History
HAM's first album was Hold, a controversial record which received no radio airtime. The band's attempt to get into the big league began when they warmed up for The Sugarcubes in five concerts in 1988. The following year they released the album Buffalo Virgin with One Little Indian records and held several concerts in New York. The album Pleasing the Pirahna was recorded in 1990 but was never released—supposedly another album by the name Pimpmobile was also recorded but remains unreleased.
In 1991-1992, the band participated in the making of the film Sódóma Reykjavík , with singer and guitarist Sigurjón Kjartansson writing most of the soundtrack. HAM's participation in the making of this cult Icelandic classic played a significant part in the band's later notoriety.
The album Saga rokksins was released in 1993, and on 4 June 1994 the band held its last concert in the now defunct night club Tunglið in downtown Reykjavík. The live concert recording was subsequently released as the album Lengi lifi . In 1995, the band's remaining studio recordings were released as the album Dauður hestur (Equus Mortus).
HAM did not perform again until 2001, when it was clear that the German metal band Rammstein would be holding a concert in Iceland that summer. It was rumoured that Sigurjón had spoken of HAM reuniting for a concert if Rammstein were to visit Iceland on tour. The band played in the Gaukur á Stöng bar on 14 June 2001 and then again on 15 June with 5500 people in attendance. The Gaukur á stöng concert was later released as the live album Skert flog .
HAM was to participate in the music festival Reykjavík Rokkar in the summer of 2006 along with The Darkness and Motörhead. The festival was cancelled due to disappointing ticket sales, but HAM instead performed in the NASA club in downtown Reykjavík on 29 June to a packed house. On 28 October that year HAM performed at a North Atlantic music festival in Copenhagen with bands from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
On 6 September 2007 Ham were the final band to play at the 'Minifestival' benefit concert at Iðnó, Reykjavík. Their participation was not advertised until the night of the event.
In July 2008, HAM were the closing act to the Icelandic heavy metal festival "Eistnaflug", where they performed a new song.
HAM participated in the 2011 "Eistnaflug" festival as the closing act and later that year they released their first new album in 16 years, Svik, harmur, dauði (English: Betrayal, Tragedy and Death). In 2017 they released another album Söngvar um Helvíti Mannanna .
HAM performed at the Reykjavik Culture Night, on 19 August 2023, to celebrate the 237th birthday of Reykjavik.
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Einar Örn Benediktsson, Þór Eldon (guitar), Bragi Ólafsson (bass), Margrét "Magga" Örnólfsdóttir (keyboards) and Sigtryggur Baldursson (drums). Previous members included Friðrik Erlingsson (guitar) and Einar Melax (keyboards).
Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! is the second studio album by Icelandic alternative rock band the Sugarcubes, released in September 1989 through Elektra Records. A version of the album sung in Icelandic titled Illur Arfur! was released as well, with the same English track listing, under the name of Sykurmolarnir. The album reached number 70 on the US Billboard 200, number 15 on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK Indie Albums chart. The album was not as well received by critics as their critically acclaimed debut album, Life's Too Good, and was criticized for Einar's greater vocal contribution.
Einar Örn Benediktsson, 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.
The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions, as well as an active classical and contemporary music scene. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers Björk, Laufey, Daði Freyr, Hafdís Huld and Emiliana Torrini, post-rock band Sigur Rós, post-metal band Sólstafir, indie folk/indie pop band Of Monsters and Men, blues/rock band Kaleo, metal band Skálmöld and techno-industrial band Hatari. Iceland's traditional music is related to Nordic music forms. Although Iceland has a very small population, it is home to many famous and praised bands and musicians.
Purrkur Pillnikk was a rock band from late punk era in Iceland. The band existed for 18 months (1981–1982) and were very active as they released at least two LPs, one live-album and two EPs. The distinguishable character of the band were Einar Örn's howling and off-key singing and his lyrics that most often described very day-to-day things but with a lot of interwoven angst. Members of the band later found themselves in Kukl, or in 1986 in the Sugarcubes.
Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson is an Icelandic musician.
Rokk í Reykjavík is the soundtrack to the Icelandic TV documentary directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson during 1981-82 winter and released in 1982.
The soundtrack, which was released in April 1982 as a 2 LP released through Hugrenningur, features the performances of several Icelandic bands of the post-punk/new wave scene.
Bands such as Þeyr, Tappi Tíkarrass, Purrkur Pillnikk, among others, were considered some of the most important bands at the moment. The image cover for this release is a picture of singer Björk performing with Tappi Tíkarrass.
The record sold over 2000 copies. Ira Robbins from Trouser Press stated that the album is a good compilation album to get to know Icelandic music.
Örn Elías Guðmundsson, known professionally as Mugison, is an Icelandic musician.
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson, known as Sjón, is an Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist, and screenwriter. Sjón frequently collaborates with the singer Björk and has performed with The Sugarcubes as Johnny Triumph. His works have been translated into 30 languages.
Remote Control is a 1992 Icelandic film directed by Óskar Jónasson in his feature-length directorial debut. The plot is a farce, revolving around the young car mechanic Axel and his adventure in the Reykjavík underworld which starts when his mother insists that he must recover the remote control to her TV. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Since it release, it has gained cult status in Iceland.
Apparat Organ Quartet was founded in 1999 in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is a band that originally included the musicians Hörður Bragason, Músikvatur, Úlfur Eldjárn and Jóhann Jóhannsson. They were soon joined by drummer Þorvaldur Gröndal, replaced in 2001 by Arnar Geir Ómarsson, drummer of the Icelandic rock band HAM. Lacking the time to dedicate himself to the group because of his solo projects, Jóhann Jóhannsson left the band in 2012; he died in February 2018.
Guðmundur Magni Ásgeirsson, known professionally as Magni Ásgeirsson, is a singer, songwriter, and musician. He is also currently the frontman for the Icelandic pop band Á Móti Sól. Outside of Iceland, he is most famous for being a contestant on the CBS reality show Rock Star: Supernova.
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Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and sometimes eccentric public persona, she has developed an eclectic musical style over a career spanning four decades, drawing on electronic, pop, experimental, trip hop, classical, and avant-garde music.
Köld is the third album by Icelandic post-metal band Sólstafir. It was released on January 21, 2009 through Spinefarm Records. The cover art was done by Guðmundur Óli Pálmason. It was recorded in Göteborg and all the songs are in English, except the title song "Köld".
Eistnaflug was an indoor heavy metal music festival held in Neskaupstaður, Iceland during the second weekend of July.
Mammút is an Icelandic rock band based in Reykjavík. Formed in 2003 as ROK, an all-female trio highlighting vocalist Kata, the group expanded in early 2004 to a 5-piece band by recruiting guitarist Arnar Pétursson and drummer Andri Bjartur Jakobsson, and adopted the new name Mammút.
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Unun were an Icelandic pop-rock band from Reykjavik. It was formed by Gunnar Lárus Hjálmarsson and Þór Eldon Jónsson in 1993. They were joined by Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir (Heiða) in 1994. The group disbanded in July 1999.
Hatari are an Icelandic techno, industrial and punk rock band and performance art group from Reykjavík. Their public image incorporates elements of anti-capitalism and BDSM attire. The band currently consists of Klemens Hannigan, Einar Stefánsson and Davíð Katrínarson, the latter of whom replacing original member Matthías Haraldsson in 2023. They have released an album and an extended play, encompassing several singles. Hatari represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with their song "Hatrið mun sigra", finishing tenth.
