A friend once told me he had visited Reykjavik on one of his many globetrotting adventures.
I secretly seethed with envy. He had beaten me in the race to Iceland’s capital. I admit, I am a bit of Bjork fan and this may have influenced my decision to visit her homeland.
Our conversation took place while I was living in the UK. With Reykjavik only a three hour flight from London, there are advertisements everywhere in Old Blighty, asking Britons to consider Iceland for their next weekend getaway. There are loads of countries that can be reached in only a couple of hours (or less) from Heathrow or Gatwick airports, so you can imagine the bombardment of advertising hitting Londoners as they go about their daily lives. While I tried to hold back my envy, I asked him to describe what Iceland was like.
“It’s like visiting the moon!” he beamed, looking back on his trip with fond memories. This did nothing to slay the green-eyed monster that made an appearance in our conversation.
He spoke of driving through the countryside in Iceland, the landscape filled with huge craters that really did look like they belonged on the moon. Giant geysers dotted around the land spew out hot water from the bowels of the earth. Horse riding through such a unique landscape while snow fell sounded like a scene from Lord of the Rings. I was ready to book the next flight to Iceland when he described, in great detail, the jawdropping beauty of the northern lights, that not only looked amazing, but also sounded amazing, as they sang while shimmering across the sky.
Bar Grooves: Reykjavik manages to create an inviting soundscape with beats that are electro/dance based.
Needless to say, I’m completely spellbound with a country I haven’t even visited yet, so you can imagine my delight when the International Bar Grooves: Reykjavik CD from Designer Muzik landed on my desk. My knowledge of music from Iceland doesn’t go much further than Bjork or Sigur Ros, but I am intrigued by both acts, so I was eager to begin the journey these tunes were going to take me on.
Warmth and electronica are two words that can’t normally be strung together in the same sentence, but Bar Grooves: Reykjavik manages to create an inviting soundscape with beats that are electro/dance based.
While the tunes do have a glacial beauty and some icy synths do make a special guest appearance, it is the shimmering electronica heard throughout the CD that will be sure to quench even the most hardcore traveller’s thirst in between trips to Iceland. The bulk of the CD is blissful instrumental, creating a sophisticated, lounge-like feel. The chill-out tunes are relaxing without sapping one’s energy.
Bar Grooves: Reykjavik would be an ideal way to instill some upbeat energy in any environment, without feeling like you’re at a rave at four in the morning.
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