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.

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.

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!