One of my favorite Icelandic singers is LayLow and one of my favorite places in Iceland is Rauðisandur. The video to LayLow’s new single Backbone is in part shot at Rauðisandur. Rauðisandur means Red Sand and is one of Iceland’s seldom visited hidden pearls. While most beaches in Iceland are made of black volcanic sand, Rauðisandur is reddish pink and composed of seashells. To get there you drive down across a high plateau and descend down a steep and winding road. That’s where the beauty of this hidden valley becomes apparent The river winds down the valley into a beautiful bay sheltered by the red sand reefs. Only a handful of people live in the isolated valley on the isolated Vestfirðir corner of Iceland. It even looks mystical on Google Maps.
Backbone is Lovísa’s (LayLow) newest single and available as a free download or as 7” vinyl on her site. If you like this song, check out her other albums. Farewell Good Night’s Sleep is often played in my home.
Björk has done more on TV than talk about her TV. In 1997 she did interviews with minimalist musicians, including Arvo Pärt, Alasdair Malloy and Mika Vainio.
When Björk says “I think sometimes the role of a person who makes music is to take these everyday noises that are ugly and make them beautiful. And by this they are doing magic.” it reminds me of Björk’s own industrial noise music in Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark.
It’s true. Several centuries ago it was legal to “carry out” infants. This meant you left them up in the mountains to die. You could do this up to the age of two if I remember correctly.
In the past, unwanted infants in Iceland were left in the wild to freeze to death. The story behind this song is that a young mother abandoned her child this way. Months later, she was invited to a dance but could not go because she had no dress. Later that evening as she was milking the cows in their pen, she heard this song sung by the ghost of her dead child.
There are a ton of versions of this song, but this is by far my favorite one.
The Icelandic lyrics are: Móðir mín í kví, kví, kvíddu ekki því, því; ég skal ljá þér duluna mína duluna mína að dansa í, ég skal ljá þér duluna mína duluna mína að dansa í.
Tranlated as: My mother in the pen, pen you need not be so sad, sad I shall loan you these rags of mine, rags of mine to dance in. I shall loan you these rags of mine, rags of mine to dance in.
definitely-high-flying-deactiva asked: Hi! I just wanted to say that I like your blog a lot. I've never been to Iceland, but I've always been fascinating by your country. And I have a question: what music shops would you recommend to visit in Reykjavík? You know, the small ones, full of old LPs. Do you have something like that? Thank you! :) Irene
I don’t frequent them much, but Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) is a classic. Smekkleysa is both a record label and a store on Laugavegur, downtown Reykjavík. They were founded around the Sugarcubes and have stayed involved with Björk ever since as well as taking part in the early days of Sigur Rós.
There are some more stores, which are newer and come and go. However you will all find them in the same area of downtown Reykjavík.
If you are into Icelandic music, as an alarming number of people are, check out this paper on Icelandic music by Trefjar. One additional reason I would like to suggest for the success of Icelandic music is the size of the country. It is not that difficult to become famous in Iceland. With a population of 318.000, most people are famous. Producing music for that population is not going to make you rich, but it might give you the egoboost needed to tackle the world.
Okay, here’s my 9 page paper on Iceland music history and its role in present day Iceland, along with contemporary Icelandic music. Some of you fellow Iceland nerds might want to read it.
If you make it all the way to the end…I’m sorry. (obviously it’s not double spaced and shit like it was originally cause tumblr can’t do that)
Proper Björk fans need to know that before her international fame Björk took part in several very different genres of music. It all started when her elementary music teacher (same teacher as I had) sent a recording of her singing “I love to love” to the Icelandic radio (we only had one channel back then). Singing Icelandic covers of The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and her own music, 11 year old Björk Guðmundsdóttir became a well known child star in Iceland. For the money earned she bought a piano and began making her own music. Most likely the wisest investment an 11 year old girl ever made (no pony).
14 yo Björk became a punk teenager in the Spit and Snot girl band and progressed through all sorts of genres until she formed Tappi Tíkarrass (E. Cap Bitch Ass) with Jakob Frímann Magnússón. Tappi Tíkarrass was a hit among Icelandic teenagers.
Her next success was Kukl (E. Amateur Magic), a gothic rock anarchistic sort of music infused with Björk’s unique voice. Pretty interesting stuff. This I think was the first time she ventured outside Iceland with her music, touring in the UK.
The next step was Sykurmolarnir (E. The Sugarcubes). The band consisted of Kukl members but had completely different music. I’m no music specialist, but I guess this would have been considered some sort of alternative pop-rock. Their first single, Ammæli (E. Birthday) was a hit, not only in Iceland, but in the UK. This opened doors and gave Sykurmolarnir a certain following outside Iceland.
She first ventured back into solo singing in 1990 with the Album Gling-Gló. This album (my favorite) was as far away from her punk roots as can be imagined. I think this album is her most successful in Iceland and with a very broad base of listeners. The album was played as much by teenagers as in old folks homes.
Her subsequent albums, such as Debut, Homogenic and more took her on a path towards international superfame. But that part everybody knows.
“It’s a type of surreal music. Kind of dreamlike music, but all our material is original.” says Ágúst Gunnarsson, drummer in the band Sigur Rós, playing in Djúpið, Hafnarstræti 15 tonight.
Along with Ágúst in the band are Jón Þór Birgisson and Georg Holm. Jón Þór plays guitar and sings but Georg plays the base. Tonight the boys will also be assisted by Kjartan Sveinsson who plays the saxophone, flute and piano.
The band is just about a year old and its members are 18 and 19 years old. Sigur Rós has not played much in public except for a few school concerts.
The concert tonight begins between ten and eleven and admission is free.
Anonymous asked: how would you say Bjork and Sigur Ros influenced the culture in Iceland?
I don’t think they have influenced the Icelandic culture very much. As I see it they are more the offspring of the Icelandic culture. Neither Björk nor Sigur Rós produce mainstream music, so they can’t be considered the most popular musicians locally. However Björk is a very respected person in Iceland and both the success of Sigur Rós and Björk contributes to most people’s national pride.
The greatest influence they have caused is opening a door to international fame. Eying the possibility of success outside Iceland is a great inspiration for young talents. The association of Björk and Sigur Rós with Iceland also aspiring talents a greater chance of getting noticed. Sigur Rós might still be a garage band if Björk had not paved the way. I’m quite sure that Björk’s success at least speeded up Sigur Rós’ success.
Another band that often is forgotten is Mezzoforte. Mezzoforte predates Björk and was perhaps the first band to become internationally recognized. Just as Björk and Sigur Rós they focused on an alternative music style, funk fusion jazz, and became a great success within their own niche. Their greatest hit was Garden Party in the early 80’s and they are still touring.
The most interesting pictures from Iceland. Photos of Reykjavík, photos of Icelandic People, pictures of Icelandic Nature and Iceland Travel.
I'm heavily affiliated with Iceland and proud of it. Lived most of my life in Iceland but spent enough time abroad to truly appreciate Iceland's uniqueness.
Björk has done more on TV than 
If you are into 
