Free and Vibrant Music: Recommended Icelandic Artists — Popular Singers and Bands

SexfaldurAmiina

Amiina – Sexfaldur

Amiina is a string quartet formed in the 1990s by four female graduates of the Reykjavík College of Music—Hildur, Edda, María, and Sólrún.

They began performing strings with Sigur Rós in 1999, released two EPs in 2005, made their album debut with Kurr in 2007, and released their second album, Puzzle, in 2010.

With the addition of two male members, the group is now a mixed-gender sextet.

Sexfaldur is a track from their debut album.

PatienceOlöf Amalds

Ólöf Arnalds – Patience

Olöf Amalds (Ólöf Arnalds) is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in 1980, from Mosfellsbær, Iceland.

An indie musician active in the Icelandic music scene since the early 2000s, she began her solo career around 2003 while spending about five years as a touring member of múm, releasing three albums.

Her cousin is Ólafur Arnalds.

She released her debut album Við og Við in 2007 on 12 Tónar; her second album, Innundir skinni, in 2010; and her third album, Sudden Elevation, in 2013—both on One Little Indian Records.

Patience is a single released in 2014 on One Little Indian, a track that crosses over ambient and electronic sounds and is marked by her distinctive voice and unique sonic world.

PaperSVALA

SVALA – Paper (Official Music Video)

SVALA, born in 1977 in Reykjavik, Iceland, is a singer-songwriter.

She began singing at age seven as a backing vocalist for her father, Björgvin Haldórsson, scored a No.

1 hit at age nine, and had a second hit at eleven with the Christmas song “Ég hlakka svo til.” She studied ballet for seven years and, at sixteen, formed a band called Scope with a DJ and a producer.

In the mid-1990s, she had a hit with a cover of “Was That All It Was,” signed with Iceland’s largest record label, Skífan Records, and after several releases joined the indie-dance funk band Bubbleflies.

At eighteen, she began recording with Scottish producer Ian Morrow, and in 1999 signed a six-album deal in North America with EMI and Priority Records.

She moved to Los Angeles in 2000, but after the label was acquired and transferred to Capitol Records, her album “The Real Me” achieved platinum sales in Iceland around the time she left Priority Records.

In 2005, she released the solo album “The Bird of Freedom,” which went gold in Iceland.

In 2006, she formed the electro band Steed Lord with her husband, Einar “Mega” Egilsson, and his brother, gaining traction on MySpace.

They began touring and were remixed by Crookers, DJ Mehdi, and Jack Beats.

Also in 2006, she became a WeSC activist, joining the Swedish clothing brand, and in 2007 she was approached by H&M.

In 2016, she formed the duo Blissful and released their first single, “Elevate.” In 2017, Svala represented Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Paper,” reaching the semifinals.

GrowSólely

Sóley: Grow

Sóley is the solo project of Sóley, who plays piano in Seabear.

She joined Seabear in 2006, released her debut mini-album Theater Island on morr music in 2010, and followed with her first full-length album We Sink in 2011.

A track from her 2013 album Fight Them Softly was used in an episode of a comedy drama, she released the piano album Krómatík in 2014, her second LP Ask the Deep in 2015, and Grow is a song from her third LP Endless Summer, released in 2017.

Her work is distinctive for its Icelandic ambient world and piano sound, her transparent vocals, and the stark white ice imagery in her music videos.

All The Pretty GirlsKaleo

KALEO – All The Pretty Girls (Official Video)

Kaleo is a four-piece rock band from Mosfellsbær, Iceland, formed in 2012.

The band’s name, Kaleo, comes from the Hawaiian word meaning “sound.” Three of the members have been close friends since childhood and formed the band when they were 17, and one member joined in 2012.

All the Pretty Girls is a 2014 single that has been streamed over 23 million times on Spotify; in 2015, the band signed with Atlantic Records and based themselves in Austin.

All the Pretty Girls is a track from their debut album A/B, released in 2016.

Á kaf liveVAR

VAR – Á kaf live

VAR is a five-piece post-rock band from Iceland centered around female singer-songwriter Myrra Rós.

They released their debut EP in 2014, drawing attention as an emerging band, and in 2016 put out a Japan-exclusive compilation album, VETUR.

Ambient sounds from synthesizers and guitars, along with delicate, ephemeral vocals, evoke the distinctive sonic atmosphere of the Nordic region, making their music well-suited for quiet film soundtracks and nature-oriented visuals.

Candyland feat. JónsiSin Fang

Sin Fang: Candyland (feat. Jónsi)

Sin Fang is the solo project of Sindri Már Sigfússon, who is also the frontman of Seabear.

He released the album Clangour as Sing Fan Bous in 2009, followed by his second album Summer Echoes in 2011, Flowers in 2013, and Spaceland in 2016.

In addition to his musical activities, he also creates collages and illustrations, showcasing his multifaceted talent.

Candyland is a track from the 2016 album Spaceland, released by Morr Music.