Grapevine Playlist: Högni, dj. flugvél og geimskip, Kælan Mikla & More

Here are five new Icelandic tracks that have been swirling around on the Grapevine’s office stereo.

DJ flúgvel og geimskip – The Sphinx
Lo-fi pop experimentalist DJ flugvél og geimskip returns with ‘The Sphinx.’ The video includes triple-trunked walking teapots and crowns made of mountains spinning through a colourful fractal universe, and the song is—as always—refreshingly odd, profoundly psychedelic, and confusingly hummable. Read more on page 24. JR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCcYZc8uVJ8

Skuggasveinn – Lifandi
Guðlaugur Bragason, aka Skuggasveinn, dropped his debut single on Spotify this month. It’s a catchy and minimalistic slice of electronic pop with a swooning vocal, reminiscent of Jónsi in style. Early days, but it’s intriguing stuff. JR

Upp upp mín sál – og mitt hjarta, milta, nýru, lungu og lifur með by Dölli

Dölli – Ferðalagið II (Le Trip)
Dölli is a strange dude that does his own thing, and although this track reminds you of Prins Póló and Megas on a baroque pop trip, it’s also a world unto itself. His set at Iceland Airwaves is bound to be a refreshing blast of wonky normal in a sea of stage-trained funambulists.

Högni – Moon Pitcher
The third glimpse of musical polymath Högni Egilsson’s debut solo album is a minimal, propulsive electronic track, punctuated by synth and string stabs and the catchy chorus refrain of ‘I’m in love, can’t you tell?’ The album, entitled ‘Two Trains,’ will follow on October 20 via Erased Tapes.

Kælan Mikla – Andvaka
This synth-goth-punk trio have become the ringleaders of a blossoming underground scene for dark/heavy/experimental music in Reykjavík. Their latest single is characteristically gloomy, insistent and atmospheric. Catch them at Airwaves to hear more new material.