Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [25]
Húsavík – ‘Bjór, meiri bjór’ by Ljótu Hálfvitarnir. The band’s name (Ugly Idiots) really says it all. Nine guys from Húsavík formed this folk-punk-pop band in 2006. They change instruments after each song, and quite often there’s not a single beer left in the house when the evening is over (hence the name of this song, ‘Beer, more beer’).
Vestmannaeyjar – ‘Love Song’ by Foreign Monkeys. From the Vestmannaeyjar comes this young and promising stoner rock band, who released their first album in 2009.
Selfoss – ‘Bahama’ by Ingó & Veðurguðirnir. This Selfoss-based quartet became one of the country’s most popular bands with their 2009 debut album.
Keflavík – ‘Það sýnir sig’ by Hjálmar. The kings of Icelandic reggae. Two key members of the band come from Keflavík. This song, along with the rest of their fourth album, was actually recorded in Jamaica.
Garðabær – ‘Breaking the Waves’ by Dikta. Formed in a garage in Garðabær, Dikta has become one of Iceland’s biggest rock bands. This song is from their second album, Hunting for Happiness.
Reykjavík – ‘Suitcase Man’ by Hjaltalín. A band with an unusual instrumental set-up; one of the most popular Icelandic bands since their formation in 2007.
Reykjavík – ‘Reykjavíkurnætur’ by Megas. The undisputed lyrical master of Icelandic pop history has been releasing albums since the early ’70s. In ‘Reykjavíkurnætur’ (Reykjavík Nights), some of the Sugarcubes perform with him, including Björk (and her sister Inga).
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The best music festival in Iceland is Airwaves (held in Reykjavík in October), which showcases the cream of Iceland’s talent along with international acts.
TRADITIONAL MUSIC
Until rock and roll arrived in the 20th century, Iceland was a land practically devoid of musical instruments. The Vikings brought the fiðla and the langspil with them from Scandinavia – both a kind of two-stringed box that rested on the player’s knee and was played with a bow. They were never solo instruments but merely served to accompany singers, as did the few church organs that appeared in the 19th century.
It’s not really surprising, in a country permanently on the verge of starvation, that instruments were an unheard-of luxury, and that singing was the sole music. The most famous song styles are the rímur, poetry or stories from the sagas performed in a low, eerie chant (Sigur Rós have dabbled with the form), and fimmundasöngur, sung by two people in harmony. Cut off from other influences, the Icelandic singing style barely changed from the 14th century to the 20th; it also managed to retain harmonies that were banned by the church across the rest of Europe for being the work of the devil!
Iceland has hundreds of traditional ditties that most Icelanders learn before school age and are still singing with relish in their old age. They’re dredged up whenever an occasion brings the generations together: family parties, outings, camping. The two favourites (which you’ll hear exhaustively) are Á Sprengisandi, a cowboy song about sheep herders and outlaws in the desert highlands, and a tear-jerking lullaby based on a legend about outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur’s wife, who threw her starving baby into a waterfall. Several collections of traditional Icelandic music are available from Reykjavík music shops and souvenir shops around the country.
Cinema
Iceland’s film industry is young – regular production started around the early 1980s – but it’s thrown out some distinctive work to date. Icelandic short films in particular have received all kinds of international awards. Full-length features are rarer, but they often contain the same quirky, dark subject matter and superb cinematography, using Iceland’s powerful landscape as a backdrop.
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CONVERSATION ABOUT AN OLD ICELANDIC INSTRUMENT
Author: I’d love to hear how a langspil sounds – do you know where I could listen to one?
Museum curator: No, sorry, I don’t.
A: Do any folk groups use them in their music?
MC: No, I can’t think of any.
A: So not many people play them these days?
MC: No, not many.
A: Why’s