Talks with Musicians

In today’s episode, Diana Burkot of Pussy Riot joins Oktaves Podcast to discuss her journey from underground activist musician in Moscow to political exile in Iceland. With an 8-year prison sentence hanging over her head and Pussy Riot labeled an “extremist organization” by Russian authorities, Diana shares the untold story of creating art, music, and activism under authoritarian pressure. In this...

At just 18 years old, Birta Dís is already navigating the music industry with a level of clarity, intention, and momentum that many artists only reach years later. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast, Birta Dís talks openly about graduating high school, choosing music without a safety net, and stepping into the realities of releasing music professionally at a young age. The conversation explore...

Svavar Knútur is one of Iceland’s most respected singer-songwriters, known for deeply human songs that explore grief, healing, love, and service. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, Svavar reflects on a 15-year musical journey that began as a way to survive personal loss and gradually became a lifelong devotion to music as healing work. This conversation moves through so...

In today's Talks with Musicians we have Pierre Leck where we dive into the hidden side of streaming success, the single-driven label economy, networking over content creation, and the tension between creative integrity and industry expectations. Pierre also talks about his deeply personal piano project named after his wife, his relationship to live performance, and how Nordic influence subtly shap...

In this episode, I sit down with Chena, an African metal artist whose unexpected journey has taken her from LA to the Netherlands, Iceland, and now London. We talk about growing up African in America, discovering metal through MTV and early nu-metal, and how those influences shaped her identity as a musician. Chena shares her experience performing at Jared Dines’ Musician Mansion, building her sym...

Anya returns to the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians for a second interview, and this one goes deep into what independent musicians rarely say out loud: songs are emotional survival, but releases are expensive, slow, and full of “grown-up” logistics. We talk about Anya’s breakout fan-favorite “I Need Your Love”, written in 2019 during her first real experience with dating and obsession, then...

Gloey is an Icelandic non-binary, trans artist whose music blends intimacy, vulnerability, and queer love stories into soft, emotionally driven pop songwriting. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, Gloey shares how they went from working full-time at Pink Iceland to releasing their first single and stepping onto major stages in a matter of months. We talk about their debu...

Sæfari is the solo project of Atli, an Icelandic songwriter who returned to music after a 10-year break and released his debut album only a few months ago. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, Atli shares the real story behind coming back, finishing what you started, and refusing to quit on yourself again. We talk about his early years as a guitarist in bands, stepping aw...

LadieLex is an Icelandic-born, Stockholm-based artist blending alternative rock and pop with vulnerability, big emotions, and a strong sense of identity. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, LadieLex talks openly about building a solo career between two countries, doing everything herself, and learning to trust her voice after leaving a long-term band. We dive into her jo...

Gísli Gunnarsson is an Icelandic composer and artist whose sound lives between modern classical, post-rock, cinematic orchestration, and metal-adjacent storytelling. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, Gísli breaks down how he builds songs like films, why dynamics matter (fragile to crushing), and how his metal roots shaped his taste without limiting his writing. We talk...

Mario Infantes is an Iceland-based musician best known as the former vocalist of the death metal band Cult of Lilith, signed to Metal Blade Records. After burnout, a cancelled U.S. tour, and losing his voice after COVID, Mario rebuilt his creative life from the ground up and created a solo project that blends progressive metal, folk instruments, Middle Eastern and Indian influences, ambient textur...

Anthe is a Belgian singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer with roots in Italy, now based in Iceland. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians , Anthe opens up about her lifelong relationship with music, her deep connection to Iceland and Nordic soundscapes, and her desire to create music that feels like stepping into a dream world. From playing piano and singing on stage at...

In this first episode of Oktaves Podcast – Talks with Musicians, I sit down with Atli, a soulful Icelandic singer songwriter whose journey has taken him from a small town in the north of Iceland to London, and soon to New York. His music lives somewhere between Bon Iver and Ed Sheeran, blending intimate indie folk textures with strong, emotional pop songwriting. We talk about how growing up in a t...