Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 14

12 ICELAND REVIEW
E
stablished by record producer
Svavar Gests in 1960, the Icelandic
Music Awards were first handed out
by weekly magazine Ásinn. Since
then the awards have grown into
a major celebration of the local music
industry, broadcast on live television.
The Icelandic Music Awards 2014 were
held in Harpa Concert and Conference
Hall on February 20. Pop Album of
the Year was Sorrí by Prins Póló and
the band’s frontman Svavar Pétur
Eysteinsson was named Songwriter of
the Year. Rock Album of the Year was In
the Eye of the Storm by Mono Town. They
also won the award for Rock Song of the
Year, ‘Peacemaker.’ Pop Song of the Year
went to ‘Color Decay’ by Unnar Gísli
Sigurmundsson, a.k.a. Júníus Meyvatn,
who also won the Newcomer of the Year
award—and he isn’t even from Iceland!
Not the mainland, that is: he hails from
Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands),
off the south coast. Male Vocalist of
the Year was Valdimar Guðmundsson
of the Keflavík indie pop and rock
band Valdimar—not named after the
singer. Salka Sól Eyfeld of reggae band
AmabAdamA was named Female Vocalist
of the Year and Live Performer of the
Year was heavy metal band Skálmöld.
Finally, Sykurmolarnir (The
Sugarcubes), the band in which Icelandic
superstar Björk first made a name for
herself on the international music scene,
was admitted into the Icelandic Music
Hall of Fame. About time. *
BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
SORRÍ, JÚNÍUS
Last year was great for Icelandic pop and rock,
even without records from Björk, Ásgeir or Of
Monsters and Men.
MUSIC
Prins Póló performing at the ceremony.