aYia
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Some Kind Of Void: Disappearing Into The World Of aYia
After their live debut at the Secret Solstice festival in 2016, enigmatic trio aYia became an overnight buzz-band, inciting powerful energy and excitement around their spacious, chilly, electronic pop music. To see them perform live evokes the true power of the trio.…
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PHOTOS: Inside The Grapevine Music Awards Party 2019
The Grapevine Music Awards Party 2019 took place last night at Húrra in downtown Reykjavík. It was packed out, and full of sparky atmosphere, good vibes and beaming faces. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jono Duffy, with Grapevine staff members and…
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Grapevine Music Awards 2019: Best Video – aYia’s “Slow”
As a music project that has always had a keen eye for their visual components (or lack thereof, where necessary), the title of Best Video going to aYia might not be a surprise. With their first album out from Bedroom Community and…
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Airwaves Friday Super-Review: aYia, BDSM Chomsky & Cell7 School4 2Bad Rappers
Welcome to the eye of the storm. Here’s what went down in the fun and chaos of Iceland Airwaves last night, brought to you by our semi-frayed, somewhat frazzled and partially euphoric festival super-review team. You can listen to our GrapeWaves Daily…
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Music News: Airwaves Album Flood Begins, Icelander Wins Industry Award, Sónar First Lineup
A host of Icelandic bands have announced new releases around the Airwaves festival. The long-dormant Benny Crespo’s Gang have announced a new self-released album, “Minor Mistakes,” available to pre-order now on their website. Árstíðir, who released an album earlier this year, will…
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Grapevine Playlist: aYia, SiGRÚN, GYDA, Emilíana Torrini, Júníus Meyvant, PORT & More
Like the beautiful geysir exploding hot, stinky earth water all over a group of damp, blissed-out lookers-on, here are the latest steaming exhalations from Iceland’s sulphurous music scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4TzcQusPSY&feature=youtu.be aYia – Sparkle A breakthrough project of recent years, the video for aYia’s…
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Music News: Power-Goth Trio Kælan Mikla, Disco Hunk Berndsen, Hvalur Festival
Two popular Icelandic bands of different stripes have announced notable album releases for late 2018. The first is Kælan Mikla, who have had a stellar year topped off by an invitation to open for The Cure in London’s Hyde Park. Their third…
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Grapevine Playlist: GKR, Sacha Bernardson, JFDR, aYia, Hildur & More
From ambient soundscapes to aggressive metal to spacious electronica to a Frank Ocean cover, here are the latest juicy fruits to fall from the branches of the giant, mythical Icelandic music tree. It’s time for another Grapevine Playlist. Sacha Bernardson – Heat…
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Iceland Goes To Eurosonic: Högni, Valdimar, aYia & More To Perform
Iceland has a strong presence at the top European music industry festival Eurosonic this year. Held in the Groningen in the Netherlands from January 17-20th, it’s an annual get together for people who work with music, from booking agents to record labels,…
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A New Year Begins: Celebrate The Unknown with aYia Tomorrow
2017 is coming to an end, and you may start to wonder: what does 2018 have in store for you? The truth is that no one really knows. A slice of excitement with a dash of anxiety, that’s the beauty of the…
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Music News: Jónsi, aYia, Högni, Myrkfælni, Dark Music Days
The industry-centric Eurosonic music festival, held in the Dutch city of Groningen, has announced the majority of its 2018 lineup. This year, it will feature two top Icelandic bands. The first is Högni—Grapevine’s cover star, last issue—whose ambitious debut solo album ‘Two…
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The Poetry Of Life: Ásta Fanney Soundtracks Íó
It’s a stormy Tuesday night when I meet artist Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir in the dark hall of Hótel Holt. Desperate for peace and quiet, we decide to hide inside the tiny red elevator. Ásta has recently been asked to create the soundtrack…
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Making Of An Artist: Ásta Fanney
Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir is a super active presence on Reykjavík’s cultural scene. Whether writing poetry, performing spaced-out improv music, carrying out mysterious art performances, or performing as the singer of her band aYia, Ásta is an ever-interesting artistic polymath. Here are some…
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Grapevine Playlist: Hermigervill, aYia, AUÐUR & More
From synth-pop to house to R&B to rap, here are five new Icelandic tracks that have been on the Grapevine stereo in recent weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGqMV_cWdSk Hermigervill – Solitaire Iceland’s favourite red-haired synth angel Hermigervill is best known for his work with Berndsen,…
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Sónar Day Three: Unicorn Sightings, Goosebumps, Maxed-Out Emo Meters
Last night was the finale of Sónar Reykjavík, with a stellar lineup of Icelandic up ‘n’ comers such as Wesen and aYia, and international stars like Giggs and De La Soul. Rex Beckett and Árni Kristjánsson went once more into the fray.…
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Band To Watch: aYia
In UK English, bands are usually referred to in the plural, as “they.” But when it comes to aYia, “it” feels more appropriate. The band’s sudden appearance in October 2016 felt like the arrival of a new entity—or the discovery of a…
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Grapevine’s 2016 Playlist To End All 2016 Playlists
There was a veritable raft—nay, a FLOTILLA—of Icelandic bands doing great things in 2016. Aron Can, for example, racked up literally millions of Spotify plays in 2016—no small feat when only ~330,000 people can understand the language you’re rapping in. Fellow rappers…
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Whirlwind, Heat & Flash: Airwaves 2016 In Pictures
We all had a wonderful time at this year’s Iceland Airwaves music festival, as these photos attest. We couldn’t possibly post all the photos our intrepid photographer took during this remarkable festival, but below you can see our hand-selected photos from each…
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Airwaves Tipsters: Tonik Ensemble
Anton Kaldal is the man behind Tonik Ensemble: an acclaimed Reykjavík-based producer who’s last LP, ‘Snapshots’, won Reykjavík Grapevine’s album of the year award in 2015. We caught up with him to find out what he’s excited about at Airwaves 2016. Snapshots…
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Airwaves Debutantes Part 1: What’s New And Who’s Who
It’s tough to set your schedule up for Iceland Airwaves. Over the festival’s five days, there are 150 bands in the official “on-venue” programme alone. And what makes it all the more difficult and exciting is an ever-expanding list of new names…