Stefán Árni

Arni & Kinski have eclectic experience as artists. The two are drawn to extremes - unlikely combinations that produce magical results. They began making a name for themselves co-directing award-winning music videos in their hometown of Reykjavik. With their increasingly high profile, Arni & Kinski formed a unique music-film collective called GusGus in 1995. GusGus's first venture was a short film, “Nautn” written and directed by Arni & Kinski, coupled with an eponymous album. The group was signed by British record label 4AD, and released "Polydistortion" in 1997 to worldwide acclaim. 

GusGus traveled the world with a powerful stage show in which Arni & Kinski's projected visuals melded with the group's music in a moving and mesmerizing whole. In 1999, GusGus released a second album, “This is Normal,” to even greater critical and popular acclaim. 

In 2000, the duo created and directed Levi’s “Kiss,” a high-style iconic spot featured in Shots, Shoot, Boards and Campaign Screen. In the following years they helmed signature campaigns for Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Macy's, Budweiser, Coors, Dockers and Old Navy, as well as music videos for The Editors, Snow Patrol, Iggy Pop, Travis and Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode.

In the years 2010-2017 Arni & Kinski have written and directed videos for Jónsi, Ólöf Arnalds, Of Monsters and Men, Damien Rice and Aurora that won the Norwegian Grammys in 2017, and Ólafur Arnalds. In 2020 Arni & Kinski re-united with GusGus to create a number of music video, among them the video Higher, featuring Margrét from Vök.

Still, their most moving and memorable work might be their videos for Sigur Rós, where Arni & Kinski blend emotionally powerful human storytelling with pure aesthetic beauty. Their promo for “Glósóli” won Best Rock Video at the London-based CAD Awards in 2006 and was also voted one of the best videos by Flaunt Magazine. “Gobbledigook” was a Best Rock Video nominee at the 2008 UK Music Video Awards and the 2009 SXSW Awards. In 2011 NME concluded Viðrar vel til loftárasa to be the 9th best music video of all time.