Icelandic Music Comes to New York, February 8 -11, 2006

Icelandic music hit the international scene with The Sugarcubes in the eighties, followed by Björk’s solo takeover in the nineties, and, in the last decade, several bands and solo acts have followed suit. Sigur Rós, Múm, Bang Gang, Mugison, Minus and Slowblow are a few of the more recent names and there are even more unpronounceable ones to look forward to in the coming years. In recognition of Iceland’s explosive cultural impact on the U.S. music scene, Iceland Naturally is bringing its gifts of music and film to the City of New York.

To kick off this week of Icelandic culture, Iceland Naturally and One Little Indian Records have teamed up to bring you an exclusive evening of intimate performances. Amina and Without Gravity will grace the stage of Joe’s Pub located at 425 Lafayette St. on Wednesday, February 8th. You’ll want to be there at 8:30 sharp to ensure you don’t miss a single moment of either of these rare performances.

Screaming Masterpiece at New York’s Scandinavian House, Feb. 10-11

To conclude the Icelandic music experience, on Feb. 10th (2 p.m.) and 11th (6 p.m.), the Iceland Consulate is featuring two screenings of the documentary Screaming Masterpiece. Showing at the Scandinavian House located at 58 Park Avenue, Screaming Masterpiece gives an inside look into a community of isolation, beauty and music. Screaming Masterpiece is a captivating documentary about the contemporary music scene in this unique island culture. (For more information: www.goiceland.org).

Get Yourself There

Now that you have experienced Iceland in New York, it’s time to go back to the source. Here’s one featured travel package available through IcelandTravel.is:

Ice, Ice Baby

They don’t call it ICEland for nothing. The place is crawling with glaciers, which is about as fast as they move on their relentless march to the sea. One is called Langjökull - literally Long Glacier - the second largest in Iceland. Very little water runs off from Long Glacier on the surface. However it supplies the largest natural lake of the country and the lakes to the north and geothermal areas in the West and the Geysir area as well.

Iceland Travel offers organized snowmobile and snow scooter trips. One particular magical day tour features some of the most breathtaking sights of West Iceland. The highlights of the tour include Hvalfjörður fjord, Hraunfossar waterfalls, Deildartunguhver hot spring, the highlands of Kaldidalur, and the aforementioned Langjökull. On the glacier, you can join a one-hour snowmobiling tour. The trip is offered May 15- Aug. 31 for about $306. (For more information: http://www.icelandtravel.is/DesktopDefault.aspx/
tabid-164/347_read-7690/).