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All In The Family
It doesn’t get much more romantic than in the world of folk, where music is looked upon as a phenomenon of shared experience. To the extent that folk emphasises storytelling and the storyteller, and to the extent that folk is a miracle…
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Tequila and Chamomile
James Blake was indulgent, lush gospel. The crowd transfixed by his full-bodied, all-consuming bassline that vibrated bones and filled every corner of the room. At the most delicate of moments, one could hear crass, intoxicated conversations in Icelandic over James’s angelic self-absorbtion.…
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Friday Night Lights
Inside, an anxious shuffle. The vast expanse of Harpa’s interior. Walls the colour of scorched-rock, bright lights reflecting in mirrors above the stately staircase. A horde of excitable youngsters dally around the first-floor bar, crowding the entrance to the “Bay View” stage…
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The Decisive Moment
Ari Sigvaldason has the relaxed, unhurried sense about him of someone who decides his own working hours. As the owner of Fótógrafí—the only fine photography gallery of its kind in downtown Reykjavík—Ari is in the relatively rare position of making a living,…
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‘Inside The Volcano’ Tour: Belly Of The Beast
Einar Stefánsson is the kind of man who whistles while descending into the mouth of a volcano. I’m standing in an open elevator system with him and two other strangers, dangling—it would seem—above the 120-metre deep magma chamber of a dormant volcano.…
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Iceland Cubed
The question of how best to package Iceland for international consumption has long been a contentious issue, one that has no doubt been on the minds and lips of private and public citizens alike since well before the economic downturn officially hit.…
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Bastard Love
We are not entirely lost to ourselves. Our gaping wounds and ghastly inadequacies do not escape us, though in the untrained eyes of others the possibility of inscrutability remains—at least for a time. Especially if we lie. Especially if we run. ‘Bastard’—a…
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The Activist
Andrea Ólafsdóttir was the last to announce her candidacy for president, on May 1, International Workers’ Day this year. Born in 1972 in Húsavík, Andrea chairs the Coalition of Home Owners (Hagsmunasamtök heimilanna) and has been a vocal opponent of the mandatory…
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Tickle Against the Machine
On an international scale, Erna Ómarsdóttir is undoubtedly Iceland’s best-known contemporary dancer. Tickling Death Machine is her most recent project, which she describes as a ‘concert performance’ and collaboration with her partner Valdimar Jóhannsson, the couple’s band Lazyblood and his band Reykjavík!…
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The Boys Are Back In Town
‘Valtari’—Sigur Rós’ much-anticipated sixth-release—is risky. Not that the band hasn’t, in its 18-years-active, established itself as a creative juggernaut of sorts, and cultivated an insatiable fan base. But ‘Valtari’ is risky in the way all matters of the heart are risky. Because…
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Sigur Rós Denies Split Rumours, Confirms Others
In an exclusive interview with the Grapevine, Georg Hólm (Goggi) and Jón Þór Birgisson (Jónsi) deny persistent rumors that Kjartan Sveinsson—who has been with the band since 1998—quit Sigur Rós. The bandmates likewise dismiss as “fabrication” the stories published in the Icelandic…
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An Elegant Twist
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is a woman who takes care in the details. Running her fingers down the back of a long gray jacket of her own design, Steinunn looks the garment over with a discerning eye. It is mid-day in her new studio…
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Getting Rid Of ‘The Man Behind The Curtain’
Before we begin, let’s just go ahead and acknowledge the illustrious, dazzling elephant in the room: Björk. She’s always there. Our cultural ambassador: a symbol for independent womanhood, for creative freedom, for our supposed musical matriarchy. Indeed, Björk’s success plays into a…
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Reykjavík Christmas City
If there’s one cause to which the perpetual dusk of Icelandic winter is sympathetic, it’s that of Christmas decorations. Indeed, no lights are quite as lustrous as those delicate orbs of white lining the trees, the streets, the buildings downtown. This year…
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Suffer For Fashion, Or Whatever
It was 1977, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The voice, the vision, the inimitable Nina Simone erupts the audience with cheers and laughter as she chides them: “Come on girls, come on.” This moment was all I could think of…
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Lights & Music, Indeed
Outside the concert venue, face flushed pink to match his undersized varsity jacket, Berndsen looked exultant. Honestly, it was probably all the jumping—a pigmentary euphoria triggered by his onstage synthpop-hop and ensuing gulps of oxygen. I mean here the awkward, overstated stage…
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Young Hearts
This July 10 to 17 marked the 11-year anniversary of the LungA young artists’ festival in the far-eastern town of Seyðis-fjörður. Following a weeklong workshop process in visual and performance art—hosted by some of this country’s leading artists—the festival culminated in a…
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Five Places You Should See / Trips You Should Take
Esja—That big mountain over there Close to the heart of every Reykjaviking—literally as well as metaphorically—is the mountain range Esja, located just north of Mosfellsbær, about a 20 km drive from the city centre. The most popular destination, the Þverfellshorn peak, can…
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Information Without Borders?
The info-wars have begun, and Iceland is begging to be the legislative battleground. In the wake of the international controversy made mainstream in part thanks to WikiLeaks’ highly-publicized and continued release of leaked documents from around the world, Iceland remains curiously relevant…
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Short List Announced for Top Albums of the Year
Kraumur Music Fund announced today the nominees for this year’s Kraum List—the Fund’s annual prize for Icelandic albums of the year. The following 20 albums made the judges’ short list, but only five will win a spot on the actual Kraum List…
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Suffer For Fashion, Or Whatever
It was 1977, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The voice, the vision, the inimitable Nina Simone erupts the audience with cheers and laughter as she chides them: “Come on girls, come on.” This moment was all I could think of as,…
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Reykjavík Nine Call for Show of Solidarity
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the alleged ‘attack on Parliament’ by the ‘Reykjavík Nine’ protesters, who in December 2008 attempted to visit the public benches of Parliament and were involved in a struggle with security. The incident occurred not long before…
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NASA – Sunday
Photo by Hvalreki The first band to play that night was Orphic Oxtra who helped get me over my intense anger (at NASA, they charged money for water) with their fun Balkan inspired ensemble. The band is great; they have a lot…
