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The Blue Lagoon Is Opening Early For The Eclipse
If you’re thinking about where to watch the eclipse from this coming Friday, then, my friend, we at Grapevine totally have your back. In addition to the five spots in Reykjavík that we suggested yesterday, it turns out the Blue Lagoon is…
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Listicle: Five Places To Watch The Solar Eclipse
As you’ve no doubt heard, Iceland is getting a solar eclipse this Friday. Thousands are flocking over for the spectacle with their special sunglasses and camera tripods. So we thought we’d pull together a list of some nice, relatively easy-to-reach spots to…
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Photos: The Endless Winter Of Iceland’s Route One
Part of the adventure of any Icelandic road trip is the journey itself. The extremity of Iceland’s landscape and weather make passing through the wilderness an immersive, visceral experience – particularly in winter. A blue sky reflecting in plains of fresh snow…
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Björk Unveils “Moving Album Cover,” Escapes From Stone Prison
Björk today unveiled some more fresh video relating to “Vulnicura”. This time it’s a “moving album cover” clip, featuring an excerpt of the track “Family,” made in collaboration with Andrew Thomas Huang. He is also the director of the “Black Lake” video…
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Severe Storm Causes Floods And Smashes Trees, Cars, Containers
The powerful storm that lashed over Reykjavík and wider Iceland last night and this morning has caused all kinds of damage, the extent of which is still becoming clear. Social media proved to be the place to find out what was happening…
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Jón Gnarr Decides Not To Run For Ice-Prez. Yet.
Much-loved comedian and former Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr has decided not to run for higher office, after months of speculation on a potential presidential bid. He revealed his intention in an editorial on Vísir this morning. His reasoning is fair enough. Despite…
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Björk Drops Lionsong Video
Björk has released the first video from “Vulnicura”. It’s for the album’s second track, “Lionsong”, and features some fleshy wobbly shapes, and Björk herself performing the song in the already-iconic outfit seen in the album artwork. The video was made with Björk’s…
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Under The Ice: Beneath Vatnajökull Lies A Photographer’s Paradise
Seeing a glacier for the first time is a memorable experience. As the southern ring road from Reykjavík gently loops towards the coast, the peaks of Eyjafjallajökull start to appear, a white shadow against the sky, almost unbelievably high. It’s soon followed…
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What’s Going On At DesignMarch? Director Sara Jónsdóttir Tells All
As the winter passes its nadir and the days start to grow lighter, a bright fixture on Iceland’s cultural calendar once again approaches. Every March, Reykjavík bursts into a celebration of the sprawling and multi-faceted emerging industry of Icelandic design. Whether “speculative…
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DesignMarch Seminars At Harpa: Play To Win
One of the major components of DesignMarch is DesignTalks—a packed day of lectures and seminars held at Harpa, where leading design professionals from around the world share their projects, methods, thoughts and ideas. Each year comes with a theme, and 2015 will…
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Iceland Erupts At Eurosonic Noorderslag
On the way to Holland earlier this month, I had a first-time experience when our IcelandAir flight was struck by lightning. The cabin flashed completely, blindingly white for a couple of seconds, and there was a loud cracking sound. My heart leapt…
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It’s The Small Things That Matter
Cory Arcangel is buzzing with energy, as one might expect just days before the opening of his first Icelandic solo exhibition. I meet the mild-mannered American artist—now a few years shy of his fortieth birthday, but as youthful in look and attitude…
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Contents Of Björk’s MoMA Show Revealed
More details of Björk’s MoMA exhibition have been released, including a tantalising trailer. The video shows an excerpt from a performance of ‘Black Lake’ in which Björk lies, gushing dark liquid from a chest wound. The exhibition – which marks the first…
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DJ Flugvél Og Geimskip Reaches Edge Of Universe, Makes Video
The premiere space cadet of Icelandic music, DJ flugvél og geimskip, has unveiled a video for her brand new track, “Edge Of The Universe”. This comes after a rocket-powered start to 2015 that included three shows at the “Iceland Erupts” edition of…
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Redesigning Tourism: The Skálanes Nature Reserve
Getting to the Skálanes nature reserve, which sits at one of the easternmost points of Iceland, is an adventure in itself. After taking an hour-long domestic flight into Egilsstaðir (and, with luck, a view of the Holuhraun eruption on the way), visitors…
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Vulnicura
Björk albums usually appear with quite a fanfare. But ‘Vulnicura’, the bleak and wintery eighth album of her adult solo career, arrived somewhat prematurely. Following an early leak, it was snap-released onto iTunes within days—the sudden appearance of an ominous monument, like…
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Kindness On Chasing The Sounds In His Imagination And Ignoring His Critics
Kindness is the nom-du-plume of one Adam Bainbridge, born in the distinctly un glamourous town of Peterborough in the Northeast of England. Over recent years, the long-haired, pouty-lipped singer has carved out a niche as a purveyor of a slick, disco/R&B-inflected pop…
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Sónar Is Here! And So Is Our New Podcast! Jófríður From Samaris Picks The Tracks!
Sónar Reykjavík is here! Yay! The Icelandic edition of the international electronic music festival opens its doors tonight at Harpa. Amongst the Icelandic performers tonight are Samaris, one of the recent young success stories from the Reykjavík scene. We talked to the…
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Hear M-Band’s Sónar Picks
After Sigga of Sísy Éy told us her five most-wanted acts on the Sónar Reykjavík lineup, here are the next five. Below are some bands that our album-of-2014 winner M-Band, aka Hörður Már Bjarnason, will be losing his pants to. Says he:…
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Tonik’s Anton Kaldal Took His Time In Crafting A Lush Electronic Sound
Anton Kaldal, aka the Tonik in Tonik Ensemble, sits in the Grapevine office, mulling over the process of creating his new album, ‘Snapshots’. “It began back in 2010,” he recalls, “with the process of not wanting to release an album, ever. The…
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Movement On Tectonics
Tectonics has announced it’s 2015 lineup. This annual festival, curated by the former Iceland Symphony Orchestra conductor Ilan Volkov, will once again celebrate modern classical music with an intentionally diverse selection of international works, performed at Reykjavík’s Harpa concert hall. The fourth…
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A Tonik For All Ills
Tonik, aka Icelandic producer Anton Kaldal, has given the world a chance to hear his new album Snapshots. It’s a real treat, too – a lush, beautifully produced electronica LP with a range of outstanding guest performances. It’s streaming in full below,…
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Cory Arcangel Brings Cutting-Edge Digital Art To Reykjavík
Acclaimed American artist Cory Arcangel will open his solo show today at Hafnarhusið. His exhibition, entitled All The Small Things, consists of reworked versions of his “greatest hits” of the last fifteen years, combined with a new series of adapted foam pool…
