It’s always an event when Iceland’s most interesting director, Þorleifur Örn Arnarson, puts on a play in Iceland. German-speakers can see his older work in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. But for those that don’t understand Icelandic, don’t worry, we got you. Þorleifur has compiled Iceland’s best musicians—everyone from Bríet to Sturla Atlas to Cyber—in his production of Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet. The play is already making waves and the music is already topping the charts.
You’ve never heard of KK? What have you been doing with your life? KK is Iceland’s best blues musician, a legendary songwriter and he’s been part of the Icelandic national soul since the early ‘90s. Finally, someone noticed this wonderful musician outside of Iceland—or, rather, a trio of people: former Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, actor and director Sean Penn, and Cat Power, another wonderful musician in her own right. Cat Power covered KK’s beautiful song “I think of angels”, and Eddie Vedder used it in Sean Penn’s movie, Flag Day, so obviously the movie’s going to be a masterpiece.
Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, best known for her work in both television and film, has now brought her talent to a new medium: video games! No, not Fortnite, come on! The award-winning composer is making music for Battlefield 2042. The first-person shooter will be released on PC, Playstation and Xbox on October 22nd, and Hildur’s score for the game will be released around that time on vinyl and streaming services. But what makes this even more interesting is that Hildur’s collaborator in the project is her husband, Sam Slater.
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