You Should Have Read This Music News

Artist Salaries Announced For 2023

Last month saw the publication of the list of artists who are to receive the coveted ‘Artist Salary’ funding from the Icelandic state. The grants are allocated to musicians as well as writers, designers and other arts professionals for work on specific projects. The musical artists who were lucky in their applications this year include tenor saxophone player Óskar Guðjónsson (12 months funding), opera singer Björk Nielsdóttir (9 months), and flautist Björg Brjánsdóttir (8 months). There are also some Grapevine darlings on the list; up-and-coming acoustic singer-songwriter Árný Margrét received a 6 month salary, as did piano hero Magnus Jóhann and beloved folk songwriter Svavar Knútur. The most exciting part about this news is that it pretty much guarantees that we’ll be hearing some new music from all these artists soon! JG

Icelandic Artists Up For Prestigious Awards

Icelandic musician Björk and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir are both up for some major awards in the coming weeks. Björk has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Music Album category for her latest release, “Fossora,” which tackles themes like motherhood and loss. This marks Björk’s 16th Grammy nomination, but she’s yet to take home the prize. Meanwhile, Hildur Guðnadóttir has been nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Original Score category for her work on the film “Women Talking.” Hildur won in the same category in 2020 for her work on the film “Joker.” The winners will be announced on January 10 for the Golden Globe Awards, and on February 5 for the Grammy Awards. The Grapevine’s keeping its collective fingers crossed for both Björk and Hildur! IZ

The Kraumur Awards

The Kraumur Awards have once again come around to bestowed accolades on the best albums released in Iceland, or by Icelandic artists. This year the Kraumur Music Fund braintrust recognized the talent displayed by Final Boss Type ZERO in “1000 cuts”, gugusar in “12:48”, KUSK in “Skvaldur”, Kvikindi in “Ungfrú Ísland”, Oh Mama in “Hamraborg”, and Una Torfa in “Tangled and Lost and Lonely.” Be sure to keep an eye out for them because we have a feeling they’re going far. Congratulations, all! KW