Iceland’s Next Big Thing Is Influenced By Big Country: Rythmatik Won Músíktilraunir 2015

A band from Suðureyri by Súgandafjörður, a remote Westfjörds fishing hamlet, won the 33rd annual Músíktilraunir battle of the bands-style contest last night,  That band is called Rythmatik and its members are all young Suðureyrians who have up until now stuck to furiously practicing in their remote corner of the island, occasionally making the trip to Reykjavík to play a few shows for adventurous gig-goers who don’t mind catching shows by bands they’ve never heard of.

This is what they looked like accepting their trophies last night (pic courtesy of Músíktilraunir.is):

Don’t they look happy? They do! Those are some real smiles. Fun fact: the two in the middle are brothers.

Rythmatik cite bands like Big Country, The Smiths, Biffy Clyro and Arctic Monkeys as influences. Their demos bring to mind those early emo bands, you know, the good ones, and their stage delivery is professional and endearing, while betraying a youthful exuberance. Here’s what they sound like:

Sounds pretty good, right?

Músíktilraunir is an important event for Icelandic musicians. The thirty-three editions of Músíktilraunir have yielded some fairly prominent acts through the years – even the most casual lover of Icelandic music ought to recognize some of them.

Here are some notable winners from past Músíktilraunirs:

1986 – Greifarnir

1991 – Infusoria (Sororicide)

1992 – Kolrassa Krókríðandi (Bellatrix)

1994 – Maus

1995 – Botnleðja (Silt)

1999 – Mínus

2000 – 110 Rottweiler hundar (later known as XXX Rottweiler hundar)

2004 – Mammút

2005 – Jakobínarína

2008 – Agent Fresco

2010 – Of Monsters and Men

2011 – Samaris

2013 – Vōk

Yup, that’s a mighty impressive list. And guess what: Of Monsters And Men were on-site last night, handing out the awards! Hey!

At Músíktilraunir – which is just the most amazing event, really – the second place went to a band called Par-Ðar, and the third place went to Avóka (which features many of the folks from Par-Ðar – great work, guys!). Then, a band called Sígull won an SMS vote for the “people’s band” category.

Rythmatik are set to play Aldrei fór ég suður in Ísafjörður next weekend, along with Prins Póló, Pink Street Boys, Mugison, Valdimar and MANY MORE! See you there!