigade
by Dr. Gunni
In the seventies, Icelandic progressive folk music was mainly taken care of by two bands, Spilverk þjóðanna (“Plaything of the…
The Least Obnoxious Xmas Music – Ever
by Dr. Gunni
Christmas music is painful at best. Except it is actually Christmas—plus/minus a week. Hearing absolutely horrible songs like the Icelandic…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 13
by Dr. Gunni
The same core players are involved in three of the best Icelandic bands from the seventies, Stuðmenn, Spilverk þjóðanna and…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 12
by Dr. Gunni
By the mid-seventies, indolent hippies were passé and nobody was really singing about love and peace anymore. Heavy drinking and…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 11
by Dr. Gunni
By spring of 1973, both Gunnar Þórðarson and Rúnar Júlíusson had turned 28. Behind were the most popular groups of…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 10
by Dr. Gunni
Pétur Kristjánsson was the hardest-working rocker of the seventies. In a decade laden with frothy pop music, country ballads and…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 9
by Dr. Gunni
The Icecross album from 1973 has in recent times fetched high prices on the international psych record market. This is…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 8
by Dr. Gunni
It is the beginning of 1971 and yet another line-up for the premium hippie band Trúbrot is born. Trúbrot 3.0…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 7
by Dr. Gunni
Icelandic popular music has in every major way developed similarly to pop music internationally. By 1969, Icelandic pop was –…
Hljómar Invent Icelandic Pop
by Dr. Gunni
During 1967 and ‘68, Hljómar were once again the major band in Iceland. After the band’s failure to break through…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 5
by Dr. Gunni
The Beatles had completely changed the landscape of the pop scene and therefore, by 1965, every Icelandic garage was full…
The History of Icelandic Rock Music: Part 4
by Dr. Gunni
Having been the island’s pop superstars for a whole year, Hljómar set out to conquer the rest of the world…
The History of Icelandic Rock
by Dr. Gunni
The development of rock music was much the same in Iceland as in the rest of the world. First we…
The History of Icelandic Rock
by Dr. Gunni
Reykjavík, late fifties. Once rock ‘n’ roll had arrived fresh and powerful, the kids born around 1940 fell flat for…
The History of Icelandic Rock
by Dr. Gunni
Iceland 1956. Only few years have passed since Icelanders lived in mud huts and died young. Second World War had…