Rock music in Iceland
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Rock and roll is a style of popular American music which has spread around the world, including to the North Atlantic island nation of Iceland.


History

Rock came to the island beginning in the mid-1950s. Rock's popularity increased steadily over the next few years. This wave peaked with the tour by Tony Crombie & His Rockets in May 1957. A few bands with their own style did emerge, however, including
City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
,
Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and Lúdó. From 1930 until the mid-1980s, radio broadcasting in Iceland was a state monopoly which did not allow much time for rock music. But despite this state of affairs, Icelandic popular culture was not completely isolated from the outside world. Crews of Icelandic fishing boats and commercial aircraft would buy rock records in America, England and Germany and bring them back home to Iceland. Also, the US Navy base in Keflavík, Iceland, operated a radio station for the troops (AFRS 1484 on the radio dial) that mainly played rock music and was very popular with young Icelanders in the Reykjavík area and remained important to Icelandic rock music until at least the mid-1970s. Some of the disc-jockeys from the early '70s were Tom Wiecks, Jim Roark, Karl Phillips, Ron Smart, Tom Hughes and Mark Lazar. The British Invasion and
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
arrived in Iceland in 1964, and the indigenous groups
Hljómar Thor's Hammer, or Hljómar, was an Icelandic rock band primarily active in the 1960s. Outside of Iceland, they are known among music collectors for their rare releases on Parlophone, sung in English and recorded in London for export. The most ...
from Keflavík and Dátar from Reykjavík arose as Icelandic counterparts to The Beatles, later followed by Flowers, Bendix and other bands. Beginning in about 1969, the English language period of Icelandic rock began, with bands like
Trúbrot Trúbrot were an Icelandic psychedelic/progressive rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. History The band was formed in 1969 as an Icelandic supergroup composed of members of the bands Hljómar and Flowers.Asbjørnsen, Dag Erik. ' ...
, Náttúra and Pelikan becoming popular. From 1973 to 1979, the Reykjavík rock scene was dominated by progressive rock and funk groups such as Eik and Cabaret (these two groups merged under the name Eik in 1977). The mid to late 1970s saw the rise of
Gunnar Þórðarson Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...
and Magnús Eiríksson, who revitalized the field of Icelandic rock and created a more distinctive national style. A wave of punk rock based out of Reykjavík occurred in about 1981 and temporarily displaced more traditional rock music, much like rock had displaced jazz in the early 1960s. Notable mid to late 1980s Icelandic rock bands include Grafík and Tobmobile as well as the alternative rock band The Sugarcubes featuring
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
. Towards the end of the 20th century and continuing to the present (2005), the group
Quarashi Quarashi is an Icelandic rap rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland. The group consists of rappers Hössi Ólafsson (later replaced by Egill Olafur Thorarensen), Ómar Örn Hauksson, Steinar Orri Fjeldsted, and Sölvi Blöndal (who also acted as p ...
with its mixture of rock and rap has achieved international attention; the same applies to the hard rock group
Mínus Mínus were an Icelandic alternative rock/hardcore band from Reykjavík. They were signed to the record label Smekkleysa. Mínus have shared the stage with, among others, Metallica, Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age. Members * Krum ...
and the post-rock band
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
. From the late 1980s continuing to the present (2005) the band Sálin hans Jóns míns or just Sálin has had a strong presence on the Icelandic rock scene. {{DEFAULTSORT:Icelandic Rock
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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