Author: Rex Beckett - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Author: Rex Beckett

Year In Weather

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One of the greatest paradoxes of Icelandic discourse is the generalised aversion to any form of small talk, but an…

The Ocean Breathes Salty At Snæfellsnes Peninsula

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I’m clinging to the lighthouse rail at the top of Sugandisey, looking across the harbour onto Stykkishólmur. The wind is…

Icelandic Photographer To Sue Kanye West’s Stylist

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Icelandic photographer Katrín Þóra Bragadóttir is planning to sue Kanye West’s personal stylist Virgil Abloh for illegally using one of…

And A Ptarmigan In A Pear Tree

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Every year, nearly five thousand people flock to the mountains of Iceland to hunt rock ptarmigan, a medium-sized grouse commonly…

A Christmas Commerce Carol

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As Tom Lehrer once famously sang, “God rest ye merry merchants may you make the yuletide pay.” Whether you celebrate…

Winter Fun for Everyone

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Clear sunny skies, crisp maritime air and crunchy snow underfoot—when winter finally takes off in Iceland, it’s truly a treat….

Progress Smells Like One Thousand Dead Birds

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Kárahnjúkar gets exploded via artistic licenceA white infant-sized coffin sits atop a mound of sullen black sand guarded by two…

Seen & Heard At Iceland Airwaves 2012

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Let’s be honest—some of the best fun at this festival has nothing to do with bands, booze, partying or passing…

Lampooned Austerity and Mythological Madness

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New choreographies premiered at the Iceland Dance Company season openerI have long held the view that here, as in many…

Video: Sin Fang—”Walk With You”

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With exactly one day to go until the festival, we’ve decided to kick our preview coverage up a gear and…

Michael Gira And The Ever-Changing Goal For Joy

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The SWANS bandleader talks about performance and the pushing of soundOccasionally when you import music into your iTunes, it will…

Modernist Art Leads To Obvious Entertainment

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Interview with Cameron Corbett about his new choreographyAs the month of October rolls around, the Iceland Dance Company prepares to…

Expat Diaries #1: Puddle Duckling

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I had been expecting the latest care package from my mother for a couple of weeks when, this evening, just…

The Bus That Yarn Built

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Catching up with Reykjavík’s wool-and-needle wielding hooligansA couple of weeks ago, I got on the bus at Lækjartorg and was…

Continuous High-Octane Thunder Crash

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I’m a bit of an asshole cynic when it comes to Canadian bands. Not because of Nickelback or anything—Nickelback rules!—but…

From Chess Board To Sound Board

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In September 1972, Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky were in Reykjavík for the World Chess Championship, pitted against each other…

Essentially Powerful

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Dance duets from graduates of P.A.R.T.S. in BrusselsThree students who graduated from the prestigious Performing Arts Research & Training Studio…

NATURAL TRANSITION

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On June 27, the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a landmark occasion for human rights took place in Iceland as…

Eistnaflug 2012 Thursday REVIEW

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“Hey Eyþór! What’s that strange shiny thing up in the sky there?” “I don’t know man, but it’s doing weird…

Seven Year Ink

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In a country where an opportunity to show off skin at the local swimming pool is as commonplace as a…

Legend: Fearless

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It’s a rare event that a debut album from a relatively new band could bring about severe fits of nostalgia…

Hello, Kitty!

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Reykjavík’s weirdest girl scored a free trip to China and told us howSometime in early 2007, a fabulous group of…

‘I Never Went South’: Ísafjörður’s 100% Free Good-Time Family Festival

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“It’s such a treat for us,” Sigurlaug Gísladóttir of Mr. Silla and múm said. “All the companies in Iceland have…

You’re Just Too Krútt To Be True

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As far as old clichés go, ‘better late than never’ is one of the easiest to doubt. Sigríður Níelsdóttir may…

Music Battle Royale 2012!

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Since 1982, The ÍTR, Reykjavík’s sports and youth council, has put on The Battle of the Bands (Músiktilraunir) as a…