Issue 1 × 2015 January 9 - February 5 YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND The Year The Prince Popped IN THE ISSUE THE DARKNESS How to defeat it DISCOURSE We fan the flames of Prins Póló made THE SONG OF THE YEAR. FOOD And Prins Póló is THE BAND OF THE YEAR. WTF is “The Lizard” ? All hail the Prince! TRAVEL Meet the tourist of the year WEATHER The year in THE GRAPEVINE MUSIC AWARDS Get the FREE Grapevine apps Appy Hour and Craving Available on the App store and on Android Market. The Reykjavík Grapevine The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 1 — 2015 2 Issue 1 — 2015 2Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík www.grapevine.is [email protected] Editorial-in-chief | Haukur S. Magnússon Published by Fröken ehf. www.froken.is Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association www.saf.is THIS FEELS Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies. Editor In Chief: Haukur S Magnússon / [email protected] Editor: RELEVANT NOW Anna Andersen / [email protected] Journalist: John Rogers / [email protected] TRACK Journalist & Listings editor I ask myself Gabríel Benjamin / [email protected] Editorial: Is all hope lost? +354 540 3600 / [email protected] Is there only pain and hatred, and misery? Advertising: OF THE +354 540 3605 / [email protected] +354 40 3610 Publisher: And each time I feel like this inside, Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / [email protected] There's one thing I wanna know: +354 540 3601 / [email protected] YEAR! What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Contributing Writers: Ohhhh Ásgeir H. Ingólfsson Prins Póló Ásmundur Ásmundsson What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Atli Bollason París Norðursins Catherine Fulton And as I walked on Davíð Roach Download it at www.grapevine.is Elín Traustadóttir Through troubled times Helgi Hrafn Guðmundsson Hildur María Friðriksdóttir My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes Our panel of experts—along with the whole Kári Tulinius So where are the strong Óli Dóri of the Icelandic nation—picked “París Ragnar Egilsson And who are the trusted? Norðursins” as THE song of 2014. The track Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson And where is the harmony? is a true radio monster, which resulted in Vera Illugadóttir Sweet harmony. the perennial left-field outsider indie kid Editorial Interns: (who has rested so comfortably on the Anna Manning / [email protected] Stefanie Mnich / [email protected] 'cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me margins of Icelandic culture for over a de- York Underwood / [email protected] wanna cry. cade) becoming somewhat of a celebrity. Art Director: We hear he even had to remove his list- Hörður Kristbjörnsson / [email protected] What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Layout: ing from the phone book to thwart an in- Ohhhh Anton Kaldal Ágústsson cessant stream of phone calls from drunk Photographers: Hi. Happy New Year. What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Anna Domnick housewives who wanted discuss the lyrics. Art Bicnick / www.bicnick.com We went bonkers for it as soon as we heard Nanna Dís / www.nannadis.com Right now, at this very moment, you could certainly So where are the strong? Sébastien van Malleghem it, featuring it as our “TRACK OF THE IS- argue that shit is fucked up and bullshit. For all sorts And who are the trusted? SUE” last August. Here’s what we had to Sales Director: of reasons. And where is the harmony? Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / [email protected] say back then: Helgi Þór Harðarson / [email protected] Sweet harmony. “You won’t find Prins Póló’s unexpected Óskar Freyr Pétursson / [email protected] summer hit 'París Norðursins' ('Paris Of Distribution manager: But, it feels sort of important that we don’t. That we re- [email protected] tain hope. That we strive for understanding, empathy, 'cause each time I feel it slippin' away, The North') on the act’s recent LP ‘Sorrí’ Proofreader: (‘Sorry’). Written and recorded specifi- Mark Asch humanity. For compassion and care. And kindness. just makes me wanna cry. releases: Harmony. All that dirty hippie bullshit. What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? cally for the purpose, the song features in [email protected] Ohhhh a highly anticipated film of the same name, Submissions inquiries: which hits theatres in early September and [email protected] Here is some dirty hippie bullshit that rang through What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Subscription inquiries: should be pretty great if the Prince’s con- my brain as I woke up this morning. It seems perti- Ohhhh +354 540 3605 / [email protected] tribution is anything to go by. General inquiries: nent: What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?” [email protected] The track’s steadily humming, upbeat Founders: bass line is accompanied with occasional Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson, “(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, (Those words were written by a man called Nick Lowe Hörður Kristbjörnsson, keys and distorted guitar segments, all Jón Trausti Sigurðarson, And Understanding in the year 1974, right when dirty hippies were falling wrapped up in a fun and danceable pack- Oddur Óskar Kjartansson, out of fashion. They are reprinted without permis- Valur Gunnarsson age. Hiding behind that cheerful façade As I walk through sion.. I hope that Nick Lowe is still into that whole “be- are lyrics that explore a recurring bitter The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ing understanding” idea). theme in Icelandic literature—Halldór Lax- ltd. Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly This wicked world from May til October. Nothing in this magazine may be repro- Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity. ness’s ‘Independent People,’ for example— duced in whole or in part without the written permission of that of the stubborn male who strives to the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Happy New Year. I love you. Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, do honest work while his family life turns Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations along road #1, and all to shit, partly because life is complicated, major tourist attractions and tourist information centres in the country. partly of his own doing. Whether this mir- Comic | Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir rors the plot of ‘París norðursins’ remains You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles to be seen [update: we saw the movie, it in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’). doesn’t exactly mirror the lyrics, but there are similarities]. With its infectious melody, steady beat and haunting lyrics, Prins Póló’s new single is surely in the running to be crowned 'Ice- land’s Summer Jam 2014.'” On the cover: Svavar Pétur, It ran, it won, it surpassed. “París Issue 1 × 2015 January 9 - February 5 Prins Póló, The Prince, Skakki. Norðursins” is our TRACK OF THE YEAR! YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND Photo: Baldur Kristjáns TRACK OF THE YEAR! TRACK OF THE (www.baldurkristjans.is) The Year The Special thanks to: Berglind Häsler, Air YEAR! Prince Popped Iceland, Hertz and Píla. IN THE ISSUE THE DARKNESS How to defeat it DISCOURSE We fan the flames of Prins Póló made THE SONG OF THE YEAR. FOOD And Prins Póló is THE BAND OF THE YEAR. WTF is “The Lizard” ? All hail the Prince! TRAVEL Meet the tourist of the year WEATHER The year in THE GRAPEVINE MUSIC AWARDS Get the FREE Grapevine apps Appy Hour and Craving Available on the App store and on Android Market. www.66north.com Say your piece, voice your opinion, send your letters to: [email protected] the timeless warmth SOUR GRAPES AND STUFF of Iceland Most Awesome Letter of the Issue! A big thank you as well. I hope those people who were so kind The next day was supposed to be to us somehow manage to read what Dear Reykjavic Grapevine, in a rental car driving to the Blue La- their kindness meant to us. If that hap- goon and the Lucky bridge that spans pens our miracle visit will be perfectly www.arnartr.com My wife and I stopped over last week the gap between the North American completed. and wish to share with Iceland’s pub- and European tectonic plates but the lic and your readers several wonderful weather again prevented that and, as Merry Christmas incidents in which we were helped im- well, we wanted to be sure we sorted James and Sybile Scott mensely and left with a full apprecia- out our luggage which had been left tion of the kind people who live in your behind at Heathrow. This is where we Dear James and Sybile, country. Our Icelandair flight from were again blessed with the kindness London landed late in very strong and extra effort of Ms Drofn Palmberg Wow. Thank you guys for writing winds. Our hotel was the Hotel Smari who was working at the Icelandair lug- that. Seriously. As you might have only 100 meters from the airport – a gage services desk. She immediately noticed, we spend a lot of time rag- very short walk which we were un- appreciated that we couldn’t leave for ging on Icelanders and complain- able to complete on our own. Trying to Canada that night without our lug- ing about shit in these pages (and walk at 3:30 AM the very very strong gage because all our grandchildren’s on our website!). In a way, it’s kind winds pushed us back and we could Christmas presents were inside.