Music News: Norðanpaunk Lineup, Andi Snap-Releases 2nd LP, Vikingur Marches On

Norðanpaunk Festival, held annually in the roadside hamlet of Laugarbakki in Northwest Iceland, has announced the final lineup for their 2018 edition. Originally branded as a punk festival, the lineup is a diverse cross-section of Iceland’s various conjoined underground, dark, heavy and DIY scenes, from ambient to metal, noise, indie and synth-pop. Acts that will play include Skátar, Madonna + Child (pictured above) , Axis Dancehall, BSÍ, dj. flugvél og geimskip, Morpholith, MSEA, The Post-Performance Blues Band, and Rex Pistols. The festival takes place August 3rd-5th, camping is “cheap,” and tickets are on sale now—priced 7,000-7,500 ISK—at nordanpaunk.org. JR

Icelandic electronic music producer Andi has snap-released his second album, ‘Allt í Einu.’ His eponymous debut record—released on the Reykjavík experimental label Ladyboy Records—won the “You Should Have Heard This” award at the 2016 Grapevine Music Awards, and was met with praise for its glossy, accessible, bold crossover between electronica and Italo-disco. The new record landed on July 11th. It shows real progress; the genre “Islando-disco” has even been coined for Andi’s sound. It will be released by a new Hafnarfjörður art collective called Skýlið, and will be available on CD, digital formats, and ltd. edition vinyl. Hear it here. JR

Pianist Vikingur Ólafsson has been named the featured soloist for Orkester Norden’s annual summer tour, entitled ‘Play ON!’ A prestigious inter-Nordic symphonic youth orchestra, Orkester Norden has produced such world-renowned musicians as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo Järvi, and Vasily Petrenko. So far concerts in Aalborg, Copenhagen and Reykjavik have been announced, with Swedish conductor Olof Boman leading the group. The fateful homecoming show will be on August 22nd at Harpa. The programme will include Tarrodi’s ‘Paradisfåglar II’, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Minor, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’. On the 25th, there will also be a smaller chamber concert at the Nordic House. HJC