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Unearthing That Frosty Vibe: Árni Has A Passion For The Decks
A real “DJ’s DJ”, Árni E. Guðmundsson is a tireless champion of other people’s music, often bringing unknown talents into the spotlight. Having started in drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep under the moniker Skeng, Árni now goes by his first name, playing…
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Iceland’s Techno Star Bjarki: трип Down a Road Less Travelled
Flashing lights. The meditative rhythm of music blaring from stacks of speakers. A sea of people, entranced by the spectacle, swaying to the four by four beat. And up front, the DJ, Bjarki—although “DJ” is a misnomer in this case, as he…
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Video Premiere: Kira Kira’s ‘Pioneer Of Love’ Reaches For The Top
Wading through the thick snow, musician Kira Kira steadily ascends icy cliffs in the music video for her single “Pioneer Of Love.” The song, co-written by electronic musician Hermigervill, is the lead single from her new album ‘Alchemy & Friends,’ was released…
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Grapevine Music Awards: Band To Remember – Subterranean
Once a year, we at Grapevine honour the best and brightest of the Icelandic music scene by giving out awards to some of the artists who light up our lives on the little subarctic island. The Band To Remember award goes to…
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Grapevine Music Awards: Shout Out – Alvia & Bára Gísladóttir
Once a year, we at Grapevine honour the best and brightest of the Icelandic music scene by giving out awards to some of the artists who light up our lives on the little subarctic island. The second—the Shout Out award—goes to rapper…
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Anna Rún Tryggvadóttir: Everything Is In Motion, Nothing Is Solid
Each artist must determine the moment when a new piece of art feels finished and ready to be revealed to the world. For Anna Rún Tryggvadóttir, a visual artist whose exhibition ‘Garður’ is currently on display at Reykjavík Art Museum, a piece…
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Don’t Fear The Eyes: Högni’s ‘Two Trains’ Take Him From Station To Station
Everyone knows Högni Egilsson. He’s a ubiquitous figure in Icelandic culture. Coming up with indie darlings Hjaltalín, he made himself known to both younger and older generations. Later, with electronic veterans GusGus, Högni endeared himself to the club crowd. As a solo…
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Upside Down: Auður, Up Front & Behind The Scenes
In his music video for ‘I’d Love,’ Auður’s world gets literally turned upside down. He awakens, enters a mysterious room and begins to sing. Before long, the space around him starts spinning, flipping him upside down, compelling him to find his footing.…
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Alien Electro: Volruptus joins Nina Kraviz’s трип label
Electro—the hip hop-influenced, techno-adjacent dance music genre—is enjoying a major revival in clubs across the globe. One of the rising stars of this genre is Volruptus (real name Bjargmundur Ingi Kjartansson), whose modular-synth-heavy tracks are being played by major DJs in venues…
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Track By Track: ‘Sinking Island’ by MIMRA
MIMRA is the pseudonym of singer, composer and producer María Magnúsdóttir, who just released her album ‘Sinking Island’. She will follow it up with a release concert with a full band in Bæjarbíó, Hafnarfjörður, on November 8th. We asked María to talk…
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Another World Onstage: Sunna Is Rising
The polished electronica of Sunna Margrét Þórisdóttir—who, a musician, goes by simply Sunna—sounds almost surgical at times, yet somehow fluid. “It doesn’t happen by accident, but it’s not exactly planned either,” she explains. “The lyrics and song—I just do it. I don’t…
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Everything’s Good And Nothing Matters: The Return Of DJ. Flugvél Og Geimskip
How does one begin to describe dj. flugvél og geimskip? First of all, she’s not really a DJ, despite the name, which translates to DJ Airplane and Spaceship. Steinunn Harðardóttir is a polymath—a singing synth and drum machine wizard with an impressive…
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Embracing The Unknown: KÁRYYN Steps Into The Limelight
KÁRYYN is a producer, composer and vocalist who makes mysterious, affecting and emotional electronic music. An American of Syrian-Armenian descent, she was born in Alabama and raised in Indiana, but spent much of her early life in Syria—a period that had a…
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Darkness And Dread: The Drag Electronica of Mighty Bear
A glittering skull-shaped mask appears from the fog, striding out over the moss, with the rest of his (or her?) visage covered by black fabric. A golden hauberk-like hooded dress covers their torso. This mysterious figure is a different sort of drag…
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Lost Film Classics: In ‘Count Me Out’ The Kids Are Alright
In the ‘90s, the Icelandic film industry was churning out three films per year on average. With that sort of limited output, it’s quite impressive that any children’s films were produced at all. But ‘Stikkfrí,’ or ‘Count Me Out’ in English, is…
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Playing The Air: Hekla, Her Theremin, And The Possibilities
With her theremin, Hekla pulls haunting electronic music out of thin air. Named after its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin, this futuristic looking apparatus conveys a certain eerie timbre, often associated with sci-fi or spooky goings-on. Frequently used in movie scores—and, famously, in…
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All Singing, All Dancing: Milkywhale Prepare For Iceland Airwaves
As Iceland Airwaves approaches, Icelandic pop duo Milkywhale is expanding horizons by reaching out to a new audience. “We’re playing for kids in elementary school, down to 6 years old,” says Melkorka Sigríður Magnúsdóttir, the singer, dancer and all-around frontman. Together with…
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Lost Film Classics: Shapeshifters’ ‘Under The Glacier’
“God has the virtue that one can locate Him anywhere at all, in anything at all.” So says the rebel priest in the book, ‘Under The Glacier,’ written by Iceland’s only Nobel Laureate, Halldór Laxness. Published in 1968 as ‘Kristnihald undir Jökli,’…
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Sincere Punk-Drag: Skaði Turns Her Gender Into A Mythological Music Being
“My art has a lot of sexual energy,” says Skaði, the music producer and performer known for her punk-electro drag performances. “I see drag culture as a way to perform as a sexual being, like expressing an orgasm. I let it flow…
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Lagaffe Tales: Iceland’s Biggest House Label Celebrates 5 Years Of Grooves
Kaffibarinn, the legendary (but narrow) bar on Bergstaðastræti, has been the bastion of house music in Reykjavík for years. It’s where Lagaffe Tales label owners Jónbjörn Finnbogason and Viktor Birgisson worked together as bar-backs, while starting out as a deep house DJ…
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Lost Film Classics: ‘White Whales’ Washes Ashore
Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006, in violation of the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on the practise. The country remains one of a small group, including Norway and Japan, who hunt whales despite the popular opposition to hurting the so-called gentle giants…
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Innipúkinn: Outdoor Festivals Are Self-harm
As thousands of people leave the capital area on Merchants’ Weekend, filing off to outdoor festivals around the country, those remaining in Reykjavík can experience the best of both worlds. “Innipúkinn is of course the only real music festival taking place this…
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Lost Film Classics: ‘Foxtrot’ Delivers
“Brothers will battle.” The ominous foretelling of Ragnarök, the heathen armageddon, in the prophecy the Völuspá is also the central theme of ‘Foxtrot’ (English title: ‘Codename Foxtrott’), the 1988 Icelandic thriller history has all but forgotten. In the late 80s, Icelandic filmmaking…
