Author: - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Þeyr Has Spiritual Intercourse With The Nation

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Icelandic popular music has in every major way developed similarly to pop music internationally. By 1969, Icelandic pop was –…

Hljómar Invent Icelandic Pop

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Iceland 1956. Only few years have passed since Icelanders lived in mud huts and died young. Second World War had…