The second episode of the new Northern Rising season is out! This time we sit down with Akureyri polymath Egill Jónasson, better known as Drengurinn Fengurinn.

Egill is quite possibly the most prolific artist in Iceland. In 2023 alone, Drengurinn Fengurinn released somewhere around 30 albums. He's eased off a bit since then, putting out a modest two in 2025. He's also a pillar of Akureyri's cultural life: he was named the town's Artist of the Year in 2025 and served as patron of the DIY festival Mannfólkið breytist í slím ("Humans Turn Into Slime") that same year.

His music isn't easy to pin down. It's chaotic and defies categorisation, but an anarchic DIY spirit and a streak of naïvism run through nearly everything he makes.

The same goes for the episode. Egill drowns our host in coffee, drags him along to visit his sister, then hops on a bus to Kringlan shopping mall, which Egill calls "a havenfrom the chaos of life."

Your host is Tim Pogo, an American media veteran with a long career in radio, TV and digital media, and an Airwaves regular since 2000.

Northern Rising is produced by Iceland Music, Record in Iceland and The Reykjavík Grapevine.

Listen on all major podcast platforms, including here:

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