Kraumur Music Fund is an independent Icelandic music fund and operation established by th
Aurora Charity Foundation
in the beginning of 2008 ''"to strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."'' Among its board of advisers are artists

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Mugison Örn Elías Guðmundsson, known professionally as Mugison (born 4 September 1976), is an Icelandic musician. Early life In 1977, Guðmundsson and his family moved from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður. In 1982, his family moved from Iceland to C ...

, and

Kjartan Sveinsson Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson (; born 2 January 1978) is the keyboardist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1998. A multi-instrumentalist, he has also played such instruments as the flute, tin whistle, oboe, guitar a ...

former member of

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

. KRAUMUR’S ADVISORY BOARD * Árni Matthíasson, journalist * Björk * Elísabet Indra Ragnarsdóttir, radio show host at Iceland National Radio 1 * Guðni Tómasson, chairman of the board of directors, The Iceland Symphony Orchestra * Kjartan Sveinsson, musician * Mugison, musician * Sigtryggur Baldursson, director of Icelandic Music Export (IMX), and a founding member of the

Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes ( Icelandic: Sykurmolarnir) 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 (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benedi ...

Kraumur runs a small office in Reykjavík,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, from where it works on strengthening the position of young musicians in Iceland through direct grants, professional assistance and various forms of cooperation. Kraumur has worked with and supported artists like

, amiina,

FM Belfast FM Belfast is an electro-pop band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Its members include Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir, Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, Egill Eyjólfsson and Ívar Pétur Kjartansson. Víkingur Ólafsson Víkingur Ólafsson (born 14 February 1984) is an Icelandic pianist. He has performed with leading orchestras in Europe and America, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Or ...

, Ólöf Arnalds,

Of Monsters and Men Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/rock band formed in Reykjavík in 2010. The members are lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson ...

múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in 1 ...

, Sólstafir, Retro Stefson, Anna Þorvalds and

Dikta Dikta is an indie rock band from Iceland. They have released five albums thus far. Biography In its present incarnation, the group began in 1999. They played in the Icelandic band competition Músíktilraunir in 2000 and were finalists. Dikta's f ...

Special initiatives

In the spring of 2008 Kraumur launched a program - ' Innrásin' - with the aim to support Icelandic artists to tour Iceland. Among artists featured on the first 'Innrásar-tours', playing in towns all over the island, were;

Sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

, Reykjavík!, Benni Hemm Hemm and

Borko Björn Kristjánsson, known professional as Borko, is an Icelandic musician. His debut album '' Celebrating Life'' was released in March 2008 on record labels Morr Music and Kimi Records.

. Later that year plans for the first

Kraumur Awards Kraumur Awards is a music prize, organized by the Kraumur Music Fund, awarded for the best albums being released in Iceland. The nominations for the first Kraumur Awards were announced in November 2008. Nominations and the award-winning albums a ...

('Kraumsverðlaunin' in Icelandic) were announced to acknowledge and support records being released by Icelandic artists. Nominations are chosen by a selected panel of Icelandic music journalist, radio show hosts and music specialists.

Mission

The Board of Aurora Charity Foundation issued the following statement when establishing the fund in January 2008;

“Icelandic musical life has a special uniqueness, in particular because of the palpable power and boldness that characterise young musicians. The Sugarcubes and Björk pioneered the global explosion of Icelandic music, and many musicians have followed in their footsteps with amazing results. Today, the Icelandic music experience has become one of the strongest elements of the image that Iceland and Icelanders enjoy abroad. The unusual interplay of pop and classical music can be a driving force in ongoing successes. The support of young musicians in their works, and in various forms of cooperation, creates a stronger foundation under this important growth area of Icelandic culture.”

External links

Kraumur official site

Kraumur official site - English

Aurora Foundation official site

Kraumur TV on LoFi.TV

Iceland's Kraumur Awards 2008 Documentary - SPIN Magazine; SPIN Earth
{Dead link, date=February 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Icelandic culture