In 1981, a flock of serious men came out of the woodworks—often wearing long grey or black overcoats. They probably clutched a Joy Division or a Þeyr record under their arms. Þeyr hadn't started out as the deep thinking young dudes' premium choice though. No sir, in 1979 they had approached Svavar Gests, a record mogul from another dimension, bearing two corny pop songs that were representative of the music they were making at that time. Svavar liked the songs well enough to agree to finance a Þeyr album to be released on the SG label that he'd run since the early sixties.
Þeyr (usually called Theyr by people deprived of the letter Þ) were a group of friends who had been dabbling in music since the mid-seventies. They started to record their pop songs during the winter of 1980, and had about half of a LP ready when they decided to take the summer off. During the summer of 1980, the band got hip to all kinds of new
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Þeyr Has Spiritual Intercourse With The Nation
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Soccerade gains popularity in Iceland
Numerous football fans and Icelandic stories have been getting into the World Cup spirit, including a Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed sports drink called Soccerade, which has become popular between both sportsmen and young footballers in Iceland.
The Soccerade drinks are the result of many years of product development and are now a worldwide phenomenon, including the backing of Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo. During the 2010 FIFA
Self drive holiday tours in Iceland see an increase in popularity
The increasing popularity of pre-organised self drive tours is mainly due to the difficulty of finding accommodation in some regions of Iceland during the busy summer season. However, travel agencies like Icelandtotal.com hold reservations at hotels all across Iceland, allowing them to create
Monday, June 28, 2010
Another glacial flood underway in Iceland, little danger to travellers
The Icelandic Roads Administration is advising travellers in the area to drive cautiously.
The flood is thought to have begun at around 01.00 last night and it will reach inhabited areas later today. No danger to houses or infrastructure is predicted; but hydrogen sulphide pollution near the glacier is likely for a time.
Today’s flood is much bigger than last weekend’s and it is considered likely that the water will flood over roads at Holaskjoli and Skaftardalur.
Floods
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Former Morgunblaðið Editor Styrmir Gunnarsson On Why Iceland Should Not Join The EU
Styrmir Gunnarson has been at the forefront of the Icelandic political landscape for nearly half a century, including 36 years as editor of the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið, which has strong ties to the political right in Iceland. As editor of this formerly most influential medium in Iceland, Stymir has been in a unique position to observe and even shape the political discourse in this country.
Since retiring his editorial chops in 2008, Styrmir has been taken a very active part in the local discourse. Among other things, he has published two books, one documenting the collapse of the Icelandic banks ('The Siege'), and another detailing his take on the findings of the Special Investigation Committee's report. He is also an active member of the organisation Heimssýn, "Iceland's 'No to EU' movement, [whose] members agree that Iceland's interests are best served as an independent country outside the European Union.
Founded in 2002 as a cross-political organisation, Heimssýn's goal has remained the same: to keep Iceland outside the EU" (we stole this description off their website).
By your definition what is the EU and what does it do?
The European Union, in my point of view, was formed to prevent further wars on the European continent, after two world wars in the Twentieth century, and many wars in former centuries. That's why it came into being.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Independent film festival in Reykjavik Iceland makes preparations for 2010 event
The Reykjavik International Film Festival began back in 2004, when a group of film enthusiasts and professionals wanted to create an annual international film festival in Reykjavik. Their aim was to establish a major film event in
Thursday, June 24, 2010
24-Hour Arty People
"Our original idea was that we needed one platform for different kinds of art. In Iceland we have a lot of festivals for film, art and music but nothing that has everything under one roof," explains Hildur Maral Hamíðsdóttir, one of the organisers of the brand new Jónsvaka festival.
So they built a roof, they called it Jónsvaka and they claim it embraces all the corners and crevices of the local artistic world.
The bash makes its début on June 24th, over the Jónsmessa weekend (which is a sort of local version of Midsummer's Day/Night). Indeed, that is when the sun reaches its highest waking peak and we all get a lil' disorientated. Hildur and her co-organiser, Harpa Fönn Sigurjónsdóttir, plan to get Reykjavík buzzing with tangible creativity and imagination over the period, particularly amongst the young folk.
They tell us the festivities will be scattered all over Reykjavík in the form of art exhibits, street performances and evening concerts. If they are right, you are likely bound to stumble into something nifty downtown at that time. Designers will also take the stage in a fashion show on the opening night at the Reykjavík Art Museum, along with a PopUp store over the weekend selling all sorts of fashionable goods. Sounds fun!
The bash also plays host to a three-day concert programme at NASA, offering all
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
24-Hour Arty People
"Our original idea was that we needed one platform for different kinds of art. In Iceland we have a lot of festivals for film, art and music but nothing that has everything under one roof," explains Hildur Maral Hamíðsdóttir, one of the organisers of the brand new Jónsvaka festival.
So they built a roof, they called it Jónsvaka and they claim it embraces all the corners and crevices of the local artistic world.
The bash makes its début on June 24th, over the Jónsmessa weekend (which is a sort of local version of Midsummer's Day/Night). Indeed, that is when the sun reaches its highest waking peak and we all get a lil' disorientated. Hildur and her co-organiser, Harpa Fönn Sigurjónsdóttir, plan to get Reykjavík buzzing with tangible creativity and imagination over the period, particularly amongst the young folk.
They tell us the festivities will be scattered all over Reykjavík in the form of art exhibits, street performances and evening concerts. If they are right, you are likely bound to stumble into something nifty downtown at that time. Designers will also take the stage in a fashion show on the opening night at the Reykjavík Art Museum, along with a PopUp store over the weekend selling all sorts of fashionable goods. Sounds fun!
The bash also plays host to a three-day concert programme at NASA, offering all
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Monday, June 21, 2010
Into The Light
He is tow-headed and unassuming, sitting on a patio, fidgeting as he lights a cigarette. He is driving to the airport in four hours to go on a two-week tour in support of his latest album, … and they have escaped the weight of darkness, which was released at the end of April. The critics seem to love him. He is often called a 'genius' and a 'wunderkind.' He is barely twenty-three, yet he seems to fit the bill of a very hard-working musician. In fact, he seems to be two steps ahead of himself at all times. For now, he has taken a quick moment before jumping on a plane to vent to Grapevine to his heart's content.
You've had a lot of success at a young age, especially given your chosen genre. It's all come on pretty fast. How have you coped with that? Has it affected you?
Well, I like to believe that I worked for it. I like to believe that I did everything myself and I feel fully responsible for the fact that I am not sitting in my living room writing music on my piano. I'm actually down here because I went out and did stuff. In the beginning, I went on tours that I booked myself; I spoke to friends who were starting up a record label and they released my stuff. Through that work, the bigger entities discovered me so I don't have to do everything myself anymore.
But coping methods? It can still be a bit weird, especially when you lose control of it. I have to admit I've had quite a hard time coping with it. There is also this attention, everything is always about me. This I've never really liked. I'm a closed off person, I'm a loner. People always come to me and I need to give so much of myself. That's just expected of me. I had a period last year when I was just really tense. I didn't like it, I hated it actually. At one point, something just turned in my head and I just approached it full on.
Do you enjoy touring?
Yeah. I get sick of the songs sometimes when I'm doing sound-check, but when I go onstage and play them for an audience the experience is always different. It's almost like playing a new song every night. The reception is different, the atmosphere in the room is different and it changes our perception of the music, so it almost changes the music itself. I never get bored of playing my own songs. There's some songs that I've played at every single one of my shows, not to mention sound-check, rehearsals, recording, but I always give myself into it every time. I really enjoy touring.
It's a labour of love, where you have to give yourself entirely over…
Of course, because if I don't I won't enjoy it. On one tour we made the mistake of playing the same set-list
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Swedish princess marries in style
The beautiful wedding took place in Stockholm Cathedral at 13.55 and the ceremony began at 13.30. Guests included European royalty and Nordic heads of state. The Icelandic presidential couple, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and Dorrit Moussaieff were on the front row in the cathedral and gave the happy couple an ornate glass bowl as a gift.
After the wedding, the royal couple took a 7 kilometre ride through Stockholm in a horse-drawn carriage, accompanied by 20 bands. 6,000 soldiers
Friday, June 18, 2010
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Survey result: food price in Iceland appears stable
The survey compared prices in the Bonus supermarket chain both now, in August 2009 and in January 2008. The basket of food has only increased by ISK 10 (USD 0.08) since last August – but this masks the fact that prices are still way up on the survey before that.
In January 2008, before the collapse
Monday, June 14, 2010
Iceland bans the young from tanning booths
Artificial tanning lamps and beds increase the risk of skin cancer and children and teenagers are more susceptible to the UV rays than adults are. There is a proven link between childhood sunburn and skin cancer later in life, DV reports.
According to internationally recognised principles in radiation protection, radiation should only be purposefully used when the expected benefits outweigh the harm.
Related
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Finance Minister: Iceland facing last hurdle on road to recovery
The Icelandic government needs to correct its balance sheet to the tune of a further ISK 40 billion (ISK 306.2 million) and this lower-than-expected figure means next year’s cutbacks and tax hikes will be the last stage in the country’s recovery, the FinMin told RUV.
Cutbacks will save ISK 32 billion through the merging of ministries and directorates, among other things. New taxes will net
Friday, June 11, 2010
Iceland parliament votes for gay marriage
It was also decided to end the country’s system of registered partnerships for same-sex couples, meaning marriage will become their only option – as was always the case for opposite-sex couples.
Althingi members welcomed the move after the vote, saying today is a
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Cheap self drive holidays in Iceland with Iceland Car Rental
The Iceland Car Rental website is a one-stop-shop for cheap vehicle rental, with cars ranging from city drive saloons to four-wheel drive cars able to withstand the toughest terrain across the country. All the vehicles are all easy to drive and come
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Best Backyard Ever
"He is Árni Plúseinn and I am Árni Sveins. We made a film together."
The former, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, is an electronics programmer who moonlights as a member of popular electronic musical outift FM Belfast. The latter, Árni Sveinsson, operates a guesthouse to pay for an apartment beyond his means, and is an active filmmaker.
Árni PlúsEinn was struck with the idea to make a live album in his backyard last June, while sharing a studio space with other bands. Not thinking too far beyond that point, he shared this idea with his friend Árni Sveins, who thought the backyard looked so nice they should get in some cameras to film the whole thing in a day.
One thing led to another, and suddenly they were organizing a six-camera crew, scoring permits from the city to throw a concert on Culture Night of last August.
The result is the movie Backyard, an hour long documentary that revolves around a on a tight-knit group of local musicians and the simplicity of throwing a really, really great party out of thin air.
The film has yet to premiere publically, but you should be anticipating it. A test-screening won it an award for 'Best Movie' at the Skjalborg Documentary Film Festival in Patreksfjörður last month, and sensing a lot of public interest the responsible parties (or Árnis, if you will) are planning to screen it – English subtitles and all – in a convenient location in 101 Reykjavík as of mid-July. All they really need is a suitable venue, which might prove complicated due to 101 Reykjavík's imminent lack of an operating movie theatre. But we'll hope for the best.
Grapevine has seen the flick, and can attest that it is indeed most-excellent – a much-needed document of a vibrant and joyful scene that has been adding to music loving Icelanders' quality of life for the last decade or so. We wanted to celebrate it, and tell all y'all about it, so we called up the duo of Árnis and asked them to tell you readers out there about the film – how they made it, and why they made it. They were more than glad to indulge us with a short talk about it. Enjoy the one-liner quotes from the movie peppered throughout the interview!
"Árni had an idea... Árni who? Nobody knows."
When did you first get the idea for this project?
Árni PlúsEinn: I first thought about it when we shared a rehearsal space with a few bands like Reykjavík!, Retro Stefson and Skakkamanage, and it felt like no one was recording their live shows. They all had albums out, but no one was documenting the live music which is far from the album versions, so that's mainly what led to this. So when I suggested it to him [Árni Sveins], it was kind of perfect. Me and Gunni [Tynes, from múm] would do the sound and he would do the video or something. Also, half a year earlier, the national TV station stopped recording as many bands as before, so it was also very worrying that these bands would not get the studio time at RÚV.
Árni Sveinsson: Just because of setbacks and cutbacks.
ÁP: It doesn't really have to be expensive to do accomplish.
ÁS: I just told you that it has to have really good sound. The picture quality is kind of secondary.
How did you decide what bands to pick for the show? Were they all your friends?
ÁS: We made a quick list.
ÁP: You had, like, a wish list.
ÁS: Yeah, but you were really set on what bands you wanted. I was like "what about this one!" and you were like "No, no! this won't fit in! No, I don't like him!" You had a very fixed idea of what would make sense. They are such different bands, but somehow they make sense.
ÁP: Most of them are friends, or they at least know each other, and they have the same ideas about how they make music or why they do it.
"I think that what characterises this scene is a common awareness of not taking ourselves too seriously, but rather having fun in creating something together."
What are those ideas? What do you think unifies the musicians?
ÁP: First of all, I think these bands all got together to make music to entertain each other and to create something from nothing, without it having to cost millions and millions.
ÁS: I think they have a similar aesthetic and approach to making music, even though their music is very different. Also this spirit of not being afraid of being surrounded by different types of music, instead of something like the metal kids only hang with the metal kids and the rock guys and all that. That is not the mentality of this group, I think.
ÁP: This makes a scene of people that go to concerts that maybe have an open mind…
ÁS: Even though they play totally different music, that is the aesthetic we are talking about.
Was this an investigation into that scene, or an attempt to document it?
ÁP: Well, it's just a document. We didn't really have an idea of what the scene was, I just knew who they were and
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Melting Iceland Since 2005
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of me up and moving my ceramics workshop to Iceland from Ireland, I am curating a retrospective of some of my favourite pieces. The mission of my work is to explore aesthetic properties latent within natural materials readily available from the world around me, and to transform these materials into useful totems of everyday life: invariably, tea bowls. I love tea!
For example: volcanic ash from various eruptions (Veiðivatn 1477, Hekla 1875, Eyjafjallajökull 2010!) can be excavated and then melted in the ceramic kiln at very high temperatures to create a beautiful glaze on the pottery (a glaze is not like paint: it's more like creating glass via a kind of alchemy). In fact, ash from all kinds of incinerated stuff: cigarettes, banana skins—even corpses—can reveal amazing results at various temperatures! I
Monday, June 7, 2010
Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption still not quite over
The measured activity was highest on Saturday, almost stopped yesterday morning and started up again yesterday afternoon. The volcanic activity slowed again at around 02.00 and remains low.
Gunnar B. Gudmundsson, geophysicist at the Icelandic Met Office, says that it appears that a small volcanic eruption probably began on Thursday with a small amount of lava and ash production. Gudmundsson says that the earthquakes being measured on-site are very shallow, indicating a very small eruption
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Don’t give Roma beggars money says Finn PM
Vanhanen said that this was the simplest and most effective means of addressing the issue concerning the recent wave of beggars arriving in Finland, predominantly from Bulgaria and Romania.
"It would not take many weeks, and this phenomenon would end in Finland. This would require a decision by everyone not to give money," said the Prime Minister, who was speaking to political journalists at a lunch to discuss the issue. Prolific begging first began to appear
Facebook Iceland under hacker attack?
The possible attack is only visible on companies’ and groups’ Facebook pages, and not individuals’.
Mbl.is reports that no explanation for the substituted word has been found. The worst case is that Facebook Iceland has fallen victim to hackers; but it could also have been caused by a translation error.
One internet user who contacted mbl.is described getting a highly unpleasant feeling upon seeing the word on screen.
Related Posts: Army of Iceland on
Friday, June 4, 2010
Art Love-In
In July, the art world will come to Reykjavík, and some musicians too. Commercial galleries from all over Europe are uprooting their shows and transplanting them around the city. The event, Villa Reykjavík, will be free to the public from July 9 to 31.
Karol Sienkiewicz, a co-organiser of the event was here in Reykjavík researching a guidebook, to come out in June, for visitors of the event. He says Villa Reykjavík is partly "about the topography. It's about moving from one place to another, physically." For the thirteen participating galleries, which hail from cities including Paris, Berlin, London, Warsaw, and Milan, packing up and shipping off to Reykjavík will be a major geographical move, although maybe not so much for i8, Iceland's participating gallery.
About half the galleries have chosen the artists they will exhibit. These will be everything from performance
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Art Love-In
In July, the art world will come to Reykjavík, and some musicians too. Commercial galleries from all over Europe are uprooting their shows and transplanting them around the city. The event, Villa Reykjavík, will be free to the public from July 9 to 31.
Karol Sienkiewicz, a co-organiser of the event was here in Reykjavík researching a guidebook, to come out in June, for visitors of the event. He says Villa Reykjavík is partly "about the topography. It's about moving from one place to another, physically." For the thirteen participating galleries, which hail from cities including Paris, Berlin, London, Warsaw, and Milan, packing up and shipping off to Reykjavík will be a major geographical move, although maybe not so much for i8, Iceland's participating gallery.
About half the galleries have chosen the artists they will exhibit. These will be everything from performance
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Iceland shakes up IVF fertility treatment law
Before the change in the law IVF patients were only allowed to use donor eggs in cases when the sperm came from the hopeful father-to-be. It was always prohibited for single women, lesbian couples and women not using their husband or partner’s sperm to use donor eggs.
The new law, which no MP voted against, was designed to make amends to women legally prevented
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Sweden demands Israeli explanation for aid convoy attack
“We want a clarification over what has happened,” Bildt said to Sveriges Radio reporters after learning of the ill-fated boarding of humanitarian aid ships by Israeli military forces. “We know that there are Swedes on some of the ships and we want to know what has happened to them. There appears no reason to question media reports that a Turkish vessel has been boarded, that a fire fight occurred and that people have been killed,” said the
