100% Icelandic Disco | Steindor Jonsson

With a population just north of 200,000 in the 70s, Iceland seemed an unlikely nation to produce quality disco music. However, thanks to producers such as Gunnar Þórðarson, Jóhann Helgason, and Thor Baldursson (who worked extensively with Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer, and the Salsoul Orchestra), a number of homegrown bangers helped heat up the dance floors of Reykjavík and beyond. Vocalists Helga Möller, Björgvin Halldórsson, and Páll Óskar followed in the footsteps of the African American, Latino, and queer subcultures of New York and Philadelphia by belting out catchy lyrics, while others explored the synth-driven, outer space soundscapes of Italo Disco, Hi-NRG, and the Yellow Magic Orchestra.

In this edition of 100%, Steindor presents an hour of hits, obscurities, and oddities from the archives of Icelandic disco.