Gigantic Iceland

The tiny, isolated Iceland has mysteriously managed to put loads of its offspring on the international cultural scene. There's barely anyone who isn't familiar with Björk's shrilling voice and her temperament or the otherwordly sound of Sigur Rós. Other acts, like the experimental múm or the recent solo sensation Ólafur Arnalds, might not have yet reached the mainstream, but are well on their way to wider recognition and appreciation.

"Heima", an intimate documentary (here in parts on youtube) picturing the thank-you tour around Iceland by Sigur Rós, lends an insight into the northern magic that seems to shape Icelandic artists's unique sensibility and imagination. It's disarming to see the band members revisit their childhood, wax sentimental about their local communities and try to make music from pebbles or other unlikely instruments that lie or hang aroung their homes. Breathtaking landscapes and explosions of stupendous colours, so nicely captured in the film, complete the recipe for the Icelandic heavenly artistic talent. One last ingredient may well be the language, intriguing on its own and blending just fine with the fabulous music. By the way, Icelandic English, spoken a lot in "Heima", also never fails to seduce with its distinct northern roughness and unwillingness to imitate the British or the Americans.

Sjón, whose poems Björk embraced as her lyrics, in one interview quotes Icelanders' secret relationship with the surrounding nature as a key to understanding their extraordinary art. On top of that, speaking of his novel "Skugga Baldur", reviewed here by AS Byatt, which is about to be published in the Polish translation, Sjón traces his creative instincts back to Icelandic mythology, rich, fascinating and separate from its continental siblings.

It's interesting to see if he's going to join the growing team of Icelandic artists of global renown with his books.