Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2008, Síða 38

38 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 12—2008
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IcElANdIc ROcK AlBuMS
dESIGNERS IN IcElANd
KIOSKS IN IcElANd
THE LIST BY oDDuR STuRLuSon — pHoToS BY gAS
LIfuN – TRúBROT 1971
The best overall Icelandic rock album. I'm a die-hard Hljómar and Trúbrot
fan but I'll admit that the two-part Óðmenn record which was released
1970 is also a contender for the title.
MEð ALLT á HREINu – STuðMENN OG GRýLuRNAR 1982
A great album with songs from the funniest Icelandic movie ever.
Stuðmenn have some of the best albums of Icelandic history, along with
their offspring, Þursarnir and Spilverkið.
BLáIR DRAuMAR – BuBBI & MEGAS 1988
They've both had long, respectable careers and some of their other al-
bums, such as Kona (Bubbi 1985) and Megas' first album which came out
1972 were also revolutionary in their own right.
LIfE´S TOO GOOD – SYKuRMOLARNIR 1988
I'm personally more fond of Illur Arfur but this album is so full of hits and
really marks the beginning of Icelandic music being recognised abroad.
áGæTIS BYRjuN – SIGuRRóS 1999
Their newest album might also have what it takes to be on this list but
since this one has passed the test of time I'll name this one for now and
let time be the judge.
Born in Selfoss April the 7th at Austur-
vegur 7, in a house named Núpur but
now called Kaffi Krús (built by Andreá s
grandparents). Brought up in Selfoss
with 3 siblings, sheep and horses, until
she went to Reykjavík to attend MR from
where she graduated in 1969. Studied
English at the University of Iceland for
2 winters but was very glad when she
was rescued from further studying and
offered to become a proof-reader at
Þjóðviljinn in 1972 where she worked
for more than a decade. Besides the
proof-reading, Andrea also wrote about
music in the newspaper. She started
having weekly shows on Rás 2 in 1984,
but had as early as 1971-1972 done
weekly shows at, “Gamla Gufan”, which
was the Icelandic State Radio, before
Rás 2 existed. Andrea – also known as
‘Grandma Rock’– has done a lot of dj-
ing around town, especially at Dillon.
She has 1 daughter (b. 1974), a foster
son (b. 1985) and two granddaughters.
Kjartan Sturluson is a 32 year old goal-
keeper for Icelandic champions Valur
and the Icelandic national team in foot-
ball. He is also one of the owners of the
online shop Birkiland (www.birkiland.
com) which specialises in Icelandic
design. He studied economics at the
University of Iceland and has also stud-
ied design management at the Bocconi
University in Milan. He founded Birki-
land with Ingvi Þór Guðmundsson with
the goal of promoting Icelandic design,
both in Iceland and abroad. They also
plan on opening pop-up stores, the
first of which will be situated in Gal-
lery Verðandi (Laugavegur 51) and will
open in October. Kjartan is passionate
about design and Icelandic design in
particular.
Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir, A.K.A. Kira
Kira, was born in Reykjavík in 1977 and
has lived in 25 different houses, mostly
in Breiðholt but also in Tokyo, Berlin,
Garður and Nice. She studied elec-
tronic music as well as visual art and
founded Kitchen Motors in 1999 – an
art collective dedicated to experimen-
tal music and collaboration between
eclectic artists. Now she's the artistic
director of the Sequences art festival
and she just released her second al-
bum, Our Map to the Monster Olym-
pics, with Smekkleysa and Afterhours
in Japan. These days she's planning a
tour there, starting with her Kite Sym-
phony in Shanghai (100 kites equipped
with remote controlled microphones),
then Tokyo, Finland and finally Russia
where she will play a few shows with
her band and record an album with a
Russian folk hero.
www.myspace.com/trallaladykirakira
www.this.is/kirakira
HRAfNKELL BIRGISSON
Hrafnkell’s design has a strong Icelandic feel to it. He's very true to
himself and his roots in his design.
SRuLI RECHT
He has an interesting take on life and existence, which is reflected
in his design.
TINNA GuNNARSDóTTIR
She twins together a lot of different fabrics in her designs, which
are influenced by nature and the animal kingdom.
INGIBjöRG HANNA BjARNADóTTIR
I find her use of the raven in her coat hangers very appealing these
days.
BjöRG juTO
She manages to recreate things in a fun way, rediscover their pur-
pose and change the way they look.
LITLA KAffISTOfAN
My grandma almost bought this place once, and every time I drive past
there I imagine what it would be like to have it in the family. The best
damn coffee and kleina between Reykjavík and Hveragerði.
AðALSjOPPAN
This is my local sjoppa, in Vogar, Vatnsleysuströnd. The best thing about
it is the name actually although their ice cream is pretty good stuff.
HALLINN
For historical reasons I have to mention this one. It's the tiniest, most awk-
wardly situated little bastard of a business on a hill next to Menntaskó-
linn í Reykjavík. Too bad it closed down. It was a pleasant thing.
KAuPféLAGIð á HúSAvíK
Last time I checked they had the best Drakúla candies in town. But last
time I checked was a few years ago, so I can't guarantee anything.
PéTuRSBúð
I'm not sure if this one counts as a sjoppa. It's one of those thunder cor-
nershops that's got all you need.
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Kjartan Sturluson
Andrea Jónsdóttir
Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir