Best The Reykjavik Grapevine Podcasts (2025)

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The Viking History of Greenland: A US-EU Cold War over Greenland? (Bonus Episode) 24:24

6M ago24:24

24:24

Send us a text In this Bonus episode, hosts Valur Gunnarsson and Jón Trausti Sigurðarson discuss the president elect Donald Trump's recent remarks that the USA should acquire Greenland. Greenland and Iceland are not members of the EU but are on the front lines as disputes erupt between NATO states. We dive into the history of the Danish Empire, pon…

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The Viking History of Greenland: Leifur Eriksson: Losing and Finding America 43:20

7M ago43:20

43:20

Send us a text You can also watch this podcast as a video by pressing this link. Icelanders discovered America, and lost it again. Or did they? How long did the Viking voyages to the new continent last? How did the first longship vs. canoe battle go? And where - and what- was the legendary Vinland that the Sagas speak of? Hosted by historians and G…

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The Viking History of Greenland: Erik the Red; the Worst Neighbour in History 40:34

9M ago40:34

40:34

Send us a text The Last Viking Mystery: Erik the Red; the worst neighbour in history The Vikings sailed across the North Atlantic, from Norway to Iceland to Greenland and all the way to North America. They only stayed for a few years in the New World but in Iceland, their descendants live to this day. In Greenland, however, a Norse colony survived …

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Artist Spotlight: Xiupill (REPLAY) 33:30

11M ago33:30

33:30

Send us a text Coming back from our last holiday of the summer (verslunarmannahelgin) and slowly coming back to life / back to reality, we bring you another replay of one of our classics. This time we bring you a re-listen of our artist spotlight with genre-bending and self-described “boy band” Xiupill. With members hailing from Iceland, Spain and …

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Hot Happenings: SAMANFEST 2024 34:34

12M ago34:34

34:34

Send us a text We have reached Verslunarmannahelgi, aka Merchant's Day Weekend, the unofficial "end of summer" in Iceland which is marked by a long weekend full of festivals and parties all over the country. The newest addition to the festival roster is SAMANFEST, presented by Slacker Events & Iðnó, who are coming in hot and poised to become a year…

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Artist Spotlight: BSÍ (REPLAY) 40:18

12M ago40:18

40:18

Send us a text With August on the doorstep and our cohost Jóhannes Bjarkason going on holiday, we will be doing things a little bit differently this month and bringing you some replays of some of our favourite artist spotlight episodes. Jói and Rex handpicked a selection of top notch guests we've had in this year, which you may have missed if you'r…

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Saturday Morning Mix #12 42:40

12M ago42:40

42:40

Send us a text It's another short-mix this week as we wind down with our final episode before our August break. Jói is heading to Denmark for the month, where he will troll the locals by speaking to them in English with a Danish accent. Rex will be on staycation on their ongoing mission to hug every cat in Reykjavík. But we won't leave you hanging!…

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Hot Happenings: Norðanpaunk Turns 10! 45:08

12M ago45:08

45:08

Send us a text You know that meme that’s like “If there’s no girls, goths, or gays, I’m not going”? If you giggled and double-tapped it, Norðanpaunk is the festival for you. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Norðanpaunk (“northern punk”) is a countryside celebration of dark, extreme, underground and weird music. Taking place every year d…

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Artist Spotlight: lúpína 39:02

12M ago39:02

39:02

Send us a text Our guest today is lúpína, the artist name of Icelandic-Norwegian singer-songwriter Nína Solveig Andersen. The Oslo-based artist was awarded our 2024 Grapevine Music Award for Song of the Year with her breakthrough single “ástarbréf”, which was also on her debut album ringluð. She's been releasing hit after hit this year, including t…

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Saturday Morning Mix #11 43:36

12M ago43:36

43:36

Send us a text Another fine Saturday with a cup o' Joe and another episode kicked off with hijinks! After an hilarious false-start in the studio, we get into a shorter but fantastic mix for you as we wind down July and shift into vacation mode. That's right — vacation! With Jói heading off on holiday for the month of August, we will be taking a bri…

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Hot Happenings: Innipúkinn Festival 48:30

12M ago48:30

48:30

Send us a text This week we're diving into the upcoming Innipúkinn Festival, happening August 2-4 at Gamla Bíó and Röntgen. Since 2002, the festival has held down the home court over verslunarmannahelgi, “merchant’s day weekend”. Translating loosely to “inside demon”, the festival happens inside in both senses of staying in Reykjavík and primarily …

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Artist Spotlight: Hasar (Uncut & Unhinged) 52:16

1y ago52:16

52:16

Send us a text You know those Monday mornings where you're feeling the Garfield mode extra hard, and then someone rocks up with enough energy to power the entire city? That's exactly what went down on this artist spotlight episode with true rocker Hasar. The current band name of musician and actor Örn Gauti Jóhannsson, Hasar just released his first…

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Saturday Morning Mix #10 45:52

1y ago45:52

45:52

Send us a text While we're stuck in Reykjavík enjoying this delightfully cloudy and cold July, we are travelling through the conveyance of music alone to get our summer holiday fix. This week's playlist is a journey of all the summer vibes; cute indie-punk, beer swilling comedy-folk, wine on the patio salsa, and more. Kick back and sail away on the…

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Hot Happenings: Prikið with Geoffrey Þór Huntingdon-Williams 45:34

1y ago45:34

45:34

Send us a text Very few places in Reykjavík have endured or garnered such a unique reputation as downtown institution Prikið. Known today as the beating heart of Iceland's hip hop scene, the cultural icon goes back way further than many people — including us! — even know. On this episode, Prikið's co-owner and well-known local character Geoffrey Þó…

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Artist Spotlight: Guðmundur Ari Arnalds (slummi) 32:58

1y ago32:58

32:58

Send us a text Our guest today is Guðmundur Ari Arnalds, aka slummi & many other monikers, experimental artist, producer, and sound engineer who has been active for many years. He released two albums this spring — Idiot Flower on April 26 and Bastard Flower on May 31 — his first solo releases under the moniker slummi. He has also been working at th…

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Saturday Morning Mix #9 47:12

1y ago47:12

47:12

Send us a text We are fresh as the lupins in full bloom and quoting The Cure on this fine Saturday morning! Coming at you with a tangent-heavy introspective episode, this week's mix is full of darkpop gems, cool summery bops and eighth grade mallgoth perfection (it is not a phase, mom.) We also remembered that our sweet new mixer has a soundboard s…

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Hot Happenings: Agnes Hlynsdóttir (LEMMY & Iðnó) 40:20

1y ago40:20

40:20

Send us a text Over the past months, almost every guest on our show has brought up the state of the live music landscape in Reykjavík in terms of the lack of midsize venues to play. This being a huge subject for all of us over at Grapevine HQ — contributor Ish Sveinsson Houle tackled just this topic in an article in our 8th issue this year. One you…

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Artist Spotlight: Tófa 48:28

1y ago48:28

48:28

Send us a text This week kicked off with truly Garfield vibes in GV HQ Studios, with your dear hosts Rex and Jói just needing naps and lasagna. Our spirits were immensely lifted by our guests, Allie Doersch and Árni Þór Árnason of longstanding punk band Tófa. Tófa has been around the Reykjavík music scene since their debut album Fleetwood Max in 20…

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Saturday Morning Mix #8 45:08

1y ago45:08

45:08

Send us a text After nearly a full month of grey fake-summer in Iceland, it's hard to believe that the sun has finally come out for this last weekend of June! We aren't getting too excited — lest we jinx it — so instead we will just enjoy these sunny new tunes no matter what the sky does. Jói and Rex are still deep in brain-rot mode, so it's a fun …

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Hot Happenings #9: Hátiðni Arts Festival 40:26

1y ago40:26

40:26

Send us a text On today’s Hot Happenings we will be previewing the upcoming Hátiðni Arts Festival, which takes place July 5 — 7 in Borðeyri, North Iceland. Originally a brainchild of the Post-dreifing collective, this will be the sixth edition of the independent grassroots music and arts festival that thrives on a Do-It-Together community model and…

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Artist Spotlight: Ólöf Rún 45:44

1y ago45:44

45:44

Send us a text On this week's artist spotlight we welcome musician, artist, organiser and friend-of-the-pod Ólöf Rún Benediktsdóttir, a long-time member of Iceland’s grassroots music and art communities. This is her second time joining us in the studio, as she stepped in as guest co-host on an episode with us last summer in our old digs at 101 Útva…

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Saturday Morning Mix #7: Monday Mix-Up Edition #2 1:08:06

1y ago1:08:06

1:08:06

Send us a text Illness struck the 66DoS crew again last week which caused confusion of all kinds, so the episode meant for last Saturday is hitting you on this fresh Monday morning! It's a truly mixed episode this week where we go from light tunes to dark subjects real fast. Starting with lovely ambient and cool post-punk leads us to songs addressi…

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Hot Happenings #8: Berndsen 31:58

1y ago31:58

31:58

Send us a text Every once in a while we are treated to a big show by an elusive favourite, and that is just the ticket next week as long-time synthpop outfit Berndsen grace us with a huge solo gig at Iðnó. Leader and namesake of the band David Berndsen joins us in the studio this week to tell us all about the gig that we are truly stoked for. Due t…

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Artist Spotlight — Mighty Bear 37:32

1y ago37:32

37:32

Send us a text Having just celebrated Iceland's 80th birthday, we are back at it this week with another wonderful artist spotlight! This week, Rex and Jói welcome experimental dark pop performance artist and queer icon Mighty Bear to Grapevine HQ Studios. Having just released his latest album Angurværð on May 31, the EP marks a turning point for Mi…

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Saturday Morning Mix #6 51:02

1y ago51:02

51:02

Send us a text After skipping a Saturday morning mix episode last week, we were so excited to get back into the groove that neither of us could shut up this week. In a slightly longer episode than usual, we delve into the nature of artist collaborations, the authenticity of revival genre bands, and the progression of mainstream Icelandic hip hop. E…

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Hot Happenings #7: Slacker Events 38:24

1y ago38:24

38:24

Send us a text With our new Grapevine issue about to drop tomorrow, we heat up the happenings once again this week with our guests from Slacker Events, an independent production and promotion team bringing banging parties to our local scene. The Slacker Events team is led by Atli Steinn Bjarnason and Alfreð Drexler, both long time active members of…

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Artist Spotlight — Sin Fang 43:34

1y ago43:34

43:34

Send us a text The gang is back together this week as Jói returns from a much-needed staycation and Rex emerges from sick leave. We kick things off this week with a very fun visit from the one and only Sin Fang! The moniker of Sindri Már Sigfússon (also of Seabear, Team Dreams and Gangly) has just released his latest album All My Friends Are Sleepi…

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Hot Happenings #6: Reykjavík Arts Festival Special 34:02

1y ago34:02

34:02

Send us a text Due to the lapse in releases due to a certain podcast producer getting sick, we are bringing you the Hot Happenings episode that should have come out on May 30th today. Luckily it's still very hot, cause it's all about the Reykjavík Arts Festival which is in full swing and going strong until June 16! The biennale festival has already…

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Artist Spotlight: GDRN 38:18

1y ago38:18

38:18

Send us a text This week we are back with an artist spotlight on singer-songwriter GDRN and her quick but huge rise to success in Icelandic music. This episode is hosted solely by Jóhannes and will be our only release this week, as Rex is out sick. (If you're wondering where last week's Hot Happenings and Saturday Morning Mix episodes went, that's …

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Artist Spotlight: sameheads 21:22

1y ago21:22

21:22

Send us a text It's an exciting week for us as GV HQ Studios as we get a much-needed gear upgrade courtesy of the good folks at Tónastöðin. Going with us on the maiden voyage on our new mixer is rock band sameheads' guitarist Baldur Skúlason, who joined us in the studio for a short but sweet chat about their latest single "Barinn við Barinn" (relea…

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Saturday Morning Mix #5 44:58

1y ago44:58

44:58

Send us a text After a hectic short week of shifting into biweekly printing mode, your hosts Rex and Jói are once again bringing a sweet sweet Saturday morning mix full of fresh new tunes. In this synchronicity-heavy episode, we find many accidental connections between the artist and tracks, making these disparate tracks reach common ground. We als…

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Hot Happenings #5 with Anna Jóna Dungal 52:20

1y ago52:20

52:20

Send us a text Things truly get heated up on this week's edition of Hot Happenings, as we have an absolutely fire discussion with Icelandic music industry expert Anna Jóna Dungal. A wearer of many hats in the industry with a rich and varied background, she is notably the OK AGENCY consulting firm, manager of erstwhile Eurovision contenders Celebs, …

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Artist Spotlight: SiGRÚN 36:38

1y ago36:38

36:38

Send us a text There's never a dull moment at GV HQ studios and this week is no exception! Coming in frazzled from a long weekend, we arrived to find our mixer had vanished and we had to improvise. Luckily we are punk-ethos musicians so we just got creative. This episode is very "play it as it lays" but in the best way possible, we think. We were a…

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Saturday Morning Mix #4 45:04

1y ago45:04

45:04

Send us a text Just another Saturday getting ready to carpe diem with some coffee and some hot new Icelandic tunes! This week we have a doubles-special, with two releases off marvaða records, two releases off Heavy Knife records, and two cover songs! (But only 5 tracks—one of those fits two categories.) This one is an absolute banger of a list so g…

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Hot Happenings #4 with Félagið Ísland-Palestína 47:30

1y ago47:30

47:30

Send us a text We take a serious turn on this week's Hot Happenings to highlight the upcoming lectures of Dr. Mads Gilbert, prominent Norwegian health care worker and activist for Palestine. He's coming at the end of the month to deliver his talk "Gaza 2024: A catastrophic man-made disaster. What can we do?", facilitated by the Félagið Ísland-Pales…

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Artist Spotlight: Xiupill 35:52

1y ago35:52

35:52

Send us a text As we sprint through the end of our transition to biweekly summer issues, we kick off another weekly rotation of 66DoS. This week's artist spotlight is on the genre-bending and self-described “boy band” Xiupill! With members hailing from Iceland, Spain and the US, the three-piece create a blend of production, performance and artistry…

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Saturday Morning Mix #3 47:02

1y ago47:02

47:02

Send us a text Ahh, it's another fine Saturday morning in Reykjavík and what better way to start the weekend than with some piping hot new tunes! Hosts Rex and Jói once again bring you five fresh picks that have been blowing up our Grapevine playlist. This week we have vibes from all over the shop — some eerie ambient from Sin Fang, the new interco…

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Hot Happenings #3 with guest MSEA 27:30

1y ago27:30

27:30

Send us a text It's an extra hot Hot Happenings episode this week as we dive in with one of the Grapevine's faves—MSEA joins us in our studio to talk about her release show for her latest album Our Daily Apocalypse Walk (released in September 2023). The concert is Thursday May 9, 20:00 at Tjarnarbíó and tickets cost 3.900 ISK. And since that is the…

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Artist Spotlight: TORFI 42:16

1y ago42:16

42:16

Send us a text A whole new week, a whole new set of tech issues and delays! OOF! Coming at you one day late, this week's Artist Spotlight shines on TORFI, the quadruple threat newcomer poised to take over Reykjavík's dancefloors. The singer-songwriter-producer-dancer joined us once again in studio (his first visit was last year) to tell us all abou…

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Saturday Morning Mix #2: Monday Mix-Up Edition 46:46

1y ago46:46

46:46

Send us a text Oh no we messed up! "We" being Rex's internet in their new place, as moving and technology didn't go hand in hand. Wish we could blame mercury-in-gatorade for it but it wasn't even there. So last week's Saturday Morning Mix comes to you on a Monday afternoon instead, because better late than never. It's also going to have to tide you…

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Hot Happenings #2 31:40

1y ago31:40

31:40

Send us a text In this week's Hot Happenings, your lovely co-hosts Jói and Rex bring you a finely curated weekend of comedy and culture in Reykjavík. If you’re ready to laugh, internationally acclaimed musical-comedians Reggie Watts and Bill Bailey are performing in Iceland this weekend — separately! Along with those, we tip you off to the recently…

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Artist Spotlight: Dustin O'Halloran 39:40

1y ago39:40

39:40

Send us a text Another week, another brand new cycle of 66 Degrees of Sound, our podcast highlighting new music and events in Iceland. This week kicks off this week with an artist spotlight on Dustin O’Halloran, the renown American pianist, producer, and composer who now lives in Iceland. Dustin released his latest solo album 1 0 0 1 on March 22 al…

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Saturday Morning Mix #1 43:40

1y ago43:40

43:40

Send us a text What a comeback week we’ve had for our little show that could! Rounding out our new weekly cycle, today we bring you the first Saturday Morning Mix, a sweet playlist along with some analysis and peanut gallery banter from your hosts. Just back to basics new music roundup goodness, really. On this episode, we find our sea-legs and bri…

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Hot Happenings #1 43:24

1y ago43:24

43:24

Send us a text We continue our comeback week with Hot Happenings #1, where we get into the Nanna, RAKEL & Salomé Katrín show this Friday, and go over some cool Record Store Day events in our fine local shops, including 12 Tónar, Alda Music Shop, and Plötubúðin in Hafnarfjörður. Also: the smell of studios and pitching new scents to Fischersund, and …

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Artist Spotlight: BSÍ 41:26

1+ y ago41:26

41:26

Send us a text After a much longer break than anticipated, we are very pleased to announce the comeback of our new music and events podcast 66 Degrees of Sound! 66 Degrees of Sound is a show about the newest music being released in Iceland and the hottest events happening in Reykjavík. Kicking off a whole new chapter of the show, hosts Jóhannes Bja…

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The Alternative History of Iceland: Could the Icelandic Economic Collapse Have Been Averted? 1:16:04

1+ y ago1:16:04

1:16:04

Send us a text What happened in the autumn of 2008 that made the country's whole economy seemingly go under? What had brought a country with very little experience of banking to believe it could be the financial capital of the world? And how did an erupting volcano eventually save Iceland? Hosted by historians and The Reykjavík Grapevine founders V…

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Ending the Year with Björk, ex.girls, Jelena Ciric & More 58:54

1+ y ago58:54

58:54

Send us a text We have reached the final episode of our podcast’s first year and what a year it has been! What started as a weekly dual radio-podcast show airing on Útvarp 101, to slowing down our pace and becoming a monthly online-only podcast, we’ve covered a lot of ground while covering a lot of great music and cool events. And of course, this l…

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The Alternative History of Iceland: What if the Nazis had invaded Iceland in World War II? 1:16:05

1+ y ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Send us a text Iceland had a rather comfortable war, being occupied by the British and later Americans. Yet, it was a time that changed everything, the beginning of modernity and Iceland emerged from the war as one of the richest countries in the world. But what if the Nazis had come instead? Valur and Jón explore what did happen and what could hav…

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Post-Airwaves Sillies: Jae Tyler, GusGus, Benni Hemm Hemm & More 1:03:30

1+ y ago1:03:30

1:03:30

Send us a text 66 Degrees of Sound by The Reykjavík Grapevine is your one-stop shop for brand new Icelandic music, where Grapevine journalists Rex Beckett and Jóhannes Bjarkason (aka Jói) discuss the latest Icelandic music releases and upcoming events. On this month’s episode we recap our Iceland Airwaves experiences, highlight some tracks that fel…

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Björk, Airwaves, And A Whole Bunch Of New Music 36:25

1+ y ago36:25

36:25

Send us a text In recent weeks, none other than Björk has voiced her opinion on open-net fish farming in Iceland. Hint: She's opposed. 66 Degrees of Sound by The Reykjavík Grapevine is your one-stop shop for brand new Icelandic music, where Grapevine journalists Rex Beckett and Jóhannes Bjarkason (aka Jói) discuss the latest Icelandic music release…

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