Today Kraumur Music Fund allocates ISK 7.3 million to Icelandic artists and projects that are planned for the year 2014. These are diverse projects by artists that will travel extensively both in Iceland and abroad to perform and promote themselves. Over ISK 7 million is allocated to 13 projects for promoting in Iceland and exporting Icelandic music as well as giving seminars and providing education. The largest donations go to the band Mono Town and the joint tour of Sólstafir and Kontinuum, ISK one million to each project.
Today was announced which projects Kraumur Music Fund will support in its first allocation of 2014. The support Kraumur provides to Icelandic music continues energetically on this seventh year of the fund’s operation which started in 2008. The fund opened for applications in February and received 131 applications, but the fund is an independent source of support to Icelandic musicians. Most of the applications were connected to live performances, touring, festivals and the promotion of new material from the applicants. Other applications had to do with releasing and recording of new material.
There are 13 new projects that will receive support and all of them are ambitious and multifarious. These are projects that reflect the energy and creativity that is characteristic for Icelandic music and musicians. There is no doubt that Icelandic music is original, cutting edge and popular. Music from Iceland receives notice and its influence can be seen in many places and to continue this development it must be supported and those who are giving their all to promote their work must be assisted in their endeavours. Kraumur Music Fund focuses on supporting considerably the progression of Icelandic music and musicians in Iceland or internationally and with its donations helps projects that are on grass root level and supports the music scene in various ways with direct funding and professional consulting. The fund received 131 applications and therefore it was known from the beginning that Kraumur could only support a part of the projects. It is in line with the policy of the fund to support fewer projects but do it with considerable support.</br>The highest amount went to the band Mono Town which has been doing great things lately. Among other things the band has been the back up for the popular band The Pixies when they were touring in Scandinavia and then Mono Town had great success with the publication of their first album, In the Eye of the Storm, together with the music streaming service Deezer. Mono Town will use the grant to promote their album and also to cover the cost of their touring which is planned soon. The heavy-rock bands Sólstafir and Kontinuum will receive a grant for their touring around Europe and both bands will be releasing albums this year. They work with international music professionals and have fans all over the world. Kontinuum will back up Sólstafir in some of the concerts and Sólstafir will be touring as headliner in some of the cases. Nordic Affect receives support to participate in three distinguished European music festivals next autumn and at the same time a new album will be released on which the band plays music by Icelandic women composers. The purpose of the trip is to introduce the group and promote the new CD for new audiences of contemporary music and for them to promote their name. Möller Records is an Icelandic electronic music publication that receives support from Kraumur to travel all over Iceland this summer to promote the creative and psychedelic electronic music for the Icelandic people. Accompanying them will be Futuregrapher and Árni Grétar is also the project manager, Skurken, EinarIndra, bistro boy and other friends and fans of Möller. One thing is certain; this will be an electric musical invasion that brings the audiences into the right mood.
Kraumur and Eistnaflug join hands and hold a PR seminar and an introduction for the media, and this amazing rock festival will be held for the 10th time in Neskaupstaður on 9 – 13 July. Among the grant recipients are Agent Fresco and Ragnheiður Gröndal who are heading for Europe, Grísalappalísa and DJ Flugvél og Geimskip who are going to craze the audiences in Iceland, Cell7 who will tour Iceland with a band, Rökkurró, Ólafur Björn Ólafsson and Gyða Valtýsdóttir who will be promoting their releases. This is the sixth consecutive year that Kraumur is working with the music festival Aldrei fór ég suður (English: I never went south). AFÉS (Aldrei fór ég suður) and Kraumur will organise an informative meeting about analysing rock and pop. As before, various matters connected to the music scene and its ever changing environment will be analysed and the focus will be on having entertaining discussions. Everyone is welcome and there is no entrance fee and the discussions always cover various topics and often lead to results.
ALLOCATION OF 2014
Other Kraumur projects in 2014
The Kraumur List in December and the Kraumur Sound studios in the spring which consist of information and assistance in cooperation with Musical Experiments and the three bands that came as the top three this year. Another allocation is planned later in the year and a new application process will be announced in the spring.</br>Since the establishment of Kraumur, Aurora has allocated ISK 140 million to the fund. The board of Aurora has since year 2007 allocated to projects connected to humanitarian, educational and cultural projects in Iceland and in the African countries of Sierra Leone and Mozambique to name a few.
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The main objective of Kraumur is to support Icelandic music, primarily by sponsoring young musicians. The published policy of the fund is to support relatively few projects or artists, but do it in a determinant way. The choice of projects takes into account the fact that the grants to artists and projects are in most cases larger and therefore fewer.</br>Kraumur Music Fund was established early in 2008 by the Aurora Fund and has the main objective of promoting Icelandic music, mainly by supporting young musicians, to help them do their artistic work and promote it in Iceland as well as overseas. The objective is to support young musicians in Iceland with direct funding, professional assistance and cooperation of various sorts. Kraumur endeavours to support and promote musical innovation and ambition.</br>Since Kraumur started its operation over one hundred artists, bands and musical projects have received support from the fund, among those are ADHD, Amiina, Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, Bang Gang, Bloodgroup, Celestine, Daníel Bjarnason, Dikta, Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir, Extreme Chill Festival, Hjaltalín, Kammerkór Suðurlands, Lay Low, Melkorka Ólafsdóttir, Moses Hightower, Mr. Silla, Mugison, Nordic Affect, Of Monsters and Men, Ólöf Arnalds, Retro Stefson, Skálmöld, Skúli Sverrisson and Óskar Guðjónsson, Sóley, Sólstafir, Sónar Reykjavík, Seabear, Snorri Helgason, Stelpur Rokka!, Trúbatrix group and Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson.</br>Kraumur has also worked jointly with Tónabær’s Musical Experiments, Reykjavík Arts Festival, Reykjavík, Aldrei fór ég suður, Eistnaflug, ÚTÓN/IMX as well as others.</br>
