40 years of Icelandic music garden party abroad
This year marks 40 years since the first Icelandic popular music reached the international charts when Mezzoforte peaked at 17th place on the British charts. Until that time, various attempts had been made to gain popularity abroad. Since the time of the republic, there has been significant development in Icelandic popular music. Gunnar Hjálmarsson has excellently captured this story in his books and related television programs. Some Icelandic musicians managed to travel and perform their music in the Nordic countries and Northern Europe in the sixth and seventh decades, including Ragnar Bjarnason, Haukur Morthens, and the KK sextet. This expansion was not solely male, as in the mid-sixth decade, the songwriter and singer Ingibjörg Þorbergs went to the United States with her songs. Other attempts at expansion were made in the sixth and seventh decades, the most notable examples probably being Thor's Hammers and Change in Britain. However, it was not until the jazz-infused music of Mezzoforte in 1983 that Icelandic music reached the ears of foreign listeners and achieved the seventeenth position on the British charts. It was not long after that Sykurmolarnir followed up in 1987 and gained great popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, and the unique Björk came shortly thereafter.
We have excellent musicians in Iceland, and their music speaks for itself, but it is sometimes forgotten to look at the behind-the-scenes work of promoting the music, and many have over the years worked diligently on this with considerable success. The government has supported the expansion of Icelandic music in various ways since 1995. In the newly established Music Centre, all types of music have been gathered under one umbrella, and there, among others, you can find Útón, which has supported the promotion of Icelandic music abroad since 2006.
Since Mezzoforte entered the foreign charts, a number of Icelandic popular musicians have gained a foothold abroad, including Sykurmolar, Björk, Emilíana Torrini, Sigurrós, Gusgus, Jóhann Jóhannsson, OMAM, Kaleo, Hildi Guðnadóttur, ADHD, Víking Heiðar, Ásgeir Trausti, Ólaf Arnalds, Ásdís, Daði Frey, and most recently Laufey. What stands out is the diversity in this group of artists, highlighting the vibrant activity found in the music scene in Iceland. In this regard, it is particularly important to mention the contributions of those musicians who have chosen to work solely domestically. If one looks at this group, the strength of women also draws attention.
In the nomination for the Grammy Awards earlier this month, it was announced that two Icelandic artists in addition to the Sinfónía Nord in Akureyri were nominated for awards, which is of course excellent news, but it is considered no longer a significant achievement as several groups of Icelandic artists have previously received nominations and even won awards. It also says a lot that if we only look at the streaming service Spotify, the top five Icelandic artists are approaching 40 million monthly listeners. That is not a bad achievement in 40 years for a nation that now numbers 400 thousand people.
Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Business Affairs and Deputy Chair of the Progressive Party.
The article was first published in Morgunblaðið on 18 November 2023.
