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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 the US, the three-piece create a blend of production, performance and artistry that looks firmly to the future of music production while embracing diverse elements of the past. Two thirds of the band — Juan M. Melero and Jón Múli, missing Oliver Devaney — joined us in our studio at GV HQ to talk about their sophomore album MYTHOLOGY  (released on March 28), as well as touring, pop essentialism, and the importance of caffeine in production.

Listen to MYTHOLOGY on Spotify
Buy the album on Bandcamp
Xiupill on Instagram: @xiu_pill

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 yearly standard in Reykjavík.

Joining us to talk about this brand new event are besties of the pod Agnes Hlynsdóttir from Iðnó and Alfreð Drexler from Slacker Events, who take us through the upcoming party while checking out some of the artists on the roster.

More information about SAMANFEST on Instagram at @samanfestid
Tickets for SAMANFEST available on tix.is and cost 5.000 - 8.990 ISK

Episode tracklist:
Lottó — I'd die to be his wife (2022)
Nicola Gaea — Home (r. March 12)
Spacestation — Í Draumalandinu (r. June 7)
Una Schram — It's My Party (r. June 14)
IZLEIFUR — ANDVAKA (feat. Daniil) (r. August 1)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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're a new listener.

For our first replay episode, we go back to April when we were joined by lo-fi indie-punk darlings BSÍ in the hotseat, or rather one half of them, drummer and singer Sigurlaug (Silla) Thorarensen. Silla joined us in Grapevine HQ’s brand new podcasting studio for a riveting and lively chat about the song, the video, the band’s plans, and general silliness.

Fear not for fresh content, however, as we will have bi-weekly hot happenings episodes and our Saturday morning mixes as usual with guest hosts joining us for those.

Links to BSÍ:
Instagram: @bsi.band
Facebook: BSÍ
YouTube: @brusselssproutsintl

Opening track: BSÍ — Lily (hot dog) (r. April 1)
Closing track: Sunna Margrét — Come With Me (r. February 7)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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! Throughout August we will re-release some of our favourite episodes from the archive, some re-cuts of old classic mixes, and maybe even a blooper reel. If you have any favourite episodes you'd like to hear again, please drop us a line at [email protected].

We'll be back in September with hot new episodes! Sjáumst!

Episode Tracklist:
Oh Mama – Polytex (r. July 16)
Skoffín – Í Útvarpinu - radio edit (r. July 15)
Osmē – σ​τ​ο γ (Osmē in C) (r. July 26)
Þórir Georg – Ekki Neitt (2015)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 during Verslunarmannahelgi (Merchant's Day Weekend) in the quiet hamlet of Laugarbakki, North Iceland, it is a whole reunion for freaks and their families.

Based on the ethos of DIY, punk, harm reduction and anti-oppression, the volunteer-run non-profit festival has flourished into a cult favourite for locals and internationals alike. Joining us today are organising team members Sólrún Sif Siguðardóttir and Ægir Freyr Birgisson who share with us what makes the festival so special and what keeps it going strong.

More information and tickets to Norðanpaunk: linktr.ee/nordanpaunk

Opening track: Gaddavír – Harðir Tímar Kalla á Hart Áfengi (2017)
Closing track: Mørose – Óvelkomin (r. April 18)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 the singles "sad club" and "gegnsæ" which are absolute earworms.

On this episode, we also have the great honour of premiering her upcoming new single "ein í nott" which is a collaboration with Eurovision darling Daði Freyr! Enjoy!

Links to lúpína:
Instagram: @lupina.is
TikTok: @lupina.is
Facebook /

Opening track: lúpína feat. Daði Freyr — ein í nott (coming out July 26)
Closing track: Supersport! — Lag í partýi ~reykjavik~ (2021)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 brief recording break and will spend the month re-releasing some of our favourite episodes from the archives. If you have any faves you want to hear again, drop us a line at [email protected].

And now, to the mix!

Episode Tracklist:
Kött Grá Pjé & Fonetik Simbol — Tíkarlegir Bílar (r. July 5)
Kaktus Einarsson & Nanna — Be This Way (r. July 10)
Bergur Anderson — Homebody (r. June 18)
Mammút — Rauðilækur (2008)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 happening indoors, while out in the countryside the parties rage in open fields.

Festival organiser Eldar Ástþórsson joins us to give us a history lesson of the festival and a preview on what's coming up this year.

Tickets to Innipúkinn are available on tix.ix and cost 5.990 - 9.990 ISK.

Find more information on their Instagram: @innipukinn_music_festival

Opening track: Hermigervill — Traustur vinur (r. February 21)
Closing track: Vök — Headlights (2022)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 EP Gestalæti on July 7. Örn Gauti was originally a member of the band Hórmonar and broke out as Hasar last year, coming in real hot with the debut single “Báða daga, allar helgar!”. The word "hasar" translates to "action", and as you can tell from our visit from Örn Gauti, he is truly action packed!

So strap in and get your ready to rock with this uncut and unhinged very special episode!

Links to Hasar:
Instagram: @hasar.music
Hasar on Facebook / Spotify / YouTube

Opening track: Hasar — Drasl (r. February 2)
Closing track: Mínus — The Long Face (2003)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine

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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 these fine new tunes.

Episode Tracklist:
Woolly Kind — ég hef ekki farið í sturtu s​í​ð​an í fyrra (r. July 2)
Villi Neto — Sem Kóngur Ríkti Hann (r. July 5)
Bogomil Font & Salsakommúnan — Í minni skel (r. June 28)
Kiasmos — Burst (r. July 5)
Draugar — Carsick (r. July 2)

66 Degrees of Sound is a podcast production by The Reykjavík Grapevine, hosted by music editor Jóhannes Bjarkason and listings editor Rex Beckett.

Editing and intro music by Rex Beckett.

All tracks played on the show are in accordance with STEF, the Composers’ Rights Society of Iceland.

Check out grapevine.is for the full magazine coverage and events.grapevine.is for more upcoming events.

• Instagram: @rvkgrapevine
• Facebook: The Reykjavík Grapevine
• Youtube: The Reykjavík Grapevine