In Conversation with Spacestation
By Ben Bagley
Hearing Aid spoke to Björgúlfur Jes Einarsson, frontman of Icelandic rock band Spacestation, ahead of their sold-out show at the 350-capacity El Mocambo in Toronto. It’s the band’s first trip to North America and another milestone in a packed year of touring following the release of their debut LP, Reykjavik Syndrome.
“We’ve been working really hard to make a name for ourselves outside of Iceland,” Einarsson says. Over the past year they’ve toured across Europe on headline dates and gained new fans in the UK, especially after a packed show at Brighton’s tastemaker festival The Great Escape. “That was such an amazing gig. We filled the venue and apparently there was a line outside too. It couldn’t have gone better.”
The band’s ambition doesn’t stop there. “The dream would be to break the US,” he says. “It would also be nice to have a tour bus and roadies one day. We’re all so sick of lugging our equipment everywhere.”
The four-piece emerged from Reykjavik’s burgeoning indie scene, graduating from small venues to regular appearances at Iceland Airwaves, the country’s premier music festival. As in St Andrews, the small scene in Reykjavik means that bands often have to club together to organise gigs. “Our friend in a band called Supersport! organised these DIY shows around the city,” Einarsson says. “We once played in his parents’ basement.”
Guerilla gigs proved the ideal training ground for their explosive live show, and they’ve since become a big name on the island, with influential friends like Árni Árnason, bassist of The Vaccines.
Despite their growing fame abroad, Spacestation remain true to their Icelandic roots. Reykjavik remains essential to their identity. “Our debut record is about our profound love for the city,” Einarsson explains. “It’s about learning to empathise with a place that is very cold and dark, but also beautiful.” As the winter nights draw in, they’ll feel right at home in Scotland.
Einarsson writes in both English and Icelandic. Their track ‘Í Draumlandinu’ won Icelandic Rock Song of the Year 2025. “People love that we sing in Icelandic, but we don’t want to be seen as the Icelandic band,” Einarsson emphasises. “We’re not like Sigúr Ros or Björk; we’re a rock and roll band, and we want our songwriting to stand out first and foremost.”
Work on their second album is already underway, including sessions at the legendary Greenhouse Studios in the Icelandic capital. “I sang into the same microphone as Michael Jackson,” Einarsson says proudly. “Our new record is going to be punchier and catchier. We’ve also got a lot more songs in English to try and appeal to the international market.”
Next week, the band heads to the UK, including a stop at London’s iconic Fabric with Mandrake Handshake, before embarking on the Scottish leg of the tour. “We’re very excited to play in Scotland for the first time. I grew up listening to bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, and all the music that came from that Scottish scene means so much to me.”
Hearing Aid welcomes the band to Sandy’s Bar on 29 November. They also play Sneaky Pete’s on 1 December and McChuills on 3 December. Tickets are selling fast, so be sure to pick one up before it’s too late. This isn’t one to miss.