Geimsteinn marks 50 years as Iceland’s oldest active label

Geimsteinn, Iceland’s oldest active record label and music studio, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, mbl.is reports. The company has operated under the same registration number throughout its history. Rúnar Júlíusson and María Baldursdóttir founded Geimsteinn, which is now run by their sons, Baldur and Júlíus.

The brothers say the name Geimsteinn literally refers to a small particle in space, while also reflecting their father’s fondness for having “good space”. Rúnar was known for his love of wordplay.

The first album released by Geimsteinn was Rúnar’s solo record Hvað dreymdi sveininn? It was followed by Brimkló’s first album, Rock’n roll öll mín bestu ár, which Rúnar also produced.

“Bjöggi Halldórs was in Britain with Change at the time, and our father sent him a letter urging him to stop this nonsense and come home. Brimkló needed a singer,” Baldur says. Bjöggi kept the letter and showed it to him once.

Baldur, who was born in 1964, remembers the early years more clearly than Júlíus, who was born in 1971. The Geimsteinn studio was open to visitors from the beginning, attracting musicians and others, including what Baldur calls some unusual characters.

The brothers say their father treated everyone who crossed his path equally. They have continued running Geimsteinn in the spirit of their parents while keeping its activities alive and relevant to the present.

Rúnar was unusually willing to help and rarely said no to anyone. “We brothers have tried to learn to say no, and sometimes we have said no when we should have said yes, and vice versa. I think, for example, that we said no to Skálmöld,” Baldur says.

The anniversary is being marked with concerts in the venue inside the house’s garage, which has seating for 50 people. Visitors can also tour the studio and experience what the brothers describe as its atmosphere.

Sóli Hólm performs on September 17. The brothers say Gylfi Ægis and Páll Óskar are almost certain to join him in some form. Kiddi and Siggi from Hjálmar perform on September 24, Baggalútur on October 1, local band Breiðbandið on October 9, and Björgvin Ívar and Valdimar on October 15.