Purrkur Pillnikk "Rokk i Reykjavik" Movies

The Icelandic punk rock group Purrkur Pillnikk as featured in the movie Rokk í Reykjavík directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
"Gluggagægir & Augun úti"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLY_6CxsvTs

"Óvænt"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx3oqDABf0A

Sigtryggur Baldursson was NOT the drummer of Purrkur Pillnikk !

Das Kapital Video "Black Guitar" (1984)

Video of Bubbi Morthens' band Das Kapital
"Svartur gítar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QMwhaSgnPs

KUKL Live Videos (1986) on YouTube by J J Sandal

J J Sandal is doing a great job by posting a lot of old video material of famous Icelandic bands.
Of some of this artists nearly nothing was on YouTube until this month.
Here are some KUKL Videos:
Show was broadcasted live @ Icelandic television and shocked a lot of/some Icelanders because Björk is showing her pregnant belly. Perhaps Sindri's first live TV show.
"Hálfkláruð"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZfInE04oE

"Enginn heima"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZxDui8Agko

"Hvar ertu"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gfhPJCPCKA

"Falleg"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmA2k4QVmdw

"Hér koma börnin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupyIO1fXDY

"Í gegnum gluggann"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMxVZ9TSU90

Short Interview with Björk & followed by "Anna"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDdI9Kqkzx4

"Sálmur 323" is followed by short Interview with Einar Örn Benediktsson talking about performing outside Iceland (Berlin, Paris)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8DIk6ykI0U

""France (a mutual thrill)"

For the Belgian journalists (homework): Sigtryggur (Siggi) Baldursson is the drummer !

Final Show of I Adapt 2. February 2008

Hardcore band I Adapt for the last time in Concert @ TÞM (Hólmaslóð 2) Saturday 2. February 2008.
Dys and Gavin Portland are the supporting acts.
Price: 500 IKR

Cover by The Mars Volta of The Sugarcubes' "Birthday"

Listen to the cover by The Mars Volta of the first Sugarcubes single "Birthday":
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/mpd/permalink/mODP37S1LV6U0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpt648gLzgk

The Sugarcubes "Góður guð" Live @ Icelandic television

The Sugarcubes' song "Góður guð" broadcasted live on the Icelandic TV. Einar Örn Benediktson was not in the studio, he was in London but is hanging on the telephone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na8Vw31EiXU

For the Belgian journalists (homework): Siggi Baldursson is the drummer of the band !

Interview with Þeyr on the Icelandic TV

Three members of Þeyr interviewed on the Icelandic television.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6T9xZC3L1U

"Blood" Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Xo0TRdRvo

For the Belgian journalists (homework): Siggi Baldursson is the drummer of the band !
For more information on this Icelandic new wave band, check the good Þeyr MySpace page of Mr. Luis María Benítez from Argentina @ www.myspace.com/mjotvidurmaer

Iceland on the Edge Festival - Official Videos

Dutch version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV13EjmZ9ME

French version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEaU4EyrsoQ

1986: The start of The Sugarcubes

A young Björk Interviewed on the Icelandic TV and a showing of the Video "Ammæli/Birthday" made by Director Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
She talked about Smekkleysa and the other members of The Sugarcubes (Sykurmolarnir).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHCDYd5_e-M

Video "Ammæli"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6hGc7S8d88

Vonbrigði Live Videos (1984)

Icelandic punk rock band Vonbrigði live at the Norrock music festival in Reykjavik 3. June 1984.
"Afskræmdar myndir"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeNg8dEugfs

"Misskilningur"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4DgnZkraOI

"Einhverskonar karlmennska"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSJKSOGUA4

Website of Vonbrigði: http://this.is/vonbrigdi/forsida

30. April 2008: Bad Taste 4 ever @ Bozar

www.smekkleysa.net
Bad Taste 4 Ever is an evening of art of edge cutting, music and literature. Everything is possible during the night as there will be a crossing of cultures, disciplines and people.
Did we forget to put into the first sentence that we all come from Iceland?
Yes we think so. And we did so. We all come from Iceland as if it matters, it does in our case as we speak foreign.We don’t act foreign.
We are at home at Bozar, giving our best, showing our best, and being our worst!
The date is set for this event: 30.04.2008.
http://badtaste4ever.wordpress.com
Ceci n'est pas un Sigtryggur Baldursson
Siggi Baldursson, of Theyr, KUKL, Sugarcubes, Grindverk, Steintryggur fame, and without doubt Iceland's best drummer.
The last time he performed @ Brussels some people (can't you just do your homework please) didn't recognize him @ Domino Festival @ AB.
www.dominofestival.be/page.cfm?id=37&submenuid=189&taal_id=1
Surrealism in Belgium. Vive Magritte !

Song of the 45. Week is Védis with "A Beautiful Life"

Védis with "A beautiful life" is the Song of the Week.
Védis has a nice website www.vedismusic.com and MySpace page www.myspace.com/vedis

"Iceland on the Edge" Unofficial Video

Friday 15. February 2008 @ Bozar / Paleis voor de Schone Kunsten or
Iceland Airwaves @ Brussels
Part I featuring Amiina - Seabear - Jóhann Jóhannsson - Ólafur Arnalds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvh0DwIYB98

Graveslime Album "Roughness and Toughness"

An Album I bought some years ago from Benni of Skatar while he was working in the Smekkleysa shop.

Graveslime members :
Alli – bass, vocals
Kolli – vocals, guitars
Óli – drums, percussion

Graveslime @ work @ Sirkus
The songs of the Album Roughness and Toughness
1. The punch fucking drunk fuck and the fucking goat
2. Double damage [free mp3]
3. I love you, really I do
4. 362 days till christmas
5. Yo, my lord, what´s kicking in San Francisco
6. Awesome nights in Reykjavik [free mp3]
7. Chariots of fire
8. 5 legged buzzard and lots of love
9. Gasoline
10. American Sleeper
11. Eborg Ebogleson
Information
Graveslime was formed out of a conversation between three friends in a Saturday-night party, ‘till you puke-party. The reasons for forming this band were two, the first was to play a cover of Vangelis’ “Chariots of Fire” and the other one was to be in a band called Graveslime. Having played together and apart in such bands as the black metal-band Svört Verða Sólskin (Óli was kicked out of the band after vomiting on the drum-kit on a drunken spree during a show), She-Male, Skorpin Tunga, Þrír Hressir and Thundergun (featured Alli on bass, Kolli on guitar, I Adapt’s Birkir on drums and Mínus’ Bjössi on the microphone).
Building on similar foundation as Thundergun, which was heavily influenced by Iron Monkey and Eye Hate God’s feedback laden sludge and Melvins’ accuracy and tight song structures Graveslime rushed to find rehearsal-space in late 2000. As soon the right space was found in early 2001 Graveslime began practicing the first song “Punch Fucking Drunk Fuck and the Fucking Goat” and then “Chariots Of Fire” and the first show was played as an opening act for longtime friends Sofandi (the other band on Grandmothers Records). More songs were written; a few popped of them like popcorn but others were seen the light of day with the same feeling when you’re “crawling from the sewer”. What maybe differs Graveslime from afore-mentioned sludgerockers (excluding Melvins) is their very sound-layered songs who often have more melodic approach to them, f.e. Eborg Ebobleson could be a song written by Nick Drake or Elliot Smith (Kolli wrote it after hearing it in a dream one night and picked it up when he woke up).
Graveslime played shows with mostly friends and familiar bands in and around Reykjavík throughout 2001 and ‘till summer 2002. It was not uncommon that they mocked other Icelandic bands during their shows; they often introduced themselves as other bands or had their friends to pretend they were in known Icelandic bands. It was when Graveslime warmed up for Fucking Champs and Trans Am in Reykjavík in the fall of 2001 that they decided they had to make a record and that Tim Green (Fucking Champs, Nation of Ulysses, Young Ginns etc.) was the man for the job. After many conversations, e-mails and phonecalls the guys decided to contact Tim and ask him if he would like to come over to Iceland and record them. The recording session wasn’t something they look back on in bliss. To begin with they had to borrow or rent almost all the equipment (a broken tape-machine, a mixing board, guitar amps, a drum kit, microphones etc.) carry it to the second floor where the studio is located. Then they had to fix what had to be fixed… yeah, we don’t wan’t to hear about the bad stuff. The good thing is that they managed to put all the hardwork on tape. The band unfortunately didn’t survive to follow this awesome record, it surely is awesome, and they played their final and loudest three shows in late August 2002. Like Big Black once wrote: “Hey, breaking up is an idea that has occurred to far too few groups. Sometimes to the wrong ones.”
ROUGHNESS AND TOUGHNESS was committed to two-inch analogue tape by Tim Green at Studio Veðurstofan, Reykjavík. Tim at his Louder Studios in San Francisco mixed it and John Golden mastered it. J.J. Golden did some additional mastering and editing. Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson (a.k.a. Godkrist, The Third Ear and GKÓ), formerly of one of Iceland’s best post-punk bands Theyr and Kukl added guitars on “American Sleeper”.
Review of the Album Roughness and Toughness in Grapevine www.grapevine.is
by Bart Cameron
Published in Issue 6 on May, 2005

Okay, so you don’t like bands with names like Graveslime. And you don’t like hard rock. Get over it. This band’s 2003 release qualifies as one of the best Icelandic albums of the last ten years. The album contains a range of genres, but it sticks mostly with impeccably constructed slow grindcore. They compare favourably with the Melvins.
All of the 11 tracks on Roughness and Toughness hit their target early on, so it can be a little daunting to have to listen to 10 minute tracks, but on the second and third listens, the songs live up to their time. The few tracks where the band goes schizo, like 362 Days until Christmas in which we hear the relaxed buzz of early-90s Flaming Lips tunes, impressed us the most, though.
Also, kudos on the design—best album package and design without Björk on the cover in the last decade.
If you can find this album, pick it up.
Worth six beers. Costs four beers. Winner.
For more Graveslime, go to: www.dordingull.com/graveslime

A 1.000 Posts on this Blog

Keep on Blogging on the World Wide Web, keep on Rocking in a Free World.
World Domination or Death. Lobster & Fame.
Áfram Ísland ! Áfram Íslensk Tónlist !
Just a Short Notice:

This is my Post Number 1.000 on this "I love Icelandic Music" Blog.
I'll keep on blogging if you'll keep on watching and/or making good Icelandic music.

That's a promise.

I love Icelandic Music forever !

www.myspace.com/wimvanhooste

Off the system - The Videos

Off the system
"Dull Scum"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXJOAXmpUYk

"Hooligans"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbiCpIn6lZI

www.myspace.com/offthesystem

Rass Video "Umbodsmadur Althingis"

2.5 years ago I saw Rass Live @ the late Grand Rokk venue. The whole next Sunday enjoying buzzing ears and a sore throat 'cause of screaming along with singer Óttarr Proppé.
I noticed that Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, the director of the famous "Rokk i Reykjavik" documentary and with an Oscar nomination on his CV, was in the audience that night.
Óttarr was the singer of the legendary band HAM (favourite Icelandic band of Björk Gudmundsdottir), and today he is the vocalist of at least 2 other bands, namely Dr. Spock and Rass.
A brand new Video of the band by Snorri Bros about people in the Icelandic Parliament (Althing):
"Umbodsmadur Althingis"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krFfdYHL8CU

"Iceland on the edge" Festival or Iceland Airwaves in Belgium (2008)

The Program of Iceland on the Edge Festival in Brussels 2008
THURSDAY 14/2 PÉTUR BEN > 10:00 pm > Kultuurkaffee VUB > free

FRIDAY 15/2 AMIINA + JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON + SEABEAR + ÓLAFUR ARNALDS > 8:00 pm > BOZAR > 16 euro
Seabear @ Rafskinna Finlandia Party @ Iceland Airwaves '07 Festival

Olafur Arnalds @ 't Smiske, Asse, Belgium (2007)

FRIDAY 7/3 KITCHEN MOTORS NIGHT feat. KRIA BREKKAN + KIPPI KANINUS + UNNUR ANDREA EINARSDOTTIR > 8:00 pm > AB Club > 12 euro

SATURDAY 8/3 MÚM + KIRA KIRA + SKAKKAMANAGE + PARACHUTES > 7:00 pm > MAIN HALL & CLUB AB > 16 euro

Gunnar & Örvar of mum Interviewed @ Nordic House @ Iceland Airwaves '07 Festival

Skakkamanage 2 times: On stage @ NASA and @ Rafskinna Finlandia Party @ Iceland Airwaves '07 Festival

WEDNESDAY 30 APRIL AN EDGY BAD TASTE EVENING HOSTED BY EINAR ÖRN & SJÓN FEAT. A.O.: MUGISON + RICEBOY SLEEPS + STILLUPSTEYPA + RAGNAR KJARTANSSON (Trabant) + STEINTRYGGUR + GHOSTIGITAL + HILMAR ÖRN HILMARSSON + … > 6:30 pm > Bozar > 16 euro

Ghostigital (Einar Örn Benediktsson & Curver Thoroddsen) @ Sirkus (January 2008)

Steintryggur with friend Ben Frost @ Frikirkja @ Iceland Airwaves '07 Festival

FRIDAY 9/5 SAMÚEL JÓN SAMÚELSSON BIG BAND + SCREENING OF... SCREAMING MASTERPIECE > 7:00 pm > Club AB > 12 euro

SUNDAY 18/5 TYFT FEAT. HILMAR JENSSON + JIM BLACK + ANDREW D'ANGEL0 + SCREENING OF… ROKK I REYKJAVÍK ('83) > 7:00 pm > Club AB > 10 euro

AB Concerts Guide @ www.abconcerts.be/projects/iceland/?l=3#guide

The Beginner's Guide to Icelandic music by AB Concerts:
OR: How do I prepare myself for the exciting 7-dayer that is part of ICELAND AIRWAVES?
OR... Don’t bother, as the programme itself is extremely exciting with more than 30 concerts, performances, visual art, poetry and diverse documentaries and listening sessions. In other words, just let yourself be led/immersed is of course option one.
OR...Make a headstart, as one prepared is worth twice as much.

Let’s just assume that you already have all the CDs from SIGUR RÓS (hopefully not their barely-findable-outside-Iceland bombastic debut Von) and BJÖRK (including early The Sugarcubes work)...

TIP 1: Read the extremely informative book ’Waking Up In Iceland’ (from ’03) by PAUL SULLIVAN, spotlighting the Icelandic music scene with heaps of background information.
TIP 2: Take a look in advance (as it will be screened in AB on 9/5) at the excellent documentary ’Screaming Masterpiece’ by director ARI ALEXANDER ERGIS MAGNÚSSON about the Icelandic music scene.
TIP 3: Read ’101 Reykjavik’ by HALLGRÍMUR HELGASON or see the film version (with the likes of Victoria Abril) of the book by BALTASAR KORMÁKUR. An outstandingly filmed dark adventure that takes place in the heart of Reykjavik (101 is the postcode for central Reykjavik) and deals with a controversial three-cornered relationship.
TIP 4: Convince yourself that Icelanders really do have a sense of humour. Google for the name HUGLEIKUR DAGSSON or go straight to www.myspace.com/hugleikur and enjoy and buy his now translated cartoon book ’Is This Supposed To Be Funny?’ (via Penguin).
TIP 5: Surf to www.icelandairwaves.com check out the programme of the previous edition of ICELAND AIRWAVES and let yourself be overwhelmed by information (with links to their respective sites or MySpace pages) about a series of Icelandic performers.
TIP 6: Browse through the catalogue of the four most important Icelandic labels (www.12tonar.is, www.smekkleysa.net, www.this.is/kitchenmotors and also www.bedroomcommunity.net) and in so doing get to know absolutely everything about the contemporary music scene.
TIP 7: Finally, call Damon Albarn (who, together with director Baltasar Kormákur, runs the popular bar/coffee house Kaffibarinn in Reykjavik) to ask why he thinks Iceland is so cool.

For more information on the Icelandic artists > Go to the Bozar Blog @ www.bozar.be/blog/iceland
And don't forget to Listen to the Cucamonga Radio 1 Shows (broadcasted September 2003)
Iceland on the Rocks @ www.cucamonga.be/iotr/luister/luister.html
Probably the best program about Icelandic music ever Made in Belgium!

OR Just stay tuned to this blog ;-)
Because I have a heart & appetite for Icelandic music. And because most Belgian media hardly focus on Icelandic music, except Mr Dirk Steenhaut of De Morgen Newspaper.
All the photographs of this post are courtesy of Wim Van Hooste.

New EP by Dr. Gunni: Að gefnu tilefni - 4 mótmælalög

The New (thanks to World Class) Dr. Gunni made a new 4 track EP: "Að gefnu tilefni" - 4 mótmælalög. The 4 songs titles:
1. Helvítis gráðugu fífl
2. Legókubbar auðvaldsins
3. Gamli góði Villi
4. Handrukkarar lýðræðisins
More information about Dr. Gunni @ http://this.is/drgunni with a blog in Icelandic
Order the EP @ http://this.is/drgunni/tilefni.html

A Slideshow Tribute to Einar Örn Benediktsson

Einar Örn Benediktsson Slideshow.

For those who can't get enough of Einar!

I really don't like lobster ! I love Einar !

"I love Icelandic Music" on www.mbl.is Site

This blog was featured in the Newspaper Morgunblaðið (www.mbl.is). This week's Song of the Week by Sprengjuhöllin "Worry til spring". The English version of the very popular & airplayed Icelandic original: is the band going abroad?
24. January 2008
Hyggur Sprengjuhöllin á útrás?
Blogga um frétt Hljómsveitin Sprengjuhöllin hefur lokið við tónsmíðar á nýju lagi sem notað verður í leikritinu Fló á skinni sem LA hefur sýningar á í febrúar. Lagið er samnefnt leikritinu og sver sig svo sem í ætt við þann stíl sem Sprengjuhöllin hefur markað sér þó að hendingar í laginu minni óneitanlega á gamla Small Faces slagarann „Itchycoo Parc“ en þar er ekki leiðum að líkjast.
Á bloggsíðu Wim Van Hooste (http://icelandicmusic.blogspot.com) sem heldur úti einskonar aðdáendasíðu tileinkaðri íslenskri tónlist má svo finna enska útgáfu af lagi Sprengjuhallarinnar „Verum í sambandi“ en á ensku kallast lagið „Worry til Spring“.
Þá er bara eftir að finna enskt nafn á sveitina sjálfa og útrásin getur hafist fyrir alvöru.
Source:
www.mbl.is/mm/folk/frettir/2008/01/24/hyggur_sprengjuhollin_a_utras

A photograph of Sprengjuhöllin Live @ Nordic House @ Airwaves '07 Festival by Wim Van Hooste.
For much more songs by Sprengjuhöllin go to www.myspace.com/sprengjuhollin

Icelandic Music Organisations @ MIDEM World's Music Market

12 Tonar
12 Tonar started to release music on its own label in 2003 and now has a catalogue of around 50 titles. They have worked with some of Iceland´s best-known musicians and have 6 Gold Records and 1 Platinum Record under their belt. Last year they started working with Cargo Germany as European partner and, although they have releases in other territories, their main aim is to find the right partners for the rest of the world. This year 12 Tonar opened up their own webstore 12tonar.grapewire.net and are undertaking a promotional tour in Germany with 3 of their most promising acts: Jakobinarina, Pétur Ben and Gavin Portland.
www.12tonar.is

Blánótt
Blánótt ehf. was founded in 2003 by Icelandic jazz and Latin Jazz supreme Tomas R. Einarson. The label is dedicated to releasing Einarson´s own music, and has so far put out well-known titles such as "Koss", "Undir 4", "Kúbanska", "Havana", "Romm Tomm Tomm" and the remix album Rommtommtechno.
www.simnet.is/tomasreinarsson

Dimma
Founded in 1992, Dimma is an independent record company and publisher of music, CDs and books, mainly focusing on jazz, folk and roots as well as new children´s music and poetry. With a catalogue of 40 titles, Dimma presents some of Iceland´s finest performers of jazz and ethnic music.
www.dimma.is

KGEM
KGEM is an Icelandic music production company, founded in March 2007. The company produces music as well as acting as an agency for its artists. KGEM also handles copyright issues, concert bookings, concert planning and organizing, touring, public relations and publishing. KGEM´s first signing is Icelandic r & b artist Kenya, whose debut album is currently in the making.
www.kgem.is

iM
iM is a software development and consulting company located in Reykjavik, Iceland. Their primary focus is web and mobile solutions. iM comprises specialists in every field, veterans who have worked together on various projects for numerous years, and specializes in applications that enable musicians and labels to distribute music via the Internet and mobile networks. iM offers consulting, from concept work to full blown software projects and marketing campaigns.
www.im.is

IMX
IMX is an exciting new government sponsored initiative that aims to bring together the disparate strands of Iceland´s eclectic scene under one roof. By increasing access to information about artists, collaborating with companies to promote Icelandic music abroad and organizing marketing strategies, festival and event participation, IMX will increase the visibility of Icelandic music in the international sphere, and provide an essential one-stop resource for all interested parties. So far the company has helped organize artist participation at Eurosonic, Midem and SXSW, collaborated with Mugison´s Aldrei for eg sudur (AFS) festival and has promoted Icelandic artists at events such as Great Escape (UK), Spot (Denmark) and PopKomm (Germany).
www.imx.is

ITM
The Iceland Music Information Centre, ITM, was founded in 1968. The primary objective of ITM is to keep a record of Icelandic contemporary music. ITM also provides information about Icelandic music life and musicians, promotes Icelandic music both in Iceland and abroad, and publishes and records music. The ITM archives consist of over 7000 manuscripts and published works by 250 Icelandic composers. All works in the ITM catalogue are published on demand. Performance materials, scores, and parts of orchestral works are available for hire.
www.mic.is

MugiBoogie
Is a label owned and run by Icelandic maverick Mugison, set up to release his own music. Mugison´s highly anticipated third album, "Mugiboogie", is now out in Iceland. It has scored full marks in all the papers and is selling like water in the desert. Currently performing with a five-piece band, the former laptop maverick Mugison - who previously released seminal albums like "Lonely Mountain" and "Mugimama is this monkey music?" on Matthew Herbert´s Accidental Records - has honed his rock & roll chops, and is ready to set entire towns ablaze with his new-classic sound.
www.mugison.com

Nina Marget Grimsdottir
Pianist Nína Margrét Grímsdóttir is one of Iceland´s most established classical performers and recording artists. She has toured widely outside Iceland, including Japan, Scandinavia, England and the U.S. and Canada, and has released several high profile CDs featuring performances of music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, Páll Ísólfsson, Mendelssohn and Mozart.
www.ninamargret.com

Sena
Sena is the largest company within the entertainment business in Iceland. Boasting 40 employees, the company is divided into several departments with an emphasis on music, movies and computer games and also distributes material from some of the leading manufacturers in music, cinema and computer games. Sena´s music department is the largest commercial agent for music from abroad and releases 50-70 new CDs each year, including Icelandic as well as foreign music. Sena is also a commercial agent for several small foreign labels as well as many major labels such as Universal, Warner. EMI and Sony/BMG.
www.sena.is

SJS
SJS Music is a small Icelandic record label owned by Samúel Jón Samúelsson, aimed mainly at releasing Samúel´s own Music. Samúel is a trombone player, composer, arranger, producer and singer, and runs his own 18 piece Funk/Afro/Jazz Big Band for which he writes music for and arranges. Apart from his work with his Big Band Samuel is a leading member of the Icelandic funk unit JAGÚAR. The group has released five funky albums, toured trough Sweden, Norway, Belgium (including a double bill with Maceo Parker), Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland ad the UK. In 2004 the band opened up for James Brown in Reykjavik.
www.sjsmusic.com

Smekkleysa
Smekkleysa SM/Bad Taste SM was established in Iceland in 1986 by a group of young artists and musicians, who had been active since the Icelandic punk explosion in the early eighties. It has developed and worked with some of Iceland´s most interesting artists, including The Sugarcubes, Björk, Sigur Rós, múm, Mínus, Ghostigital, Curver, Ske, slowblow, Kimono and Jan Mayen. The company is also prolific in releasing new Icelandic classical music.
www.smekkleysa.net

Trade Council
The Trade Council of Iceland helps Icelandic companies sell their products, services, and know-how in the international marketplace. The Trade Council of Iceland offers the services of marketing professionals and consultants in Iceland and trade commissioners at the Icelandic Embassies abroad. The five main service areas of the Trade Council are Information Services, Training & Consultancy Services, Trade Fairs, Market Development and Invest in Iceland.
www.icetrade.is

Zonet
Zonet Music was founded in 2001 by Óttar Felix Hauksson. After buying the well-known Icelandic label/distributor Japis in 2002, Zonet then bought Edda-Midlun Music Department in 2003. Today Zonet has around Icelandic 120 titles and over 1500 songs in their catalogue, including old Triola recordings of Italian soprano Robertino, and Guitar Islancio. In 2008 Zonet Music is set to release some exciting music and build further on the foundations they have built in other countries.
www.zonet.is

The bands that came in from the cold

Yesterday I found an online (old) article published in the San Francisco Chronicle:
The Bands that Came in from the Cold -
Nordic rock is among the hottest around
James Sullivan
20. November 2002
The Icelandic Society of Northern California holds its annual Thorrablot, a traditional feast, in March. Thirty-year-old ex-pat Halldor Fannar says the event, like so many customs all over the world, is something of an amusement to the country's younger generations.
"The specialty is old, really bad food," he says with a laugh. "Stuff like pickled shark."
And the entertainment? It's accordion-based, "almost like lounge music." What do his peers think of it? "They think it's pretty goofy," he says.
These days they take their popular music pretty seriously in Scandinavia. And the rest of the globe is taking notice: The innovation of Reykjavik's Sigur Ros and the high energy of Sweden's Hives have the music world heating up about the bands that came in from the cold.
Lately, Bay Area Nordics interested in their homeland's cultural exports have enjoyed a bounty of tour stops by their favorite bands. Sigur Ros, the contemplative rock band that has been an inspiration for England's groundbreaking Radiohead, plays Saturday at the Warfield. Sweden's Beatlesque sextet, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, headlines an all-Skandi triple bill (with countrymates Citizen Bird and Norway's Cato Salsa Experience) tonight at Bimbo's.
Other groups, including Sweden's all-girl rock group Sahara Hotnights and the Icelandic rap-rock band Quarashi, have also made recent visits.
With a cosmopolitan, well-educated, largely English-conversant public, Scandinavia is a ripe breeding ground for U.S.- and British-style culture. And with the U.S. independent rock 'n' roll scene lacking much in the way of ingenuity right now, its audience is hungrily scouring the shrinking global village for something different.
From the International Noise Conspiracy to múm - which is to say, from chaos to quietude - the current crop of bands emerging from rock 'n' roll's latest flash point runs the creative gamut. Sweden, once known almost exclusively to the rest of the free world as the home of ABBA, supports an entire industry of bubble gum pop, with producer-composer Max Martin luring the big three of teen pop - Britney Spears, 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys -
to his studio in recent years.
But that's hardly representative, says Fannar, a computer-gaming techie who moved to San Francisco from Iceland during the dot-com ascent six years ago.
"The joke is that we have some of world's best and worst music," he says.
As is so often the case with musical hotbeds, Scandinavia - Sweden in particular - has been tagged with a distinctive "sound." The success of the Hives, the crackling garage-rock band that melds the best ideas from four decades of the genre, has brought peripheral recognition for such groups as Division of Laura Lee, the Hellacopters and Finland's Flaming Sideburns.
But the reality is far more diverse. At home in Iceland, Fannar says, it is impossible to overstate the impact of Björk, the experimental pop princess. Few outsiders can name a single other Icelander, he says, despite the fact that the country can claim, for instance, a Nobel laureate (the late novelist Halldor Laxness). Fannar, whose latest obsession is the impressionistic electronic act múm , isn't especially smitten with Björk. "It's good music for her target audience, " he says diplomatically.
Whatever the style, Scandinavia undoubtedly turns out a high percentage of musicians. Like Detroit's grim class divisions or Seattle's relentless rain, the pop proliferation of the Scandinavian countries is often credited to the region's bitter winters and protracted darkness.
"Things to do outside are very limited," explains Fannar, who moved to California in part for the rock climbing and mountain biking. "The consumption of entertainment is really high. It's dark six months of the year. You need it. "
In recent years that resourcefulness has attracted some well-known admirers,
many from England. Oasis' brothers Gallagher, huge fans of Soundtrack of Our Lives, recently hosted the group on a European tour. Blur's Damon Albarn, the drum-and-bass producer Goldie and members of the electronic punk group Prodigy have all made Reykjavik their home away from home.
One reason for the appeal is that Iceland, with just 300,000 residents, keeps its celebrities honest. A few years ago Fannar went home for Christmas; on a night out at a local pub, he sat down at the bar next to Björk.
"There she was, no bodyguards, just doing her thing," he recalls.
Celebrity in Iceland, he says, is no big deal. He laughs: "Everyone in Iceland thinks they're a superstar anyway." The Sugarcubes on Tour in the USA: Björk & Sindri (Photograph published in Mannlif Magazine)
Source:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/20/DD225195.DTL

"I love Icelandic Music" on www.musik.is Site

This blog is listed on the site www.musik.is: For more and other information on Icelandic music.
Photograph of Emiliana Torrini (from Mannlif Magazine)

Dýrðin Update UK Tour - 2 Times @ London

London Calling ...
Magnus did let me know a change in the UK Tour of Dýrðin: 2 gigs @ London
1. & 2. February
www.myspace.com/dyrdin

Bye Bye Sirkus

Here's a list of all the artists on the program @ Sirkus venue (Klapparstigur 30, Reykjavik) Bye Bye Weekend 25-27. January 2008:
1985!, Amiina, Ampop, Barði Jóhannsson, Berglind Ágústsdsóttir, Bob Justman, Benni Hemm Hemm, Bloodgroup, Bogomil Font, Borkó, Cocktail Vomit, Curver, Dr. Gunni, Flís, Ghostigital, Gusgus DJ-set, Hjaltalín, Hjálmar, Hudson Wayne, Jagúar, Jakóbínarína, Jan Mayen, Kira Kira, K.K., Megas, Motion Boys, Mr. Silla & Mongoose, Mugison, Music Zoo, múm, My Summer as a Salvation Soldier, Orgelkvartettinn Ananas, Páll Óskar, Pétur Ben, Rass, Trabant Experience, Retro Stefson, Reykjavík!, Seabear, Singapore Sling, Sigur Rós, Skátar, Skakkamanage, Slowblow, Sometime, Sprengjuhöllin, Valgeir Sigurðsson, XXX Rotweiler, Æla, Ölvis
Petition @ www.petitiononline.com/Sirkus08/petition.html
FM Belfast "Synthia" Live @ Sirkus Open Air
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9i3vq3xpDQ

múm World Tour 2008

Program of múm's World Tour 2008:
27 feb - Vox Hall - Aarhus, Denmark
28 feb - Star Club - Dresden, Germany
1 march - Fabryca - Warsaw, Poland
2 march - Hipnoza - Katowice, Poland
3 march - Ampere - Munchen, Germany
4 march - Kaserne - Basel, Switzerland
5 march - Viper - Florence, Italy
6 march - Fri Son - Fribourg, Switzerland
7 march - Karlstorbanhof - Heidelberg, Germany
8 march - AB - Brussels, Belgium
9 march - Paradiso - Amsterdam, Holland
13 march - Mosaic Music Festival - Singapore
15 march - Zoo - Brisbane, Australia
16 march - Northcote - Melbourne, Australia
17 march - Corner - Melbourne, Australia
18 march - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia
19 march - Rosemount - Perth, Australia
25 april - Coachella Festival - California, US
More múm @ http://www.mum.is/ and www.myspace.com/mum
The "old" múm (Photograph in magazine Mannlif)

Iceland - The beauty of a landscape

Music by Sigur Ros
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI-RX-YLKSk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2wWM-3N29c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ym1KFn8Yis

Björk "Pagan Poetry" Live Performance @ David Letterman

Björk "Pagan Poetry" Live @ David Letterman (2001)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjrRoOjm5ZA

www.bjork.com

New CDs in my Collection

The following CDs are now part of my collection since my latest visit to Iceland's capital:
Mínus The Great Northern Whalekill (2007)
Sigur Rós Sæglópur (2006)
Bloodgroup Sticky Situation (2007)
Ólöf Arnalds Við og Við (2007)
Slowblow Nói Albínói
Dr. Gunni Stóri Hvellur
Hjaltalín Sleepdrunk seasons (2007)
Hellvar Bat out of Hellvar (2007)
Egill B. Hreinsson Og steinar tali … And stones will speak (1998)
Kitchen Motors Family Album Fjôlskyldu Album Tilrauna Eldhússins
Biggi id
Sometime Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (2007)
Ghostigital & Finnbogi Pétursson Radium (2007)
Last weekend I bought the Minus Album Halldor Laxness & Sigur Ros Heima DVD in the Antwerp Bilbo store.
On Ebay I won Jakobinarina's Jesus 7", Jan Mayen Promo for On a mission & Dikta's Album Hunting for Happiness

Song of the 44. Week: Sprengjuhöllin "Worry til spring"

The popular boys of Sprengjuhöllin perform the Song of the 44. Week: "Worry til spring". The Icelandic version "Verum í sambandi" was (one of) the most played song(s) of 2007.
www.myspace.com/sprengjuhollin

Sigur Rós Live @ Jools Holland (2005)

Sigur Rós Live @ Jools Holland (11. November 2005)
"Hoppípolla/Með Blóðnasir"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJahfl61DJI

Interview with Sindri of Seabear

Photograph of Seabear @ Rafskinna Finlandia Party @ Organ (October 2007) @ Airwaves '07 by Wim Van Hooste.

A Big Mouth Strikes Again Interview with Sindri Mar Sigfusson from the lo-fi, folk-pop outfit Seabear talks about Michael Jackson, recording at home and becoming the Icelandic Simon and Garfunkel.

What are your earliest musical memories/influences and how do you think they shape your songwriting as Seabear?
Micheal Jackson. I used to really want to be Michael Jackson when I was about 5-9 years old. I'm not sure that influences me much as a songwriter but I still like Michael Jackson.
Your music cuts across many genres: folk, chamber pop, even a little psychedelia. How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?
Folk-pop? Depends on the song I guess. I can never answer this question. I'm afraid.
Iceland has produced an eclectic mix of musicians in the past few years: Björk, Sigur Ros, Múm, Jakobínarína. What are your thoughts about the music being currently exported from Iceland?
It's good. There's always something good going on here it seems. My favorites from last year were, Hjaltalín, Olöf Arnalds and the new múm album (Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy).
What inspires you more as a songwriter? Hope or despair?
Hope for sure. I find it hard to make music if I'm feeling bad or upset.
You recorded Singing Arc [EP] as a one man band and now Seabear has seven members. How did the current incarnation of the band form?
Well, everyone started out playing as session players but then we had so much fun together they joined the band. It still works the same I guess. I write the songs and they write their parts over the songs. It's much better this way I think than being alone.
The songs on The Ghost That Carried Us Away are lush - almost orchestral. Could you talk a bit about all the interesting and unique sounds that make an appearance on the album?
I use a lot of samples, I guess - like bird samples and recordings from old tapes. We only use the instruments we think will fit in the song but not just to add some 'weird' instrument into the song just to have it.
How and where were the tracks recorded? And are you ultimately pleased with the outcome?
It was all recorded in my little basement studio where I usually work and then mixed in a big nice studio. Yep, I'm pleased with how it sounds.
With all the new recording techniques available to musicians these days, do you see Seabear taking advantage of more/less technology in future recordings?
Sure. I'm not very concerned with the process of making something but thinking more about the final outcome.
The Internet: Music's salvation or downfall?
I'm not sure yet. Maybe it's a downfall for the labels - if people would start paying more for what they download on the internet that is.
What albums are you personally looking forward to in 2008?
(Guns and Roses') Chinese Democracy?
What's in the future for Seabear? Tour plans? New recordings? Side projects?
I'm pretty sure we're going to America this year. And Europe also. I'd like to go to Japan. We're starting to record a new Seabear album in February and I'm working on my solo project, Sin Fang Bous, as we speak.
I also have a side project with my friend Robbi, called Sindron und Robfunkel, which is going to be like the Icelandic Simon and Garfunkel.
Source:
http://mybigmouthstrikesagain.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-big-interview-strikes-again-sindri.html
More Seabear @ www.myspace.com/seabear

Three Icelandic Bands at Norway’s By:Larm

Following cooperation between the Iceland Airwaves music festival and the Norwegian music conference-cum-festival By:Larm, Icelandic bands FM Belfast, Bloodgroup and Benni Hemm Hemm will perform at By:Larm next month.
By:Larm is Scandinavia’s largest music conference and will host meetings and presentations intended for professionals in the music industry as well as more than 150 concerts open to all festival goers.
Icelandic musicians Reykjavík!, Lay Low and the Ultra Mega Techno Band Stefán played at special Iceland Airwaves acts during By:Larm 2007. Last October representatives of the festival attended Iceland Airwaves and picked the bands that will perform at this year’s By:Larm.
The festival was first held in 1998 and attracts hundreds of professionals in the music industry from the other Nordic countries as well as from Britain and the European mainland. Each year By:Larm is held in a different Norwegian city; this year Oslo is the host.
www.myspace.com/fmbelfast
www.myspace.com/bloodgroup www.myspace.com/bennihemmhemm
Source: Iceland Review Online http://www.icelandreview.com/

Hraun Live @ The Next Big Thing of the BBC

Hraun (Lava) performed a shorter version of their song "Astarsaga ur fjöllunum" (Love story from the mountains) on the BBC world service "The Next Big Thing" competition.
Lyrics
I waited for you
I waited a long time for you
And Sun came up over the snow...
And now I am lava,
I am moss covered Lava.
But deep under the rock beats a heart,
beats my troll's heart still...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9J5-SqeEUg

www.myspace.com/hraunhraun

The Nightlife of Reykjavik

This Danish trailer is not 100% up to date , because the names are changing nearly every year. Some (night)clubs are closed, demolished, burned whatever. Or just went bankrupt.
More on the nightlife 101 Reykjavik: www.whatson.is or www.reykjavik.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_iiLV9pAg

Brand New Video by Singapore Sling

Singapore Sling (SS) Video
"Song for the Spirit" (8mm Label)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1lulDboNZY

Program of the January Tour
22.01.08 Zürich, Switzerland – Venue: Hafenkneipe
23.01.08 Salzburg, Austria – Venue: Rockhouse
24.01.08 Steyr, Austria – Venue: Röda
26.01.08 Innsbruck, Austria – Venue: Wäscherei
27.01.08 Strassburg, France – Venue: Molodoi
29.01.08 Hannover, Germany – Venue: Café Glocksee
30.01.08 Berlin, Germany – Venue: Bassy
31.01.08 Dresden, Germany – Venue: Little Creatures
www.myspace.com/singaporesling

Dýrðin goes on a UK Tour (London & Oxford)

The boys & girls of Dýrðin go on a Tour in the UK in February 2008.
Go and see them in Oxford (1st) or London (2nd) and/or buy their Album if you like twee-punk.
www.mmedia.is/dyrdin
www.myspace.com/dyrdin

Singapore Sling @ Organ, Reykjavik (10. January 2008)

A Slideshow of Singapore Sling's January gig @ Organ venue, Hafnarstraeti 1-3, 101 Reykjavik.

All photographs by Wim Van Hooste.
Go see them on their Tour in France - Germany - Switzerland - Austria in January - February 2008.
More information on SS & German Tour @ www.myspace.com/singaporesling

Hector Zazou & Björk "Vísur Vatnsenda Rósu" - A dance Video

Hector Zazou & Björk
"Vísur Vatnsenda Rósu"
Björk as guest vocalist on Zazou's Album "Chansons des mers froides" (Songs from the Cold Seas)" (released in 1994), a song that a lot of people don't know I suppose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5JAyY1lIyA