-
Björk, Aronofsky And Nature Associations To Throw Nature Benefit Gig
An environmental benefit concert was announced yesterday with Björk and director Darren Aronofsky as the figureheads. Entitled “Stopp—Let’s Protect the Park,” the event will be held on March 18, and begins at 17:30 with the premiere of “Noah” at Egilsbíó cinema. With…
-
The Reykjavík Folk Festival Has Announced Its Schedule
This folkie annual gathering takes place at KEX next week, from the March 6 to 8. The lineup features twelve artists and aims to celebrate the depth of Iceland’s folk music tradition by representing different generations of musicians. Snorri Helgason was involved in…
-
Eyrarrós Celebrates Culture Projects From All Around Iceland
At the Skaftfell Arts Centre in Seyðisfjörður, people interested in Icelandic art and culture gathered together recently to find out which regional projects would receive recognition for their efforts from the annual Eyrarrós awards. With Iceland’s president and first lady looking on,…
-
Premiering HE
Högni Egilsson is a busy man. He arrives at Hotel Borg’s cocktail bar in relaxed and confident form, straight off the back of a photo shoot, which came after recording some organ music in Reykjavík’s cathedral earlier in the afternoon. “I’ve been…
-
Welcome to the Grapevine’s Second Ever Annual Music Awards, Ever!
Here at Reykjavík Grapevine we love little more than chit-chatting and shit-shooting about Icelandic music. There’s rarely a moment in the office when there isn’t some new album or other on the stereo, or playing in the headphones of the various people…
-
Northern Comfort
It seems fair to say that most forms of entertainment value a certain sense of drama. From Shakespeare to Wuthering Heights to Citizen Kane to Arcade Fire, situations and stories are often presented through a certain lens and with a story arc…
-
Harpa Hypnotised by Philip Glass
An étude from the French for “study”, is a short, often highly challenging piece designed to expand the playing technique of a musician. This often involves an intentionally difficult mixture of techniques, sometimes including sharp swings in mood or tempo or mind-bending,…
-
Meet The Venue: Harpa
Over the years, Sónar has become internationally recognised for curating cutting-edge live line-ups, but here at the Icelandic edition there’s another big star at the core of the festival. Originally operating under the rather less catchy moniker of “The Reykjavík Concert Hall…
-
Home To The Loneliest Hotel In The World
Djúpavík, like many places in the Westfjords of Iceland, feels close to the edge of the world. Formerly a busy fishing town, the herring processing plant that dominates the area lies silent, long since closed down. Its oil tanks and echoing halls…
-
The Haunting Of Bastardgeist
If one were to imagine what a band named Bastardgeist might sound like, certain styles come to mind. Maybe some punishing noise, or mutant grindcore, or dark, doomy metal. So it comes as a surprise, at first, to open the box of…
-
Nolo: Human
A short but sweet LP of lo-fi earworms Prolific synth-pop duo Nolo have been quietly amassing a catalogue of self-recorded singles, EPs and albums since their formation in 2009. Their artist page on Gogoyoko shows no less than 21 releases, many of…
-
Hiking Fimmvörðuháls, South Iceland’s Greatest Hiking Trail
Fimmvörðuháls is an old hiking trail in Southern Iceland that’s flanked by two glaciers, Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. The name means “five cairns pass,” and whilst the original cairns are no longer used, it’s a well-marked path popular with natives and visitors alike.…
-
Stormy Adventure Time
Rauðasandur (English: “red sand”) is a small festival in a relatively remote part of the Westfjords, offering a daytime programme of wholesome fun stuff like seaside yoga, hill walking and a sandcastle contest, followed by a party, a schedule of live music,…
-
Hymnalaya: Hymns
Religion and “rock ‘n’ roll” are uneasy bedfellows. It seems fair to say that most Christian bands don’t shout about their religion from the rooftops. From Low to Owl City to Belle & Sebastian, religion is often a subtext, and it does…
-
The Mess Is Back!
Reykjavík Music Mess is a DIY music festival held annually in a couple of the city’s downtown venues. The festival started in 2011 and has consistently brought together the finest acts on the Reykjavík scene for a series of almighty parties, topped…
-
I’ve Never Been North
Close to the northernmost tip of Iceland lies Ísafjörður, a small town nestled deep in the crook of Skutulsfjörður. Several hours of mountain road from the lights of Reykjavík, it’s a remote spot for a music festival, especially in the usually chilly…
-
YAIC 2K11: A REPORT
You Are In Control is an annual gathering in Reykjavík that brings together key figures from the Icelandic and international creative industries. In the various grand spaces of Harpa, the newly finished, gleaming metal-and-glass concert hall and conference centre set in the…
-
The Importance Of Being Indie
If you run an independent music enterprise, it’s probable that at some point you’ll realise you’ve become something of a geek. The music industry is vast and complicated, with so much to learn that a nights-and-weekends project can quickly become an all…
