An Icelandic Musican Tells Us Where to Party in Reykjavík

Name?

Sigurlaug Gísladóttir

Age?

28

Where do you live?

Reykjavík, the capital of jam.

What do you do?

Musician.

What Icelandic bands or DJs are you obsessed with and think we should have on our radars?

DJ KGB, Nolo, Hjaltalín & FM Belfast

How did you discover them?

I live on a tiny island, so most of them are my friends.

What does their music sound like and what are their best songs?

Nolo sounds like the theme from Who's the Boss? and their best song is "Romeo"; Hjaltalín sounds like Norwegian black metal on a sunny day -- best song: "Myself"; and FM Belfast sound like music in a tanning booth, their best song is "DeLorean."

As a musician, how do you find the current music scene in Reykjavík? 

The music scene here can be described as vibrant (and homeless).

Where are the cool places to see live music in Reykjavík? 

There used to be quite a few places to see live music in Reykjavík, but sadly they are all being torn down now to make room for hotels. There are of course a few places like theaters and churches that can be used as venues. Fríkirkjan church in Reykjavík is a great place to see shows.

Describe your perfect night out in Reykjavík.

Start off with a dinner at a friend's house, go to a show with aforementioned bands and then to a bar and dance to KGB DJing. Then it's i8 for the after party. Then another after party.

What's your favorite bar/nightclub in Reykjavík? 

Kaldi is a nice place to meet your friends because the music is not loud, same thing could be said for Kex. If I was hitting the sauce I would go to Harlem because the music is really loud and it's very dark. Basically there is only one area to go in Reykjavik and that's called the 101.

What's a bar or nightclub you would NEVER go to in Reykjavík? 

I would never go to Strawberries because it's full of groping old men.