Mr. Silla - One Step

Mr. Silla is THE prototype to describe the tangled Icelandic music scene. Artists are members of several different bands at the same time. They work together and know each other very well. It's like the whole music scene is just one big family. Mr. Silla is a solo project of Sigurlaug Gisladóttir, who is the female vocalist of Múm. Then members of Seabear, Amiina, Sin Fang, Komono and so on (have) participated the project too. So the members switch a lot, they just join "whenever they want". Okay that's a lie, but at least it sometimes looks like it. (This is by the way generally speaking, it's not only Mr. Silla). If you look up Mr. Silla you will find the band "Mr. Silla & Mongoose"; she started this band with a friend of her. Mongoose tried some electronic experimenting stuff. But now, one thing is sure: Sigurlaug is the front woman. Don't expect similarity to Múm, Mr. Silla is something totally different. I think it is somehow similar to Warpaint or Catpower, but of course that is my interpretation. If you listen to this song, One Step, you'll think you are listening to Warpaint. Mr. Silla's voice is very powerful, she can create a great atmosphere, as you will notice. Enjoy!

Útidúr - Fisherman’s Friend

I am so proud to introduce Útidúr to you guys. Their music gives you an instant smile. Útidúr is an euphoric folk band, existing out of 10 members and they use 6 different instruments. Útidúr labels their music as "acoustic chamber pop". The album "This Mess We’ve Made" (2010) is recorded with 20 musicians! I think they have a great chance to make a big international career. I had the same feeling when I heard Little Talks of Of Monsters and Men for the first time. If I can describe them in three words it would be:The Icelandic Beirut, and sometimes it is a little too obvious, but I don't care. What sets them apart is the unique voice of the girl singer. If you listen to Fisherman's Friend you will notice this gives an extra touch.

GusGus - Arabian Horse

GusGus is the best techno band of the island, especially since their latest album release Arabian Horse. Everybody loves this new release. I'll be honest; this is not really my taste but I can appreciate it. When GusGus was founded in 1995, they consisted of 14 members. It all started with a big experiment and gradually they created their own unique sound. After a while, some of the artists decided to leave the band to concentrate on a solo career, Emíliana Torrini and Hafdís Huld for example. Since then only 5 members remained. GusGus also mixes songs of other artists like Sigur Rós. The new album Arabian Horse (2011) is actually not that typical in comparision to their other releases. Anyway: njóta tónlistar! - Or enjoy the music!

Lára Rúnars - In Between

You can compare the talent of Lára (say it as Laura) Rúnars to artists like Björk and Emilíana Torrini, if you ask me. She is making music since 2003. Her father was a member of "Grafík", a rock band of the eighties and through him she got into music. She got introduced to artists like Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. In 2004 she made a song together with the Irish Damien Rice (click). The albums of Lára are inspired by The Cardigans and Stina Nordenstam. Her new and fourth album "Moment" appears to be more mysterious and dark with PJ Harvey as a great influence. Lára got into some personal struggles, she even questioned her music career... But then she came to senses and rediscovered herself. The album reflects those feelings, that is why Moment is the most personal album she has made so far. In Between is a little older (2009), but a very nice song.

Slowblow - Aim For A Smile

An amazing song of Slowblow. The use of mysterious sounds in the background in combination with a fragile voice: sweeeet. For those who watched the movie Nói Albínói, this song has to sound familiar. For those who did not watch the movie: please do so! It is a movie from 2003 and is directed by Dagur Kári, Dagur is also the person behind the band Slowblow. The story tells us about a 17-year old boy, Nói, who lives in an isolated village in the North-East of Iceland. The daily life of Nói is shown but the end is very tragic. After this tragic occurrence "Aim For A Smile" follows with the credits of the movie. The song suits perfectly how you feel after watching this movie.

Feldberg - Dreamin'

Feldberg is one of the greatest bands I got to know in Iceland. The wonderful and talented duo Einar Tönsberg & Rósa Birgitta Ísfeld both have very nice voices. Rósa has an uique souly voice and Einar has a very soft voice. The name of the band is a mish mash of their lastnames. Feldberg is a quite young band (2009). Einar already produced albums with his solo band Eberg in Scandinavia and Europe since 2004. His music is also very nice. You can describe it as dreampop and it is comparable with The Postal Service. Listen a song here. Rósa also sings in another band, called Sometime, about which I will post a blogpost later. Dreamin' is nominated as the best song of 2010 by the IMA (Icelandic Music Awards). For me Feldberg also revives memories about my time in Iceland. Dreamin' is played in the airplanes of Icelandair before the plane takes off. Another song of them "Don't Be a Stranger" was the song you got to hear when you were calling somebody, it was like the "waiting tone". Enjoy these songs, you are going to love it!

Tilbury - Tenderloin

It all began with a solo project of Þormóður Dagsson in 2010 and it resulted in the birth of Tilbury. This is a new band, but the members aren't. They are a mishmash of different famous music groups of Iceland (Valdimar, Amiina, Sin Fang, Hjaltalín &...). So you can quite say that Tilbury represents the Icelandic music in a good way! Þormóður himself was the drummer of Jeff Who? but changed his drumsticks for the microphone. Tilbury is actually an old movie of 1987 made by Vidar Vikingsson (check out a little piece here). The musiclip of Tenderloin contains fascinating fragments of this movie, about an Icelandic citizen gathering in the time the American culture reached Iceland, which was very primitive back then. Enjoy!

Dikta - Goodbye

Dikta is a very popular group that exists since 1999. Most of the lyrics are in English. They have a great contrast between songs, Goodbye is a very sweet and heartbreaking song, but other songs like Breaking the Waves are the total opposite. I listened to this song the last days before I returned home. This song is perfect when you have to say goodbye to something/somebody, in every occasion this song will help you to reflect. Oh and a nice fact is that the band members have been friends since they were little children, but actually that's not that spectacular in Iceland haha!

Valdimar - Yfirgefinn

An absolute must is posting a song of Valdimar! Valdmiar is the first name of the singer. I know Valdimar personally because he is the cousin of two friends of mine (Pálmi and Smári). They, but just their whole family, are all SO nice people and have a heart of gold. Anyway, I got a CD of their first album Undraland ("Wonderland") and ofcourse I listened to it non-stop. Valdimar Guðmundsson started together with Ásgeir Aðalsteinsson, both from Keflavík. Later, four other members joined and now they are a 6-member band. When they perform live they sometimes add members of the horn section. Their music is just so sweet and very innovatory because you can't really compare it to other bands. Valdimar himself plays trombone which gives the music an extra touch. All songs are written in Icelandic, some are really calm and others are more energetic, like Yfirgefinn. Valdimar is famous in the whole country and nobody gets enough of their music. Yfirgefinn means "neglected" so it actually is a quite sad song. It is about memories of someone, feeling totally lost and elements of nature (so Icelandic) are used; like "the earth swallowing him up" or "stars in the sky remembers me of you". But the song slowly reaches a climax and then the sentence “Ég heyri læti” which means "I hear panic/commotion" is repeated. It is weird because just suddenly it becomes a happy song, but it's not. But he sings “ég heyri læti lalalalala læti, það eru læti lalalalalæti” (3:26) and I remember on a party where we were dancing on this song and everyone putted their hands on their ears to illustrate that there was "laeti". But ofcourse the fact that I didn't understand everything in Icelandic in the beginning, probably made me think that too. Anyway guys, just start loving Valdimar... They are awesome and the person behind it is lovely too :). (A more slowly song is Brotlentur )

1860 - Snæfellsnes

A second song that I must share with you is Snæfellsnes of 1860. Snæfellsnes is one of the prettiest areas in winter time, if you ask me. Because when it is covered up with snow it looks like a paradise. Snæfellsnes is a peninsula in the west of Iceland. 1860 is an upcoming band which started in 2010. That's the year I was in Iceland and they even played at my high school during lunch break. They call them the Fleet Foxes of Iceland, but ofcourse they have their own unique style. They sing both in English and in Icelandic. This song Snæfellsnes is written in Icelandic, so most of you won't understand it. But they are basically singing about a long awaited vacation to this area. "Við hoppum upp í bíl" means "we jump into our car" and they are just full of excitement. The prettiest sentence I think is “Ég vona bara að fönnin mér fleyti heim” which means something like "I hope the snow will 'float' me home", and this just describes the beauty of their music and the Icelandic scenery. And don't forget to listen to their other music, they are getting better everyday! And if you are planning on going to Icelandic Airwaves, ofcourse they will play there too ;)

Lay Low - By And By

This is the song I heard when I entered the plane to fly for the very first time to Iceland. The overwhelming moment, filled with joy, excitement and curiosity to finaaallllly go to the country of elves and trolls... And then, I heard Lay Low. From that moment on this memory is linked with this country music of Lay Low. So now you know why I needed to start this blog with By and By, you can compare it with the feeling which evokes when you are on your way to get into a crazy rollercoaster ride. I was by the way on a plane of Icelandair. It's not the cheapest airline to fly to Iceland, but the facilities you have or worth their money. Every customer has his own little entertainment touch-screen. So the moment you enter the plane, you can already discover Iceland through their national music, movies and read all information about everything the island offers. Lay Low is not that famous (international). Her real name is Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir. And just like Björk, she doesn't look Icelandic at all. She has a Sri Lankan father and an Icelandic mother. It is possible you know her from her support act of Emilíana Torrini's tour in 2009 or of the Monsters and Men concerts in 2012.