Tag Archives: Iceland

Spotlight on Basharatyan AW14

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Backless Cardi

Sheer Cardigan

Veronica Basharatyan London College of Fashion Graduate unveils her Heidmork collection at Fashion Scout inspired by the Icelandic Nature Conservation.

Inspiration for the collection; Iceland with a beautiful haunting Emiliana Torrini Soundtrack to the show.

Main Colours; An eclectic palette of icy hues such as pastel blue, light greys and creams with flashes of bright red and forest green. The collection was also enhanced by the Peroxide bobs and metallic lip and nail palette.

Features; a recurring feature of many of the AW14 collection is attention to the back of the garment. Sheer back knits and sleek silhouettes were juxtaposed with oversized mohair detailing and heavy drapes.

 

 

 

 

Tailored Two-Piece

 

This collection was beautiful and really encapsulated the essence of Basharatyan’s influence. The Mohair caped jacket and Mac were particularly stunning and wearable. Tailored garments mixed with oversized cardigans gives an eclectic and varied depth.

 

Keshini Misha

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Ólöf Arnalds – New Single ‘Call It What You Want’ & London Show Announcement.

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Released earlier this year, Sudden Elevation, Ólöf Arnald’s acclaimed third full album – her first sung entirely in English – captures a rare and idiosyncratic songwriting talent in full bloom. Ólöf releases a new single from the album, Call It What You Want on 25th November to coincide with international shows including a UK date at the The Lexington (19th November) and Iceland Airwaves (1st November).

olof arnalds, music, music news,

The full dates are as follows:

 

Oct 13                     Le Poisson Rouge                 New York                                                USA

Oct 18                     Fitzgerald Theater                 St Paul, Minneapolis                             USA

Oct 24                     De Centrale                            Gent                                                        Belgium

Oct 25                     Cultuurcentrum                      Hasselt                                                   Belgium

Oct 27                     Arkaoda                                  Istanbul                                                   Turkey

Nov 01                    Iceland Airwaves                   Reykjavik                                               Iceland

Nov 02                    Around Iceland                      Reykjavik                                               Iceland

Nov 13                    The Slaughtered Lamb        London                                                  UK

 

Ólöf also makes available a free download, The Matador EP comprising 4 Icelandic songs originally included as a cover-mount with Spanish art magazine Matador last year. Three songs (Lát vaxa, Blóm, and Hlið) were composed by Skúli Sverrisson with lyrics by Ólöf, while Af stað was written for Bjork’s Náttúra concert in Reykjavík in June 2008. The lyric of the latter song is based on an old Icelandic nationalist poem. “I twisted all the words around” explains Ólöf, “Making fun of the over-romanticised pride of our country and put the emphasis on how much nature gives us as people; the rest, the piece of mind, the inspiration, the big picture… I sung about how the Icelandic nation was literally getting drunk from individual gain and self-importance. Three months later the country´s economy collapsed…”

 

Produced again by long-time collaborator, Skúli, Sudden Elevation was largely recorded in a late autumn 2011 stint in a seaside cabin in Hvalfjörður (literally ‘Whale-fjord’), in the west of Iceland.

 

Ólöf Arnalds, St John on Bethnal Green | Live Music Review

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I’ve been to a lot of strange places on a Tuesday evening but church in Bethnal Green wasn’t previously on that list. I say strange because at first glance going to a gig in a church is a slightly odd thing to do but in reality it couldn’t be a more perfect space to watch some lovely Icelandic folk. The place is by no means full but judging by the reaction of those gathered as Ólöf bounds onto the stage, along with longtime collaborator Skúli Sverrisson, they’re ready and willing to be blown away.
From the off they, and the venue, didn’t disappoint – the sound being carried around to great and beautiful effect – opener “German Fields” with it’s back and forth “You know I care. Why I see you, all the way through” sends the hairs on the back of one’s neck into a mohawk.
The show being in support of her third album, Sudden Elevation, and her first sung wholly in English, the songs from the record don’t so much disappoint but it’s the older songs, sung in her mother tongue, that really stand out. For all I know she could simply be reading out loud the back of a tin of paint or the terms and conditions for a 2 for 1 pizza voucher but it sure as hell sounds beautiful. Achingly beautiful.
Maybe that’ll be her downfall in terms of taking things to a much bigger level of fandom; that we in Britain don’t go mad for chaps singing in foreign tongues and it’s those older, foreign-tongued tunes of Ólöf’s that are the ones that stand her out from the pack.
Between songs the chatter is laced with nothing but enthusiasm – you can tell there’s nowhere else she’d rather be and that if the audience weren’t there she’d still happily be playing her songs with Skúli to anyone who’d listen. And to be honest, there’s nowhere else this audience would rather have been tonight. Simply marvellous.

Kristmann Op – Hátt fjall | Music Review

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I’d love to be able to tell you a lot about Kristmann Op but I don’t know a lot other than that he/she/they are from Iceland. Having spent a week in Reykjavík last year I can confirm it to be the hippest place on earth and Kristmann Op sound like he/she/they would fit in just fine.

 

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Their single ‘Hátt fjall’ has earned them a lot of attention and on listening to it, it isn’t hard to tell why – it’s a well crafted piece of electonica. The video features a chap dressed up like an alien and looks like he could be a Matt Lucas-character. What’s not to love?

Time-Lapse video of Eyjafjallajökull's plume {Misc-uity}

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An incredible video by Sean Stiegemeier shot on a Canon 5D mkII. Describing his video he says “So I saw all of these mediocre pictures of that volcano in Iceland nobody can pronounce the name of, so I figured I should go and do better.”

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.