''Rokk í Reykjavík'' () is a documentary directed by

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic Friðrik Þór Friðriksson during the Icelandic winter of 1981-1982 and released for the local television in 1982. With this documentary, Friðriksson showcases the alternative music scene through several performances of the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

/ new wave most important bands at that time, taken from different concerts and sometimes accompanied by short interviews with musicians. The documentary portrays the lifestyle of young Icelanders opposing the establishment and advocating anarchy, as they try to find their own identity. ''Rokk í Reykjavík'' is today considered one of the most important documentaries ever made about Icelandic music culture. It includes several bands who would go on to influence the music scene, such as

Tappi Tíkarrass Tappi Tíkarrass is an Icelandic punk band which added elements of funk, rock and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time. The band is also considered the first serious music project of now renowned sing ...

, a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

/ pop band led by vocalist Björk Guðmundsdóttir performing two of their works: “Hrollur” and “Dúkkulísur”. The new wave band Þeyr, today considered one of the legendary Iceland bands of the early 1980s, is also featured with their songs “Rúdolf” and “Killer Boogie”, as is

Einar Örn Benediktsson Einar Örn Benediktsson (born 29 October 1962), often billed as Einar Örn, is an Icelandic popular music singer and trumpet player. He was a member of the Sugarcubes. He served as a member of the Reykjavík City Council between 2010 and 2014 ...

’s punk group Purrkur Pillnikk, also with two tracks: “Ovænt” and “Gluggagægir”. Other important artists featured include

Bubbi Morthens 260 px, Bubbi Morthens, Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland (2007) Bubbi Morthens (full name ''Ásbjörn Kristinsson Morthens''; born 6 June 1956) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. Aside from a lengthy solo career, he has been a member of such Ice ...

with his band

Egó Egó was a musical band founded in Reykjavík, Iceland), in the fall of 1981 by Bubbi Morthens with his younger brother and guitarist Bergþór Morthens and their friend, bassist Þorleifur Guðjónsson. Egó's first drummer was Jóhann Richa ...

, Fræbbblarnir, Grýlurnar, and the renowned

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson (4 July 1924 – 23 December 1993) was an Icelandic religious leader and singer of rímur who was instrumental in gaining the Icelandic government's recognition of pre-Christian Heathenry (new religious movement), Hea ...

with his chanting poem “Rímur”, among others. As this film was the first Icelandic work in

Dolby Stereo Dolby Stereo is a sound format made by Dolby Laboratories. It is a unified brand for two completely different basic systems: the Dolby SVA (stereo variable-area) 1976 system used with optical sound tracks on 35mm film, and Dolby Stereo 70mm nois ...

, it brought innovation to the Icelandic film industry. With Íslenska kvikmyndasamsteypan as the distributor, ''Rokk í Reykjavík'' was released in VHS format. The soundtrack to this film was released as a double LP compilation by Hugrenningur in April 1982. The cover artwork depicts singer

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 voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

performing with

. In July 2008 the movie was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

by Sena in Iceland only.

Songs

Credits

Personnel

Direction: Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
Cinematography and lightning: Ari Kristinsson.
Other shooting personnel: Árni Páll Jóhannsson, Baldur Hrafnkell Jónsson, Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, Jón Karl Helgason, Magnús Magnússon, Peter Auspin, Richard Crowe, Sigurður Grímsson, Sigurður Snæberg Jónsson, Sigurjón Sighvatsson, Vilhjálmur Knudsen and Þorgeir Gunnarsson.
Recording engineers from Þursabit recording studio: Júlíus Agnarsson, Tómas Magnús Tómasson, Þórður Árnason.
Sound: Jón Karl Helgason.
Edition: Ari Kristinsson, Kristín Pálsdóttir, Peter Auspin, Richard Crowe, Sigurður Grímsson, Sigurður Jón Ólafsson, Sigurður Snæberg Jónsson.
Executive board: Þorgeir Gunnarsson.
Mixing: Alan Snelling, Þórður Árnason.
Sound production: Anvil Studios, Abbey Road, London.
Video production: Johan Ankerstjerne a/s, Kaupmannahöfn.
Distributor: Íslenska kvikmyndasamsteypan. Soundtrack: Title: '' Rokk í Reykjavík''. Label: Hugrenningur in 1982. Reissue: in 1993 by Bad Taste.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rokk i Reykjavik 1982 films Icelandic documentary films 1980s Icelandic-language films Films directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson 1982 documentary films Documentary films about punk music and musicians

Songs

Credits

Personnel

See also

References

External links