A musical journey to Iceland - Traveling Psychiatrist

Iceland. A country that I am yet to visit. Nonetheless, sometimes I feel as if I have already traveled or even lived there. I guess this is probably due to my obsession with the Icelandic culture and the many Icelandic crime novels I’ve been reading lately. I have previously written about my favorite Icelandic crime authors: Arnaldur Indriðason, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson. Today, however, I’m going to write about my favorite Icelandic musicians: I’m going to continue my musical journey around Europe. The soundtrack to this musical journey to Iceland will include some my favorite musical ambassadors of the country. Ready to take off? I’m kicking this musical journey to Iceland with the one and only Björk.

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, mostly known as Björk, has sold millions of albums worldwide and is probably the most famous Icelandic musician. Last year, I saw her performing live in London, when she headlined the All Points East festival. This year, she is coming back; she is due to perform in the O2 Arena in London on the 19^th of November 2019.

Born and raised in Reykjavík, Björk is also an actor. Her filmography includes ‘Dancer in the Dark’, ‘Drawing Restraint 9’, and ‘The Juniper Tree’ (a 1990 film that will be shown again as part of the BFI London Film Festival, which takes place between the 2^nd and 13^th of October 2019).

Another Icelandic film, ‘A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur)’, will also be shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival.

Ólafur Arnalds

Björk is not the only Icelandic musician performing in London in November. 32-year-old composer Ólafur Arnalds is due to perform in London on the 8^th of November 2019. Having seen him perform live at the Royal Albert Hall last year, I’m looking forward to his upcoming concert at the Southbank Centre this year.

Ólafur’s career dates back to 2004, when he collaborated with the German metal band Heaven Shall Burn on their album ‘Antigone’. He composed the intro and outros to that album. Since then, he has released solo albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with other artists. In 2015, he released the soundtrack to the Broadchurch TV series, and he also collaborated with German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott on ‘The Chopin Project’, an exciting new take on the music of Polish classical composer Frédéric Chopin. In 2016, he released the album ‘Island Songs’, where he collaborated with a number of other Icelandic musicians, including Nanna Bryndís from the group Of Monsters and Men on the song ‘Particles’.

Kiasmos

Ólafur has also collaborated with Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen, with whom he has formed the duo Kiasmos. Their self-titled album was released in 2014, but their collaboration continues to this date.

Víkingur Ólafsson

Víkingur Ólafsson is another noteworthy contemporary Icelandic musician recording classical music. A pianist, he’s known for his interpretations of the works of Bach, Chopin and Glass. Vikingur is due to perform at the Southbank Centre in London on the 6^th of October 2019.

Gabríel Ólafs

Gabríel Ólafs is a young and talented pianist and composer, whom I saw live a few months ago in London. His debut album ‘Absent Minded’ has just been released, and he recently returned to London for another performance on the 12^th of September.

Jóhann Jóhannsson

One of the most important Icelandic composers, Jóhann Jóhannsson, sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 48. Like Ólafur Arnalds, his legacy includes solo albums and soundtracks. He has composed music for a large number of international films and he has been nominated for an Oscar three times (for the films ‘Sicario’, ‘Arrival’, and ‘The Theory Of Everything’). Despite not being an Oscar winner, he has won a Global Globe Award for the film score for ‘The Theory Of Everything’.

Hildur Guðnadóttir

Cellist and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir has composed the soundtrack to the recently released Chernobyl TV series. She has also collaborated with Jóhann Jóhannsson on several albums.

Sigur Rós

Perhaps the most famous Icelandic band, Sigur Rós (Victory Rose in Icelandic) released their debut album, ‘Von’ (‘Hope’), in 1997, followed by the landmark ‘Ágætis byrjun’ (‘A Good Beginning’) in 1999. Over the last 20 years, they have been making experimental music, with their latest project ‘Sigur Rós Presents Liminal Sleep’ having been released this year.

Jónsi

Jón Þór Birgisson, mostly known as Jónsi, is the vocalist of Sigur Rós. His discography also includes his solo album ‘Go’, as well as ‘Riceboy Sleeps’, his collaboration with his partner Alex Somers (as Jónsi & Alex).

Ásgeir

Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson, internationally known as Ásgeir, is a singer-songwriter whose debut album ‘Dýrð í dauðaþögn’ was released in 2012.

The album was later released in English under the title ‘In The Silence’. His sophomore album ‘Afterglow’ was released in 2017; most tracks are in English.

Of Monsters and Men

An indie band, Of Monsters and Men, have been releasing music since 2011. Their debut album, ‘My Head Is an Animal’, is their most successful to date (on an international level). They are due to perform in London on the 29th of October 2019 (Eventim Apollo).

Kaleo

Another Icelandic rock band, Kaleo, have achieved international fame following the release of the hit single ‘Way Down We Go’ in 2015.