Iceland is one of the most popular travel destinations in recent years. Before and during the trip, it is also worth getting to know Icelandic artists.
Icon of Icelandic music, who began her musical career at the age of 11. She gained international recognition in 1986 – when she was just 21 years old, she formed the band The Sugarcubes. The group recorded songs in both Icelandic and English. This made their debut singles extremely popular in the UK. After the band broke up, Björk moved to London, where she began working on her solo career. Her debut album “Debut” in the United States gained gold status. She remained on the top music charts for many years, and her albums sold millions of copies. In addition to her music career, Björk tried her hand at acting with success. She played the female lead in the film “Dancing in the Dark,” for which she composed the soundtrack. For this performance, she received the award for best leading actress at the 53rd Cannes International Film Festival. She has also won Brit Awards, MTV Music Video Award and multiple Grammy Award nominations.
The young band is one of the most popular bands currently coming from Iceland. The band gained immense popularity after performing in the Eurovision song contest. The group’s singer Daði Freyr first tried his hand at the national preliminaries for the contest, but failed to qualify for the main competition. Three years later, he won the preselection with his band after performing the song “Think about things.” The song was very popular, and has been played more than 40 million times on YouTube to date. Daði ig Gagnamagnið, however, could not perform at the concert, as the “Eurovision” was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. They returned a year later with another hit song, “10 Years,” and reached the finals, where they eventually finished fourth.
Another artist worth paying attention to when listening to Icelandic music is Júníus Meyvant. The singer and songwriter describes his musical style as “soul-stirring melodies from the North.” The Icelandic singer’s music is created in the style of 1960s music, which gives it a unique character. In 2014, the artist released his debut single “Color Decay,” which quickly conquered the Icelandic charts. The unique music has gained international recognition. Special interest was shown by the program director of KEXP Seattle radio, who invited the artist to record a special concert. The result of the collaboration posted on YouTube has already been viewed by nearly 300,000 users. In 2015, Júníus Meyvant won statuettes at the Icelandic Music Awards in the categories of song of the year and debut of the year.
main photo: unsplash.com/Hanny Naibaho
