Skrillex for Valentine’s Day?

Now that the holidays are over and the January blues has faded away, then it’s getting nearer to Valentine’s Day.

Whereas I’m all up for celebrating love and being in love and spreading love and having a lovely time, I’m not one of those people that celebrates Valentine’s day. In my opinion, it’s way too commercial and materialistic. Every day should be a day you cherish your loved one (or loved ones), not some day that society tells you to do it. And if you happen to be busy that day and can’t spend it with your wife/ husband/ girlfriend/ boyfriend/ partner/ soulmate/ lover/ WhateverYouWantToCallThem then that shouldn’t be a problem. And obviously this day can be really annoying for single people.

With that said, I realize a lot of people take this time to do something fun and romantic. And all the singles out there probably want to go and do something fun as well that isn’t all about romance. So I just thought that I should suggest what I think is the best way to handle Valentine’s Day this year: Go to Sónar Reykjavík Music Festival!

I myself won’t be there, sadly, as I need to be at work in London. But my boyfriend will be (lucky bastard). Unfortunately I missed out on Sónar 2014 and Sónar 2013, both with great line-ups! And these reviews just sum up how much fun this festival is! 

This year there’s just as great of a line-up, such as Skrillex, SBTRKT, TV on the Radio and lots of Icelandic bands. I recommend Mugison and Prins Póló. Another cool thing about Sónar is that it’s not just about the music, but also heavily influenced by technology and creativity.

Sónar will be held inside Harpa, Reykjavík’s Concert Hall. Harpa is a big glassy building, with LED lights in every glass column on the façade of the building. Last year, during Reykjavík’s Culture Night, two hairy guys that met in a party where they both wore dresses, the multitalented Icelandic musician/ artist/ writer/ actor/ producer Atli Bollason and an incredibly good looking and talented British programmer and sound designer named Owen Hindley (who happens to be my boyfriend), arranged for the Icelandic public to play the computer game Pong on Harpa, by using their mobile phones.

This year, they’ll be doing a similar thing during Sónar Reykjavík, where people will be able to play a game on the concert hall during the festival – as well as there being a light display in between games that’s connected to the live music that’s being played indoors.

So if you feel like escaping the Valentine’s madness, how about heading to Iceland, enjoy the Sónar music festival, catch some Northern Lights, eat some great food, play a game of Pong on a building, dip yourself into a hot tub in one of Reykjavík’s many swimming pools and enjoy the nightlife?!

It definitely beats a dinner and a movie.