Keeping a finger on the pulse

Captain Syrup

Iceland’s progressive rock, go on!

in BLOG by

(This article was featured on “Tengivagninn” on Rás1 Icelandic National Public Radio on Tuesday, 2 July 2019.) I took part the other day in a discussion about Icelandic music in which I heard that Björk wasn’t particularly popular in Iceland when her music career was starting to take off abroad. At home, her music wasn’t described as ‘mainstream’. That made me think about how one’s perspective on Icelandic musicians depends on one’s vantage point – from abroad or from Iceland. Outside the island, Icelandic musicians are seen as a phenomenon, and many people believe that living and creating in Iceland must be a wonderful experience. I observed this and came to the conclusion that one of the most beautiful aspects of following the local music scene is witnessing how projects in Iceland sprout, grow and blossom and get well-deserved attention abroad – sometimes more often than in Iceland itself. To…

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Áfram framsækið rokk Íslands!

in BLOG/IS by

Pistillinn var skrifaður fyrir Tengivagninn á Rás1 og birtist þar, þriðjudaginn 2. júlí 2019. Um daginn tók ég þátt í umræðu um íslenska tónlist þar sem var sagt frá því að Björk hefði ekki verið sérstaklega vinsæl á Íslandi þegar tónlistarferill hennar í útlöndum var að hefjast. Tónlist hennar var ekki skilgreind sem hluti af meginstraumnum hér heima. Þetta kom mér í skilning um hvað sjónarhornið á íslenskt tónlistarfólk er ólíkt eftir því hvort sá sem talar er Íslendingur eða ekki. Utan Íslands má segja að íslenskur tónlistarmaður sé ákveðið „fyrirbæri“ og margir spá í hversu yndislegt sé að búa og skapa á Íslandi. Ég velti þessu fyrir mér og komst að þeirri niðurstöðu að ein af fallegustu hliðum þess að fylgjast með staðbundnu tónlistarlífi er að sjá hvernig tónlistarverkefnin spretta upp, stækka og blómstra á íslenskum vettvangi en fá líka verðskuldaða athygli utan Íslands, stundum oftar en hérlendis. En…

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Keep Your Finger On The Pulse! #02

in Explore/Issue #2 by

Words by Stína Satanía It’s that time of the year again: Iceland Airwaves is coming! It’s simply the biggest sonic feast for the Icelandic music scene, and us fans can feel our pulse rising to dangerous heights from sheer excitement. We’d all love to be able to clone ourselves just for this one week, just to be able to see all of our favorite artists. Here are a few acts that you absolutely shouldn’t miss in the on or off venues: (more…)

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Stories of Captain Syrup

in Live by

Do you need something for gray days to make your feet jump unconsciously? Jazz rock funky Captain Syrup is able to make you lose your breath and sweat all over but they can also make you so happy like you just got the best gift ever. Sounds like the band must be super energetic, right? Indeed, those youngsters proved it with their sweaty set at Bar Ananas on November 5th during Iceland Airwaves festival. What a madness. What a precious experience. Captain Syrup is an electrifying sonic mixture – adventurous, bold and brave if it comes about experiments and facing challenges. With a dose of imagination, the band’s sound ranges vast from killer funk to mathcore and it will surely make you pop by this party for a while. Add to this a pinch of crazy youth and you can imagine a tempo and progression of the sound. The trio…

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