I haven’t done a World Tour post in quite some time as it takes a long time to sort through seemingly endless suggestions for bands in different countries of the world. I started on Germany but gave up after a few hours of listening to groups, none of which got my blood pumping. So today I have taken a step back and am picking an easier country this time.

Maybe it’s the endless nights during the winter or the 24 hour-a-day sun from June to August, but something is causing musical inspiration in Iceland to skyrocket. Iceland tends to lean towards the more techno/experimental/indie arena but I have stumbled upon some great full on indie acts to share with you today.

We, of course, are going to be leaving Böjrk and Sigor Rós out of the discussion today.

Dikta is a four piece group that formed in 1999 that have really only released 2 full length albums with a smattering of singles and EPs – although rumor has it that they are currently working on release #3 to be released in early 2009. Their 2005 release, Hunting For Happiness was one of Icelands top selling albums of the year and they have been tour worldwide since.

With soulful, clean vocals and hard hitting instrumentations Dikta is a solid Pop/Rock group.

Bang Gang (don’t reverse those two while you’re doing a Google search) is the musical alias of Barði Jóhannson which formed in 1998. Since then he has released five LPs under the names Bang Gang,  Lady & Bird and Barði Jóhannson. Mixing together falsetto-driven indie pop and atmospheric electronica into one of the most mellow and tame albums that I have heard come out of Iceland.

Mammùt is a five piece band that are all 19 or 20 years old. Just 3 months after forming they won the covetted battle of the bands (Músiktilraunir) competition which has been the springboard for many of Icelands prominent musicians. Mammùt features aggressive lead female vocals and heavily distorted guitars. They are also the only group today that sing in their native Icelandic language.