Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Qupperneq 2

ICELAND DENMARK P: 12
The complicated relationship with our former colonizer
+ Volcanoes! + Kurds! + Afghanis! + More volcanoes!
LIFE
As you can see from our cover, this
issue we’re partying like it’s 1982.
‘Blade Runner’ is coming back—and
so, it seems, is virtual reality. First up,
Björk exploded both the awareness of
where VR technology is at these days,
and what it’s being used for with her
‘Björk: Digital’ exhibit in London. The
accompanying press conference, in
which she appeared to a room full of
journalists as a live motion capture
VR apparition, was beamed from the
Reykjavík School of Technology, and
saw VR move into a new sector of pop
culture. Secondly: heard about ‘EVE:
Valkyrie’? It’s a multiplayer VR sci-fi
dogfighting game, set within the EVE
universe. It might not be quite the VR
Death Star attack run that an entire
generation would like to see, but can
we get a “Rogue Two, standing by”
anyway? Thirdly, Reykjavík VR startup
Sólfar recently released ‘Everest VR,’
now available for download on Steam,
in which you can experience what it’s
like to climb Mount Everest in five im-
mersive scenes. Forget the damn hov-
erboards, people: they’re way too IRL.
VR is where it’s at. JR
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Grayson Del Faro
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Hrefna Björg Gylfadóttir
Magnús Sveinn Helgason
Eunsan Huh
Lói Mags
Johanna Pétursdóttir
Davið Roach
María Thelma
York Underwood
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Hrefna Björg Gylfadóttir
-Timothée Lambrecq
Steffi Meisl
Brynja Sveinsdóttir
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Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
The Reykjavík Grapevine is
published 18 times a year by
Fröken ltd. Monthly from
November through April, and
fortnightly from May til October.
Nothing in this magazine may be
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cover image by
Arna Beth
Thanks to Tim Lambrecq &
Warner Bros.
On our 2-day south coast tour you‘ll travel through a magnificient
variety of landscapes. Explore waterfalls, lava fields, Reynisfjara
-black sand beach, Jökulsárlón -glacier lagoon, and hike on
Skaftafell glacier!
BOOK YOUR TOUR AT
www. adventures.is
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DISCOVER
THE PEARLS OF THE
SOUTH COAST
The Reykjavik
Grapevine Apps
In This Issue
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
2
APPY HOUR
Happy Hours
CRAVING
Food & Dining
APPENING
Event Listings
Available on the App Store and the Google Play Store.
The hot button issue this
issue is bankers’ bonuses.
This issue has had Ice-
landers tearing their hair
out ever since Kaupthing bank’s care-
takers last month awarded their “key
employees” bonuses totalling some
1.5 billion ISK, with some receiving
payouts of 100 million ISK or more—a
decision that was made behind closed
doors, where not even the press was
allowed to attend. The outrageousness
of the move is underlined by the fact
that most of the bankers we did jail
hailed from Kaupthing, and during
their tenure there they engaged in bra-
zen market manipulation and fraud.
On top of all this, these jailed bankers
gave an interview a couple months ago
in which they complained about their
unfair depiction in the media. The bo-
nuses have sparked multipartisan op-
position; even some members of the
bank-friendly Progressive Party have
called for these bonuses to be heav-
ily taxed, and for legislative changes
be made to ensure that such bonuses
will be limited or culled for state rev-
enue. The Kaupthing bonuses case
underlines how the banks continue to
operate with relative impunity, bring-
ing back painful memories of the 2008
financial crash, and it’s for this reason
they’re this issue’s hot button.
SHARE:
gpv.is/hot14
Bonus
HOT
TOPIC
FRESH!
Virtual Reality
From left:
Character
from EVE
Valkyrie,
A national
leader looking
slightly
ridiculous with
a VR headset,
Björk from her
VR press
conference
THE FILM COMPOSER P: 20
From garage bands to scoring Hollywood block-
busters, Jóhann Jóhannsson's path and process
PREGNANT KATLA P: 52
Standing atop a rumbling volcano
+ Keflavík's silent dreams + Inside the Rock 'N' Roll Museum
TRAVEL
AIRWAVES
STARTS HERE P: 36
+ Inside an arts factory+ Pascal Pinon + Ýr's sweater story
FEATURE
CULTURE