Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2017, Side 2

Before Donald Trump, there was guy
called Davíð Oddsson. He was the prime
minister of Iceland, the chairman of the
Independence party and is remembered
today as one of the most important ar-
chitects of the total failing of the Ice-
landic banking system in the year 2008.
One of Davíð’s most historic moments
was his great battle against a newspaper
called Fréttablaðið in 2004. The core
of the debate was of course that the In-
dependence party disliked the owner of
the newspaper, Jón Ásgeir Jóhannes-
son—another key player of the failing
of the banking system four years later.
Fréttablaðið became one of the biggest
newspapers in
Iceland at an phe-
nomenally fast
pace and it was of
great concern to
the Independence
party, because the
editorship was
not full of mem-
bers of the Inde-
pendence party—
unlike one of the
oldest newspa-
pers in iceland,
former giant on
the market, and
the biggest competition to Fréttablaðið
at the time, Morgunblaðið. In few words;
the Independence party was losing their
choke-hold on the Icelandic media.
The reaction of the government was
simple. They wrote a bill, designed
to attack Fréttablaðið, which could
have resulted shutting them down.
Although 77% of the nation was against
the bill, the government didn’t really
care and approved it at parliament any-
way. However, the bill ended with the
president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar
Grímsson, who refused to sign it—the
first time in Icelandic history this had
ever happened. In the end, the Icelan-
dic nation was left to vote about the
bill. Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson,
of course, knew that this was not a bill
in the favour of the people, so the gov-
ernment retracted it. The result is that
Iceland has free media today, and this
has had a serious impact on the soci-
ety. Not much has changed since then;
Morgunblaðið is still a mouthpiece of
the Independence party, and Fréttablaðið
has seen better days, although it is still
the largest newspaper in Iceland today.
The Icelandic media is always fighting
for its freedom. The latest threat to this
freedom is the injunction imposed on
Stundin because of its reporting about
the shady dealings of our current Prime
Minister only two weeks before elec-
tions. The Independence party swears
that it had nothing to do with this. And
of course it is a coincidence that the
District Commissioner is a former sub-
stitute member of parliament for the
very same party and an old friend of the
closest advisors of Davíð Oddsson, such
as Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson.
So, here we are: elections will be held
in the end of this month. We encour-
age everybody to go and vote. And
keep in mind, that nothing should
be taken for granted in Iceland. Not
even the freedom of the media.
First
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ART DIRECTION
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EDITORIAL
2
Words:
Valur Grettisson
Find today's events
in Iceland!
Download our free
listings app - APPENING
on the Apple and
Android stores
DJ flúgvel og geim-
skip - The Sphinx
Lo-fi pop experi-
mentalist DJ flugvél
og geimskip returns
with ‘The Sphinx.’
The video includes
triple-trunked
walking teapots and
crowns made of
mountains spinning
through a colourful
fractal universe,
and the song is—as
always—refreshing-
ly odd, profoundly
psychedelic, and
confusingly hum-
mable. Read more
on page 24. JR
Skuggasveinn -
Lifandi
A catchy and
minimalistic slice of
electronic pop with
a swooning vocal,
reminiscent of Jónsi
in style. Early days,
but it’s intriguing
stuff. JR
Högni - Moon
Pitcher
The third glimpse of
musical polymath
Högni Egilsson’s
debut solo album
is a minimal, pro-
pulsive electronic
track, punctuated
by synth and string
stabs and the
catchy chorus re-
frain of ‘I’m in love,
can’t you tell?’ The
album, entitled ‘Two
Trains,’ will follow
on October 20 via
Erased Tapes. JR
Dölli - Ferðalagið II
(Le Trip)
Dölli is a strange
dude that does
his own thing, and
although this track
reminds you of Prins
Póló and Megas on a
baroque pop trip SP
Kælan Mikla - And-
vaka
This synth-goth-
punk trio have be-
come the ringlead-
ers of a blossoming
underground scene
for dark/heavy/
experimental music
in Reykjavík. Their
latest single is
characteristically
gloomy, insistent
and atmospheric.
Catch them at Air-
waves to hear more
new material. JR
CYBER - Snákar
All-girl rap crew
CYBER just dropped
'HORROR,' an LP as
gothic as the name
suggests. The disc
is the talk of the
town, and it's hard
to pick a favorite
track. On Snákar
RVK rap don Emmsjé
Gauti shows his
skills, but it's the
CYBERians, Jóhanna
Rakel in particular,
that really shines. SP
Auður - I'd Love
Auður exploded
onto the scene
two years ago, his
bass-laden R&B
oozing teenage
sexuality. His return
shows a matured,
more acomplished
form, allthough the
music is still freak-
positive. SP
Issue 19
10: Iceland Smites The World
12: Bjarni Vs. The Media
14: Doorman In Memoriam
26: Airwaves Arrives
28: DJ Flugvél & Geimskip
38: FM Belfast: Winning
49: Respect Le Kock
50: True North
52: Horses Are Great
The War
On Media