Up­prásin - Flesh Ma­chine, Kris­trún and Sævar Jóhanns­son

Concert series dedicated to the grassroots of Icelandic music, across musical genres.

Harpa, in cooperation with Reykjavík Music City and the broadcasting channel Rás 2, is organizing a concert series dedicated to the grassroots of Icelandic music across musical genres.

The concert series is called Upprásin, and takes place in Kaldalón music hall one Tuesday evening each month in the winter of 2024–2025. The concert series is a part of the implementation of the policy of Harpa to open doors for the grassroots and young people across genres and to increase diversity. The goal is also for music lovers to be able to easily access new Icelandic music of various kinds, directly from the grassroots of the music scene, performed in the optimal facilities of the nation’s premier concert hall.

The ticket price is 2000 isk.

Flesh Machine is an indie/alternative band based in Reykjavík, Iceland. They blew up in the underground scene in late 2022. Flesh Machine is the brainchild of Kormákur Jarl Gunnarsson as an expression outlet while he was living and studying in Berlin and as a coping mechanism for his depression and anxiety. After he moved back to Iceland, he decided to expand that Idea by adding members and forming a band: Baldur Hjörleifsson and Lukas Zurawski on guitars, Jón G. Breiðfjörð on drums, and Auðunn Orri Sigurvinsson on bass.

KRISTRÚN makes dark electronic music for star-crossed lovers. Equal parts, ethereal and abrasive, she combines flowing melodies with explosive soundscapes.KRISTRÚN has a passion for underground dance music and draws from elements of trip-hop, industrial, and the avant-garde in her music. Her debut album “Covet” was released in January, an album that revolves around heartbreak, jealousy and loneliness. KRISTRÚN will appeal to fans of GusGus, Eivor, Nine Inch Nails, FKA twigs and Portishead.

Sævar Jóhannsson is a neoclassical composer and pianist. He has written music for theatre and short films, such as the cowboy musical Skugga Sveinn (2022) and 'Whim Rules the Child and Weather the Field', which premiered at Japan's Short Shorts Film Festival (2024). Sævar has two albums under his belt and a third on the way. An album titled 'Quiet Presence' which explores themes about home. What is home? Is it a location? Is it being part of a group? Or is it a memory? Sævar, along with a string ensemble, will perform old material mixed with new, unreleased songs from his upcoming album, Quiet Presence, which will be released next year.