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Killing Time For Rökkurró
If you saw our interview with the newly reconstituted and rejuvenated Rökkurró the other day, you might be curious to know they’ve released the first track in their new configuration. It’s called “Killing Time”, and illustrates the shift in sound, and language,…
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Zola Jesus Embraces The Cold
Zola Jesus, aka Nika Roza Danilova, went a long way in a short time. From art-school-solo-project beginnings, her early lo-fi recordings grabbed the attention of an international audience hungry for artistically-minded pop, and found fans in Fever Ray and the xx; before long,…
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Grapevine Talks To… Oyama!
Oyama are a young Reykjavík quintet who’ve been picking up plaudits for their dreamy and distorted shoegaze sound. Their self-released EP “I Wanna” came out last year, and they’ve been in hibernation for the summer writing and practicing new songs – we…
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Darkling I Listen – Jófríður Ákadóttir soars on the wings of poesy
Wunderkind Jófríður Ákadóttir has the unaffected calm (and charm) you might expect from someone who, at 19, is already a veteran of the Icelandic music scene. Having won the Icelandic Battle of the Bands in 2011 with threesome Samaris—Jófríður seems poised to…
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The Bartender’s Guide to Airwaves
As Airwaves grows nearer, it’s time to ask for advice about what to do, what to drink and where to go when you’re not attending concerts, of course. There are plenty of things to do, to see and to experience but don’t…
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Iceland Airwaves Insider: Haukur S. Magnusson
If you’re a regular reader or at all familiar with the Reykjavík scene, you probably know of Haukur S. Magnusson. Reykjavík Grapevine’s editor-in-chief is something of a face about town during Iceland Airwaves, whether playing as the guitarist of Reykjavík! or marshalling…
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Högni Interviews DJ Flugvél Og Geimskip
What do you talk about in your music? I talk about things that are not at all what they seem; things that you can just get a glimpse of in the dark night; things that prefer disguise; things that make the world…
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Bedroom Community Announce Festival Schedule, Including Hallgrímskirkja Show
Bedroom Community is probably Iceland’s best-known record label, renowned for a roster that smashes the mould of contemporary classical music. So, it’s exciting for everyone to see that they’re going to have a very active Iceland Airwaves, full of daily opportunities to…
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The Bringer Of Light
As a core member of the Bedroom Community label, Daníel Bjarnason has been composing music that stretches and warps the concepts and expectations towards what is considered “classical music.” His 2010 debut album, ‘Processions,’ is a work that is at once both…
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Grapevine Talks To… Nolo!
Nolo are Ívar and Jón, and their recently appointed drummer, Hörður. Since their debut album, which was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize, they’ve released a steady stream of winning lo-fi pop songs, including their latest “accidental” LP (reviewed here). We spoke…
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Daníel Bjarnason Interviews Vök
Photo by Axel Sigurðarson I understand that Músiktilraunir marked the first time that you played a show. Has your music changed since you’ve played more shows? Well of course our music has changed or evolved rather, and hopefully for the better. How do…
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Jófríður interviews Arnljótur
Do you have a fashion idol? There’s nobody in particular, although I have gone through my phases. When I was a kid it was Captain Hook and then as a teenager it was hippy culture, which I’m actually still pretty into despite…
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Ten Bands To Catch At Airwaves 2013
Straum.is has been active since last summer, with writers Óli Dóri and Davíð Roach documenting the local music scene and helping people discover the best new music. It is associated with the radio show Straumur on X977, which airs every Monday evening…
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Girls In Hawaii, Dreaming Of Iceland
Melancholic indie sextet Girls In Hawaii are the only band from Belgium at Iceland Airwaves this year. Formed in 2002, they’re returning after a two-year hiatus that resulted from the sudden loss of their drummer in 2010. We spoke to them about…
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The Syrian Bubbi – Omar Souleyman brings a new dimension to Iceland Airwaves
-Words by Ragnar Egilsson Aside from the kebab shop muzak and the ominous wailings heard in American action movies whenever the setting is moved outside the U.S., your average Icelander is not likely to have much exposure to Arabic music. This makes…
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The Return of Rökkurró
Rökkurró formed in 2006, releasing their breakthrough LP “Í Annan Heim” (“In Another World”) in 2010. It was a cult hit, ending the year as the most-streamed album on Icelandic streaming service Gogoyoko, and picking up healthy acclaim elsewhere. After some European…
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Grapevine talks to… Gísli Pálmi!
Gísli Pálmi is one is Iceland’s foremost young rappers, known for his Icelandic-language flow and his melding of beats and electronic textures. We went round to his place to talk about 90s hip-hop, hybrid music, rapping in the language closest to Old…
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The Beat That Went On And On And On And On
– Words by Alex Baumhardt Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, “Maggi,” drums in local bands Amiina, Borko, Kippi Kaninus, Moses Hightower, Sin Fang, Tilbury, Snorri Helgason and a number of others on a rotating basis. He manages to balance domestic and international touring, recording…
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Wasted At Airwaves – Your last sip of beer is not the bottle’s last song
– Words by Alex Baumhardt You may have noticed that the big Airwaves festival booklet is nowhere to be found this year. That’s a good thing, says festival manager Grímur Atlason, who came into Airwaves four years ago with the intention of…
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THE EXPLORER
Högni Egilsson on singing, sailing and the making of Grapevine’s album of 2012, Hjaltalín’s ‘Enter IV’
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The Airwaves 2013 Visitor Survival Guide
How to make the most of Reykjavík during the five-day festival —Words by R.X. Beckett While some may think of Iceland Airwaves as a festival of locals and devotee tourists, we know that the city welcomes hundreds of first-time visitors and hardcore…
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Favourite Five: Lord Pusswhip
Þórður Ingi Jónsson, aka Lord Pusswhip, has been making a name for himself recently with his trademark mashing together of heavy beats, skittering samples and mischievous loops. He made the Grapevine news in 2013 when he used a performance at Iceland’s American…
