it was such a moment of truth


“Listening to Hania’s music over and over, I began to dream of a single sequence shot that would follow her music floating in the wind of an unreal Icelandic landscape. I asked each dancer to give a personal interpretation of Hania’s song. We were very lucky to succeed in this insane artistic performance despite the great cold (minus 7 celsius), it was such a moment of truth. Shot in Iceland on February 23, 2020”. —  Neels Castillon, Director

Morning Walk ( < 30 seconds)

> > > > NOTE: Press arrow on right center of photo to advance to video.

Epic Beauty and…

The Þjórsá River—Iceland’s longest—is a glacial river, fed by the Hofsjökull glacier, Iceland. The colors and patterns are created by the glacial melt seen flowing through volcanic silt. (Photograph by Jassen Todorov, National Geographic, Pilot’s stunning aerial picture wins National Geographic’s 2018 photo contest, December 6, 2018)

“A concert violinist by trade, Todorov began soaring above the ground in the early 2000s, eventually becoming a flight instructor and igniting his passion to visually capture the aerial world below—including both epic beauty and environmental challenges…When I fly long distances, I listen to a lot of music,” Todorov says. “I’m able to combine music, flying, and photography. Music has a lot to do with structure and composition, colors and patterns, moods and characters—when I am looking at a photo, I am thinking about the same things.”

Sunday Evening


Jóhann Jóhannsson, 48, performs “The Drowned World” with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble in this clip.  He was born and raised in Reykjavík, where he later went on to study languages and literature at university. He started his musical career as a guitarist playing in indie rock bands. In 1999 Jóhann co-founded “Kitchen Motors”; a think tank, art organisation and music label that encouraged interdisciplinary collaborations between artists from punk, jazz, classical, metal and electronic music. His own sound arose out of these musical experimentations.


Note: Find entire music video here. (I’ve clipped the back half above). Find Jóhannsson’s web site here.

but for someone who was kicked out of music school it sure makes you wonder what you’re doing with your life

“If you’re looking for some extra groove in your life, young Icelandic singer-songwriter Júníus Meyvant needs to be added to your playlist ASAP. Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, who plays under the Júníus Meyvant moniker, creates songs that get your body moving. Maybe it’s his voice, or the brass accompaniment that makes these songs epic, but for someone who was kicked out of music school it sure makes you wonder what you’re doing with your life. Although he released his LP Floating Harmonies back in July, this is definitely an album to check out now. The songs work perfectly with the changing weather, whether it be the leaves dropping, rainfall or just basking in the sun of mild temperatures while you cling to your pumpkin spice latte. If there’s one thing for sure, his voice will bring the warmth to your day.

~ Matthew Fisher, 5 Icelandic Artists You Need to Know (CBC Music)


Notes:

Dreaming


Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson (24) is an Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician.

His new album, Afterglow, was released on May 7, 2017.

1995


Related Posts: Ólafur Arnalds

T.G.I.F.: Öldurót


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Eric’s Excellent Adventure

eric-kanigan

unnamed

iceland-scuba-silfra-eric-kanigan

Iceland-northern-lights-eric-kanigan


Photos taken by Eric Kanigan in Iceland on January 4-6, 2016

Only the Winds


Ólafur Arnalds, 28, is a multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing-over from ambient/electronic to pop.

  • His official web site can be found here.
  • This song can be found on iTunes on his 2013 Album titled For Now I Am Winter

Related Posts: Olafur Arnaulds

Wheels take me, anyplace today


Kaleo is an Icelandic indie pop / rock / folk band established in 2012 and their first major public appearance Iceland. Firmly a phenomenon in their home country of Iceland, the four-piece band Kaleo is set to descend upon foreign shores in 2015, bringing their gorgeous blend of folk, blues, country, and rock to a wider mainstream audience in America. Best friends since attending elementary school in the small town outside of Reykjavik, the band began playing together at the age of 17. They named the band Kaleo, which means “the sound” in Hawaiian.  Kaleo has since moved to Austin, TX. (Source: officialkaleo.com)


[…]You and me together riding into the sun 
Live without care, with the wind in my hair 
Driving through the desert, yeah I’ll go anywhere 
Take me where the wheels take me, far away 
Wheels take me, I can’t stay 
Wheels take, any place today 
Imagine myself in an automobile 
a hundred miles an hour if you know how I feel. 
Alone with my mind, leave my worries behind 
I might even reach the border, it’s just a matter of time 
I said take me where the wheels take me, far away. 
Wheels take me, can’t stay. 
Wheels take me, any place today. 
Ohh I’m going to San Diego, here I come. 
San Fransisco, it won’t be long. 
Sacramento, yeah in the sun. I just might go 
I said I’m going to San Diego and San Jose 
San Francisco and hang by the bay 
Sacramento, yeah all the way I just might go 
all the way to Mexico oho 
I just might go all the way down to Mexico.

Árstíðir


Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an Icelandic indie-folk band with classical, progressive rock and minimalist elements. The band formed in 2008 in Reykjavík.

Árstíðir became known to a wider internet audience in 2013 when a viral YouTube video showed them performing impromptu, Heyr himna smiður (“Hear, Smith of heavens”, a 13th-century Icelandic hymn) at a train station in Wuppertal, Germany. Don’t miss this Youtube video (with ~ 4,000,000 views) here: Heyr himna smiður

Find the band’s website here: arstidir.com

This tune will be found on the band’s new album to be released in March, 2015: Hvel


Background Source: Wiki

For Now I Am Winter


Ólafur Arnalds, 26, is a multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing-over from ambient/electronic to pop.

This song can be found on iTunes on his album titled For Now I Am Winter – which I acquired several weeks ago and have had playing on a continuous loop. Highly recommended.

For related Olafur Arnalds posts:


Slow it Down. Slow it Down. And Breathe. (116 sec)


This beautiful short film (Inspired by Iceland) is wrapped in tune titled Lover’s Spit by Canadian indie pop band Feist.

I like it all that way 
I like it all that way
I like it all that way


Ólafur Arnalds


Ólafur Arnalds, 26, is a multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing-over from ambient/electronic to pop. This tune features Arnór Dan who is the lead singer and songwriter of the Icelandic band Agent Fresco and collaborator of Ólafur Arnalds.

  • His official web site can be found here.
  • This song can be found on iTunes on his 2013 Album titled For Now I Am Winter

Related Post: Near Light


Emilíana Torrini


Emilíana Torrini, 37, is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single “Jungle Drum” (14,000,000+ Youtube views) and for performing “Gollum’s Song” for Peter Jackson’s film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.  Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of seven, she joined a choir as a soprano, until she went to opera school at the age of 15. Her father is Italian and her mother is Icelandic.

Find this tune on her September, 2013 Album titled Tookah. Find her website @ emilianatorrini.com.


Árstíðir

Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an Icelandic indie-folk band with classical, progressive rock and minimalist elements. This tune is titled “Ljóð í sand” (Poetry In The Sand). Árstíðir became known to a wider internet audience in 2013 when a Youtube video went viral (3,000,000+ hits) showed them performing impromptu, Heyr himna smiður (“Hear, Smith of heavens”, a 13th century Icelandic hymn) at a train station in Germany. The video was shot by their PR manager after they had played a concert the venue inside the train station. The a capella was noted for improvising with the vaulted acoustics of the train station to effect the echo chambers of a monastic chapel.

Find the Icelandic Hymn that went viral on Youtube here.

Find their album on iTunes here: Svefns Og Voku Skil (Sleep & Waking Returns)


Hymnalaya


This band from Iceland was formed in 2012. The sound of Hymnalaya is rooted in old Hymns which are combined with indie, ethnic and ambient textures.  The band can be found on Youtube, Facebook and on their website here.


Humans of Reykjavik


A turn or two I’ll walk

photography-reflection-community-iceland-vogar


A turn or two I’ll walk
To still my beating mind.

— Shakespeare, The Tempest 


Photograph: Ingolfor via Sensual Starfish. Poem Source: Mythology of Blue

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