Icelandic indie label Record Records celebrated its tenth birthday this month. Started in 2007 by record store clerk Haraldur Leví Gunnarsson, the label evolved over the years from a passion project to a full time job, releasing music by many of Iceland’s best-known bands along the way. To celebrate the big birthday, the label has released an anniversary compilation featuring some of their best tracks—including homeland hits like “Reykjavík” by Sykur, “Qween” by Retro Stefson and “Tenderloin” by Tilbury—on double vinyl, CD and digital formats.
Innipúkinn has announced the dates and lineup for its 2017 edition. The festival’s name comes from the fact that the event takes place on a holiday weekend when Icelanders traditionally go out to the countryside—“innipúkinn” translates literally as “indoor demon,” and is used to cajole bookish kids outdoors to play. This year, it’ll take place August 4-6 in the downtown venues Gaukurinn and Húrra, with performances from bands including aYia, sóley, CYBER, FM Belfast, Daði Freyr and Sturla Atlas. Day tickets (3990 ISK) and weekend tickets (7990 ISK) are on sale now at tix.is.
Singer-songwriter Ásgeir recently went live for an entire 24 hours via Icelandic national television and a YouTube livestream. He invited his fans to use the hashtag #asgeirstraighttovinyl to send in requests for covers and tracks from his back catalogue, with the chosen tracks being performed live then immediately pressed onto a hand-customised vinyl record. The resulting one-off records will be given away in an “international scavenger hunt,” so you’ll have to keep an eye on Ásgeir’s social media if you want one.
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