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!

Snorri Helgason - Ólán

Snorri is a natural talent, no doubt. He taught himself how to play guitar and started as a 19 year old boy. Until 2009 he was the head member of the popular band Sprengjuhöllin. I LOVE this band, I will post a song of them later. He released his first solo album in 2009. I chose the song Ólán because this is a song written in Icelandic. River is another great song of him. As a solo 'band' he mainly sings in English. Snorri has been compared to artists like Neil Young and Paul Simon. He released his new album in September 2013, Autumn Skies. When I listen to Ólán, Thom Yorke comes up my mind, and even sometimes I hear a similar Jónsi sound. Ólán means unhappy. He sings about himself being unhappy, but then a girl comes into his life and everything changes. They meet in the middle of the night, the red sun is bursting through and they are on bare feet... Ahhh romantic!

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!

Hafdís Huld - Tomoko

Hafdís Huld has a super cute voice and is mostly accompanied with an ukulele. In 2006 she brought out her first album "Dirty Paper Cup", she won a national price for the best pop album. On this album there is also a cover of the Velvet Underground (Who Loves the Sun). Hafdis got known in Europe. Also Paolo Nutini discovered her (the guy who sings "Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everything feels right...") and he took her with him on a tour in the United Kingdom. Also Mika got to know the Icelandic Hafdis Huld. Her second album from 2009 was a huge success. When you see her in an interview she is so adorable: very funny and enthusiastic, just like her appearance. I chose the song Tomoko. It is just a funny song about 'the other girl' who is always prettier, skinnier etc... Enjoy this cutie pie.

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.

Hjálmar - Borgin

Icelandic reggae! This combination is just ‘skrítið’ (weird). If you say reggae, you think about an afro dude, smoking pot and chilling all day long. And then... Iceland... What a contrast, the total opposite! But the band Hjálmar breaks the silence. In my year in Iceland I went to a gig of them, and they were mindblowing. The atmosphere was incredible, everybody forgot the freezing temperatures outside and kept on the non-stop-dancing-mood. But they do have their own sound. They are known as THE (first) reggae band of Iceland and all the vikings absolutely love them. In 2004 they produced their first album and everybody had a crush on Hjálmar. 35 weeks they had been on the list of the best selling album. They got prices, nominations and in the meanwhile they produced 6 albums. They even went to Jamaice for their fourth album. The lyrics are always in Icelandic, that is one of the reasons they are so unique. It was difficult to chose one of their songs. But I chose Borgin. This song gives you an impression how lovely their music is and after hearing their music you can almost say the inhabitants use it as a sort of 'medication' to stand out the long dark Icelandic winter days. Borgin means 'the city' and they praise this city "nobody has seen something prettier" or "the city makes every heart bleed". Enjoy!