Words by

Ish Sveinsson Houle

Photo by

Owen Fiene

Acclaimed music maker Bjarki tells us about the BUXUR collective’s upcoming rave

There’s nothing else like BUXUR. The mysterious Reykjavík rave series has transformed warehouses in Árbær and Gufunes since 2021; information is dispersed through a Telegram channel that’s invite-only; Reykvíkingar in 66°N fur hats, skirts-over-pants, and bbbbbb recors t-shirts taxi to wherever rave daddy Bjarki Rúnar Sigurðarson flashes the techno bat-signal. Known mononymously as Bjarki, the music maker and famed Icelandic techno artist, is the creator of the BUXUR series, which will hold its latest iteration on Saturday, July 12.  

Bjarki got his start organising raves in Iceland in 2015, bringing to life “nature parties” which were “sometimes in a cave just 30 minutes away, and other times a three-hour drive with six buses and a few toilets strapped to the back,” he explains. “Nobody really knew where we were going or what was going to happen, not even me. And that was exactly the point.”  

Despite this open-ended inaugural run, the newer BUXUR series has a bit more structure to it. There’s a group of resident DJs, and policies that ravers have to adhere to. “Most importantly, [BUXUR brings] the maturity to create a safer and more welcoming space,” Bjarki says. In practice, this means that the team has safer-space policies declared on their social media, ticket sales, and Telegram from the get-go; they’ve also historically partnered with the harm-reduction organisation Matthildur. “We need boundaries and structure to protect that space,” Bjarki explains. “To protect the people who want to let go and be accepted.” 

Sonic medicine  

BUXUR events haven’t just been about the music and the dance floor, though. In raves past, visual artists have made up over half the artist bill. There have been murals, installations, and even a sculpture of an unrecognisable creature surrounded by edible art.  

Bjarki’s goals for these events are the same as they always have been. “We come to the party carrying whatever weight we’ve been holding. And if we’re lucky, we leave a little lighter, maybe even a little healed.”  

This healing echoes Bjarki’s concept for his February album A Guide To Hellthier Lifestyle, a “wonderfully weird” concept album exploring modern wellness culture through tracks that peak and fall, squaring itself within the IDM (intelligent dance music) sonic landscape.   

Bjarki adds to his point of providing this healing.“That’s the effect the club scene and electronic music has on me. That’s what I’m in it for. Everything else feels secondary,” he expresses.  

Further, BUXUR is meant to be a sanctuary. One major rule? No phones. “When people are constantly filming or taking photos they become observers instead of participants,” Bjarki reasons. “They step out of the moment and into observation mode like ghosts watching the living. That shift in energy, it’s subtle, but it spreads. We don’t want that.”  

Get pantsed  

This upcoming BUXUR is breaking new ground, or — more accurately — entering new territory. The three most recent events have monikers that riff on the Icelandic word buxur (pants), which have been STUTTBUXUR (shorts), SMEKKBUXUR (overalls), and this upcoming one: NÆRBUXUR (underwear). 

But NÆRBUXUR wasn’t just chosen for its sexy title. Nær means close, and that’s fitting for the upcoming rave’s location at the newly reformed Austurbæjarbíó. “We’ve tried bringing it closer to the city centre, but at the time we couldn’t meet the authorities’ regulations, and to be honest, their standards didn’t meet ours either,” Bjarki explains.   

“Now the stars have aligned. Austurbæjarbíó feels like a sleeping creature waiting to be awakened or turned on.” He even notes that his first time going to the cinema ever was here, to see The Lion King, and says, “in a way we’re bringing something wild back to life.” 

The former cinema, now simply called Austurbær, was purchased by the proprietors of Röntgen in April, and is quickly shaping up to be the concert venue everyone has been dreaming about. Beloved queer club series SLEIKUR has also just announced that their next event, over Reykjavík Pride in August, will be at Austurbær as well. There have been a few concerts since the space swapped hands, but nothing like BUXUR. “We don’t even have a club,” he says, adding “or a place with a good sound system that can shake your ass in the right way.” But BUXUR, as Bjarki puts it, “could possibly be the first full-blown club experience in the Reykjavík city centre.”  

NÆRBUXUR (@smekkbuxur on Instagram) will take over both floors of Austurbær from 16:00 to 03:00 on July 12. Boris (of Berghain, who plays “playful and deep to cheeky and emotional bangers”) will be joined by Lipstikkboy, DJ Óli Dóri, Sexy Lazer, DJ Mellí, and, of course, Bjarki. There’s a restaurant at the venue, no phones on the dance floor, and soul screening at the door. Bjarki explains “if your soul isn’t quite ready to roar with the pride tonight — hakuna matata. Come back when your stars align.”