Reykjavík Grapevine - jan 2019, Page 2

Elín Elísabet is an illus-
trator and cartoonist
born and raised in
Borgarnes. At the
tender age of 15, Elín
moved to Reykjavík
and hasn’t looked
back, except for the
annual springtime
impulse to move
someplace quiet
and keep chickens.
Elín likes folk music,
stationery, seal vid-
eos, the country of
Ireland, and eggs.
Hannah Jane Cohen
is based out of Ice-
land by way of New
York. An alumni of
Columbia University,
Hannah has lived
on five continents
and speaks three
languages fluently,
which is very impres-
sive. Her visionary
work is known for
expanding the defini-
tions of emotion,
introspection, and
above all else, taste.
John Rogers an
Englishman who first
joined us as a music
writer, later graduat-
ing to Managing
Editor. A constant
traveller, a lover of
art, culture, food and
nightlife, he edits
our Best of Reykjavík,
Best of Iceland and
Iceland Airwaves
sister publications.
His first book, “Real
Life,” was published
in 2014.
Art Bicnick is a man
of mystery, moving
like the wind through
the parties, soirées,
openings and sociali-
ate events of Rey-
kjavík. Sometimes he
can be seen abroad
in the countryside,
braving the spray
of a waterfall or the
frozen glacier air.
Always, he will have a
camera, document-
ing the moves of his
writer companion.
Sveinbjörn Pálsson
is Grapevine's Art
Director. When he isn't
poring over fonts
and obscure house
music in the better
coffee houses of
Reykjavík, he can be
found advising cats
and helping old ladies
carry their shopping.
He's single, ladies.
Kolbeinn Arnal-
dur Dalrymple is
Grapevine’s business
reporter, contribut-
ing to daily news and
print issues alike. He
is also the chairman
of the Equal Rights
Youth Association,
and lives in beautiful
downtown Hafnar-
fjörður.
Andie Fontaine has
lived in Iceland since
1999 and has been
reporting since 2003.
They were the first
foreign-born mem-
ber of the Icelandic
Parliament, in 2007-
08, an experience
they recommend for
anyone who wants
to experience a
workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
Timothée Lambrecq
is a French freelance
photographer and
filmmaker who can
be found exploring
Iceland’s nature,
small towns and 101
music scene, or on
the dancefloor at
Berghain in Berlin.
He’s made music
videos for sóley, JFDR
and Samaris, likes
shibas and techno,
and is an avid burger
aficionado.
Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir
is a national treasure.
One of Iceland's lead-
ing illustrators, when
she's not drawing
she's the front-
woman of Icelandic
electro-pop super-
group FM Belfast. Her
comic strip Lóabrato-
rium appears every
issue on page eight,
and is also available
as a daily dose on her
Twitter.
First 12: Are Road Tolls The Way Forward? 10: Smitey New Year14: Iceland's Labour Struggle Develops16: Being Black In Iceland 24: All Music Everything 32: Kiasmos NYE Blowout 34: Albums Of The Year36: Kaffibarinn Barflies40: Dadykewl's Inspo 44: Authentic Ramen At Hi Noodle45: Countryside Dining: Tjöruhúsið & Tryggvaskáli48: ATV Magic 50: The New Vík Í Myrdal
A Diverse Year
Of Music
Another new year
means a fresh
edition of The Reykjavík Grape-
vine’s Music Awards. We start off
with a bang, celebrating our best
musicians of the year, according to
a panel of Icelandic music experts.
Spoiler: Ólafur Arnalds was
voted the artist of the year, and
rightly so. He is one of Iceland’s
biggest international stars (third
biggest if you look at his staggering
numbers on Spotify, where more
than two million listeners tune in
to his music every month—more
than those who listened to Björk
and Sigur Rós. (Not that we care
about petty stuff like that.) Ólafur
also showed the world this year
that he is not only a fantastic musi-
cian, his concerts are an ambitious
visual experience that you will
never forget.
Our cover star, GDRN (an acro-
nym of Guðrún) had a big impact
on the Icelandic music scene with
her debut album, ‘Hvað Ef’ (‘What
if?’) sweeping the nation with her
charms and talents. She is leading
the charge a young, fresh musi-
cians that also includes bagdad
brothers, who we’ve named the
Best Live Act this year. In our pop,
R’n’B and hip-hop dominated
music environment, they’re show-
ing that indie still has a chance.
The music year of 2018 was
incredibly diverse. We had strong
albums in all genres, from metal to
rock to hip-hop and electro. Even
the classical music scene in Iceland
is making serious waves, with
three Icelanders making the New
York Times’s list of 25 Best Classi-
cal Music Tracks of 2018. And Björk
is up for a Grammy, yet again. So
all in all, 2018 was a fantastic year
for Icelandic music.
You can find the complete
list in our music award feature
starting on page 19. You can also
see what caught our music writ-
ers’ attention on page 34. Look
out for info on the awards party at
Húrra on January 11th. Finally: we
want to hear from you, too. Have
your say in our Readers Poll at
gpv.is/musicvote18 VG
EDITORIAL
Prins Póló getting the royal treatment
ON THE COVER:
GDRN
COVER PHOTO BY:
Magnús Andersen
MAKE UP BY:
Anna Vilhjálmsdóttir
SET BY:
Hallveig Kristín
Eiríksdóttir
ABOUT THE PICTURE:
Our music awards shoot
took place over the
Christmas break at The
Space Reykjavík, a co-
working unit in Grandi.
Everyone was in good
spirits, coming out of
their Christmas bubble,
and this soft holiday
feeling permeates the
photos.
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