The jólabókaflóð (Icelandic for “christmas book flood”) is the slew of new books in Iceland occurring in the months before christmas every year. Its in full swing now. I thought I’d put together a list of books to buy for the Iceland-lover in your life, to put in their stocking, or under the tree. Or […]
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Skeljaskrímsli – the shell monster; dinosaur-like in form but hippopotamus-sized, this chap is not that different to the stereotypical view of the Loch Ness monster, if you ask me. It has shells, or scales along it’s back, a tail and four legs. It’s happy on land, or in water. Skeljaskrímsli has bulging, bulbous eyes, and […]
The fjörulalli, or shore laddie, is a Scottish-sounding wee beastie which looks like a sheep that’s fallen in the drink; either that or a fat, woolly seal. Although fjörulalli are vegetarian, they allegedly and somewhat bizarrely have a perverted penchant for pregnant ladies. They will also inseminate an unlucky sheep, although farmers report any lambs […]
You know what a Tookah is, don’t you? You don’t? Don’t worry. No one does, Emilíana Torrini has made it up. For no apparent reason. The album of the same name is Emilíana’s sixth solo album, and follows the successful Me and Arminisome five years ago. Emilíana has been part of the Icelandic collective GusGus (who […]
Eliza Newman is also known as Eliza Geirsdóttir, now solo, she had a former life as part of the Icelandic band Bellatrix, who were also known as Kolrassa krókríðandi. Bellatrix once toured with a little known band called Coldplay. Confused? You don’t need to be. Eliza has a knack for writing neat little pop songs […]
Amiina is one of those Icelandic bands that never seem to disappoint. Always able to produce sublime, beautiful music at the drop of a hat, I never miss an opportunity to see them live. I once saw them play a concert in a record store in Reykjavík on a damp, unseasonably warm day in January. […]
Leaves, for those that don’t know, are an Icelandic five piece from Reykjavík that have been around since 2000. They have released several albums and received critical acclaim for their debut, Breathe, which was particularly well received in the U.K. where the band was held in the same esteem as Doves, Elbow, Feeder and even […]
Back in the summer, I asked if you wouldn’t mind sending me photographs of Iceland, Defrosted from around the world. The response was amazing, with myriad photos being sent from across the globe. Above is just a small selection. It was the devils own job to pick out the best. Here are my top ten. […]
In the latest issue of Wanderlust, I was asked to give some advice to a chap looking for culture in Reykjavik. Whilst I am really not an expert – no, really! – I was more than happy to oblige in return for a bit of book promotion! Ironically, it appears a few pages in from […]
Iceland, Defrosted 
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