Reykjavík Grapevine - Dec 2023, Page 2

In This Issue
6
The best ways to prepare for
next year’s Iceland Airwaves
10
Music cluster Tónhylur makes
space for novice musicians
and pop stars alike
12-14
Meet the four most exciting
Airwaves debutantes
26
Nightclub Húrra was iconic, up
until its last hoorah
30
Waking up after Airwaves
doesn’t have to be horrible
35
Ensure you won’t make a fes-
tival fool of yourself with this
guide to Airwaves etiquette
Twenty years after Iceland Airwaves
began in an old airplane hangar, the
festival is the biggest event on Ice-
land’s cultural calendar, showcasing
local and international talents over
one raucous long weekend. For our
cover feature, Jóhannes Bjarkason
caught up with four acts making their
Airwaves debut this year. Oh, and if
you’re interested in owning a piece
of music history, the 1994 Ford Bron-
co featured on the cover is for sale
On the Cover
Late night
dining
Our kitchen is open for
until 23:00 on weekdays
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A local favourite for over 20 years
BOOK YOUR TABLE
TAPASBARINN | Vesturgata 3B | Tel: 551 2344 | tapas.is
for a cool 2.950.000
ISK at Höfðabílar. Call
577 4747 for details.
PHOTO BY:
Axel Sigurðarson
Editorial Party
Time, Excel-
lent?
WORDS Catharine Fulton,
Editor in Chief
Iceland Airwaves has erected its
big top in town once again for a long
weekend of venue-hopping, musical
discoveries and parties galore. In
fact, if you’re reading this magazine
freshly baked and hot off the printing
press, you’re literally in the thick of
Airwaves madness right now! How
does it feel, the party power coursing
through your veins?
We in Grapevine HQ were admittedly
of two minds about the festival this
year.
We were split between the older co-
hort who popped into a few Airwaves
gigs last year and were discouraged
to see a whole lot of people their own
age (gasp! middle aged!) Had Air-
waves gone stale? Is it over the hill?
The doubters were balanced out
by the rest of our admittedly pock-
et-sized crew, who was brimming
with excitement for the weekend
and all the musicians they would be
checking out. “It’s the biggest festival
in Reykjavík!” they rightly exclaimed
with incredulity at the middle-aged
nay-sayers among them.
Hoping to woo the crowds during the
big event are a number of local acts
playing Airwaves for the first time.
Jóhannes Bjarkason sat down with
a few of them to discuss their music
and their stress levels as their mo-
ments in the spotlight approached.
Get to know Kári, Fókus, Celebs and
Kónguló in our cover feature on Pag-
es 12-14.
Keeping the Airwaves theme running
through the issue, we also spoke with
performer musician KUSK about her
day job (page 9) and profiled Björk’s
sound engineer (page 36). There’s
also a look at the wild world of music
royalties (page 8) and a think piece
on the connection between Icelandic
music and nature (page 26).
Yep, this issue has it all – just like
Iceland Airwaves … or not, if the hat-
ers turn out to be right. What’s your
verdict?
Contributors
CATHERINE
MAGNÚS DÓTTIR
Catherine studies culture and
literature in Iceland and came to
the Grapevine for the internship
but ended up freelancing for the
magazine. When she’s not trying to
reconnect with her Icelandic roots,
she’s usually watching video essays
or attempting to finally come up
with that one good story idea that
she can actually finish writing.
JÓHANNES BJARKI
BJARKASON
Jóhannes Bjarki is a Reykjavík local,
straight out of Grafarvogur. Having
been active as the frontman of the
post-punk band Skoffín and in the
post-dreifing art collective, Jóhannes
is fascinated by the Icelandic music
scene. Among his interests are
politics, history and pop culture.
IRYNA ZUBENKO
Iryna is a Ukrainian journalist work-
ing at the cross-section of media
and technology for the past five
years. While still figuring out what
to do in life, Iryna’s love of travelling,
unspoiled nature and Scandi design
has brought her to Reykjavík. One
day she’ll write a non-fiction book.
REX BECKETT
Rex Beckett has been a fixture in
the Reykjavík culture scene for over
a decade as a longtime music/art
writer and as former synthpunk
diva Rex Pistols. They are current-
ly working on a series delving into
the influence of Garfield on queer
millennials.
SHRUTHI BASAPPA
Shruthi Basappa traded the warmth
of Indian summers for Arctic winds
of Iceland. She’s a food enthusiast
masquerading as an architect at Sei
Studio and loves obsessive atten-
tion to detail. When not leading our
Best of Reykjavík food panel, Shruthi
can be found trying to become a
Michelin restaurant inspector.