Promising & New Icelandic Bands!

Kriki is a brand new mellow indie dream-pop band. Frontwoman and singer/songwriter Katrín Helga Andrésdóttir has become quite well known lately for her performances with Reykjavíkurdætur, an all female hip hop ensemble, and Hljómsveitt, a feminist band lead by her and her sister. She has written controversial songs about unconventional sex and edgy parodistic political songs, but with Kriki, her music is very personal and mostly addresses love, heartbreak and self-pity. Kriki is a trio, complete with a synth player and a bassist.

This band hails from the tiny fishing hamlet Suðureyri in the West Fjords. They’ve been playing together for quite some time but just recently became known as the winners of Músíktilraunir, which is the Icelandic version of Battle of the Bands. They play indie rock and have cited bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Big Country and Arctic Monkeys as their biggest influences.

Singer/songwriter Teitur Magnússon recently released his first album, Tuttugu og sjö. The name of the album means twenty-seven, his age at the time of the release. His fun psychedelic, tropicalia folk pop songs are catchy and the lyrics, though repetitive, are quite interesting and even thought-provoking. Adding tropical sounds such as flutes and sitars, Teitur creates a beautiful soundscape that completely manages to lighten up my commute to school in the cold and grey Icelandic spring mornings.

This 19 year old from Húsavík, North Iceland, might just become the next big thing. A close relative to the successful Icelandic musician Ásgeir, Axel Flóvent writes and sings beautiful and dreamy acoustic indie-folk. He’s been playing music for years in the North and these days he seems to be grabbing Icelanders’ attention, and even acquiring fans from abroad. His single, Forest Fires, has just made its mark on the top list of the national radio. He’s releasing an EP soon and I can’t wait to hear some more of his music. He’ll be performing on Saga Fest on May 23rd. Here is the premiere of his new song Dancers.

This band, featuring among others three brothers from the Westman Islands, won the Icelandic Music Awards for the best song of 2014, called Color Decay. The band’s frontman, Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, started as a solo artist and sometimes still plays as such. However, most of Júníus Meyvant’s shows include a big band with brass players and violinists to name a few. It’s a treat to watch and listen to, so if you get a chance to see them live, don’t miss it! They play easy-going indie-folk music with a soul twist and have been traveling around the world performing.  I’m super excited about their upcoming album that will be released this summer! Here’s their full performance from Iceland Airwaves 2014.