Young Nazareth’s Guide To Sónar Reykjavík

Young Nazareth is a producer for Sturla Atlas, 101 Boys and several other acts from the growing Les Fréres Stefson roster. Working closely with Iceland’s most respected young producer Logi Pedro, and their group of talented cohorts, he’s part of the gradually reshaping of Icelandic pop music. We picked his brain about what he’ll be watching at Sónar Reykjavík 2016.

Hudson Mohawke

For obvious reasons! HudMo’s roster spans from jaw-dropping electronic infused hip-hop/trap bangers such as “Fuse”, “Cbat” and “Higher Ground” to Kanye West and Drake production credits (“Connect” is one of my all-time favorite Drake songs). Production-wise I’ve always looked up to HudMo as he’s unafraid of integrating all sorts of fucked up and weird sounds in his productions. Maybe that has something to do that he’s from Scotland and everyone from there seems to be either a goblin or a Loch Ness offspring, which seems to translate ideally into hip-hop beats. I’m very excited that he’s performing live instead of the traditional DJ set.

Karó

I’m really looking forward to this show for several reasons. Karó is a newcomer in the Icelandic scene, having released her first single, “Silhouette,” back in September. She’s also Les Frères Stefson affiliated—a part of the fam. The live set will feature new music only, which Karó, Logi Pedro, Auður and myself have been working on for the past few weeks. She’s got an amazing voice and her songwriting skills are also top notch. Not to be missed!

Boys Noize

Another no-brainer. When I started out DJing and producing back in 2009, I was mostly into house and techno, with Boys Noize being a leading figure in the scene since ’07. His collaborations with Erol Alkan are also ill, not to mention the Chilly Gonzales remake of “Waves”. Anywho, with the banging electro house beats of his DJ set poised to fuck your brain cells up real good, Boys Noize is gonna be dope for sure.

Sturla Atlas

I gotta put the boys in here because I’m super excited about our show. We’re going to perform new songs which I produced and co-wrote. This show’s gonna be a fucking movie.

Angel Haze

Angel Haze, a.k.a. Babe Ruthless, is super cool. When I say “super” I mean she basically oozes swag. I actually just listened to her new album, it sounds really fresh. It’s a bit aggressive, but that’s the vibe Angel Haze is about. Ruthless. In my opinion there are certain similarities between this album of hers and Travis Scott’s earlier stuff, both production and flow-wise. She usually goes quite hard on stage—I just hope the crowd at Sónar dares to get turnt with her.

Honorable mention: Annie Mac
Because she’s a legend.

Follow Young Nazareth on Soundcloud here.