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Testing Times: Kári Stefánsson On deCODE’s COVID-19 Screening Programme
As the rampant spread of COVID-19 outpaces testing capabilities the world over, even superpower nations are left guessing at infection rates and scrambling to test indispensable healthcare workers. Mercifully, it’s an entirely different story here in Iceland. Boasting more than 18,000 COVID-19…
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Not Letting Panic Guide Us: Chief Medical Officer Alma Möller On How Iceland Is Dealing With COVID-19
As some countries close their borders, screenings and tests are either too expensive or impossible to get a hold of, and even some world leaders take up science-denying rhetoric, Iceland has distinguished itself in its fight against the spread of the novel…
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Here’s Looking At You, Paradise: The Uncertain Fate Of Bíó Paradís
Bíó Paradís, an arthouse cinema and Reykjavík cultural institution since 2010, now faces the very real possibility of shuttering its doors for good. Cinema manager Hrönn Sveinsdóttir explains why Bíó Paradís matters, and how it can be saved. For a long time,…
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Breaking Down Hatari: Iceland’s Most Famous Trio Unmasked
From their early years as the dystopic darlings of the underground Reykjavík scene to their 2019 media takeover at the Eurovision Song Contest, the BDSM-clad lads of Hatari have always been a puzzle. At once shrouded in secrecy while also relentlessly attention-grabbing,…
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The Outsider: Countess Malaise Claims Her Throne
In the Icelandic rap scene, there’s Countess Malaise and there’s everyone else. Since the the dark monarch debuted three years ago with her hit “Goth Bitch,” the Countess has been an elusive figure in the community. Rarely dropping tracks or playing live,…
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We Are A Fire Cult: Andri Snær Magnason Talks Oil, Humans As Volcanoes & Pancake Sci-Fi
“At first, people think I am messing around. But it’s all about the journey around the black hole,” laughs Andri Snær Magnason, discussing his new book ‘Um Tímann og Vatnið’ (‘About Time and Water’). The writer, performer, and activist is one of…
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Off The Rails With Grísalappalísa: The Iconic Band Bids Adieu
If the early aughts in the Icelandic music scene was defined by lo-fi indie, peaking at around the time of the financial crisis of 2008, Grísalappalísa undoubtedly represents the sound of post-crash Iceland: loud, chaotic, bounding with untameable energy. From their inception…
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JóiPé & Króli Vs. Nuclear Winter: What’s Next For The Teen Idols?
It’s JóiPé’s 19th birthday. Or at least, it will be in 24 hours, the young artist—real name Jóhannes Damian Patreksson—explains quietly as he sits back in the corner of Te & Kaffi. It’s 9:30 AM, early October, and above his head, the…
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Irons In The Fire: The Serendipity of Sindri Már
In a cluttered, unassuming basement deep in the heart of West Reykjavík is the nerve centre of one of the pioneering legends of Icelandic indie music: Sindri Már Sigfússon, perhaps better known to the world as Seabear or Sin Fang. Emerging in…
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The Magic Happens When You’re Playing: The Rise Of Ágústa Eva
“As I’m getting older, with more experience from life, I’m also getting more passionate about changing the world for the better,” Ágústa reflects as we sit in the empty dining room of Fjörukráin, the Viking hall in Hafnarfjörður that her father helped…
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Rock & Roll & Redemption: Une Misère Are Here With A Sermon Of Acceptance
The boys of Une Misère are exhausted. Having just days ago returned from a 40-day tour of Europe and Russia, they’re clustered around a table upstairs at Prikið, counting down the hours until their annual festival, PrikPort, begins. But even with bags…
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Lights! Camera! Tractor!: Getting Real With Award-Winning Filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson
Farmers are protagonists. Sets are sheep sheds and weather-worn farmhouses. Tractors steal the scene. Someone flings mud and sheep shit out of anger. Grímur Hákonarson is on the verge of premiering ‘Héraðið / The County’, the much-anticipated follow-up to his wildly successful…
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Boiling Over: Of Monsters And Men Are Back With ‘Fever Dream’
“We’ve never been as excited to share something with people,” says Ragnar Þórhallsson, smiling broadly as he sips his coffee. Ragnar—better known as Raggi—is referring to ‘Fever Dream,’ the forthcoming album from Of Monsters and Men, the band in which he sings…
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Make Us Laugh, Clown: Ari Eldjárn’s Life Of Laughter
It is impossible not to laugh while talking to Ari Eldjárn. The ebullient and vivacious comedian constantly breaks into dead-on impersonations, reenacts comedy sketches and enthusiastically quotes his friends to a point that you feel you are part of the story. This…
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The First Legend: From Subterranean Origins, Cell7 Is Back
Cell7’s release concert is packed. The energy flows through the crowd, building them up with each verse until brutally releasing them once the song ends. Like a puppet master, she commands the room effortlessly. “The energy was fire,” Ragna Kjartansdóttir—Cell7 herself—says of…
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Information Is Never Neutral: The Editor Of Wikileaks Breaks His Silence
“If you’re not a radical journalist, you’re not a journalist,” Kristinn tells us near the beginning of our interview. “You’re basically part of the problem. You’re in PR. Not to say that these reporters are necessarily being paid directly by the powers…
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#MeToo, And Then What? Iceland Explores The Tough Questions Of A Legal Grey Area
At 13:21 on October 15th, 2017, the worldwide dialogue surrounding rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment abruptly and irrevocably changed. With one 86 character tweet, sent out by actress Alyssa Milano, a firestorm erupted that has left in its wake careers, reputations,…
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Iceland Thaws: The Glaciers Are Melting – What Does It Mean For Iceland?
The Okjökull glacier died in 2014. It wasn’t the first Icelandic glacier to pass away. Some estimates say that up to ten named bodies of ice have previously expired, along with countless more that were unnamed. But Okjökull was the biggest, so…
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The Peacemaker: The Legacy of Haukur Hilmarsson
It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time when Icelanders adamantly believed that protesting was just not something they do. Sure, there were riots when Parliament voted to join NATO in 1949, but apart from that, the running…
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A Wide Range Of Voices: A Glimpse Into The Current Icelandic Poetry Scene
Crowds gather to listen to poetry, cram into tiny spaces to attend poetry evenings and queue to receive a poem to go. Large collections of poetry by established writers are published alongside new poets’ chapbooks and the demand for poetry seems to…
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Songs Of The Dammed: Hvalárvirkjun And The Future Of Árneshreppur
When people talk about Iceland’s economic boom days, they are largely referring to the greater Reykjavík area. Roads are repaired and renewed, construction cranes are everywhere, new businesses are opening all the time, and both city and national authorities work overtime to…
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The March Of Progress: The National Queer Organisation Turns 40
Samtökin ‘78 (literally “the ‘78 organisation”, with its official English name being The National Queer Organisation) celebrated its 40th anniversary on June 23 (although the actual founding date is May 9). While the organisation is virtually unheard of outside of Iceland, it…
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Odysseus Reborn: Daníel Bjarnason Brings His Wartime Opera Home
Daníel Bjarnason has presence. He exudes the sort of poise you notice from across a room. When he talks, he’s prolifically calm, his voice tinged with the type of sincere honesty that makes every conversation seem intimate. It’s interesting, then, how incongruous…