No, not the space people thingy - I couldn't care less about that. The great venue/club/jar of memories in Reykjavik. News emerged a few days ago of plans to take down the wonderful NASA venue and turn it into yet another hotel. If there's one thing Reykjavik has a hell of a lot of it's hotels, surely this is insanity? Actually, of course RVK has a good helping of music venues too but that doesn't mean that one of the best, most charming, most important and most full of memories should be allowed to bite the dust. It's important to me, it's important to a lot of musicians, fans, bar staff and it's surely pretty crucial to the continuation of Iceland Airwaves as we know it - there's not a venue like it. Some good news later in the week from the grapevine, it appears all may not be lost.
Of course it comes down to money - can it justify the rent that's asked of it? Can the city or the government do anything to help preserve it and smooth the route to survival. A hell of a lot of people would like that, it would be a fine and popular thing to support. Well over 1,000 people have already signed this petition (there's also link on the top left of this page) organised by the excellent John of the equally excellent Brainlove Records.
Please, please sign the petition.
In the meantime, and off the top of my head (so forgive omissions and hazy memories), some personal NASA highlights:
In 2004 instructed by the good folk of 12 Tonar, my first trip to NASA was to see Mugison's Airwaves show. Actually the first band I saw were the long gone Ske, but the advice to see Mugi was amongst the best I've ever received. Ever since I've enjoyed Mugison and trusted 12 Tonar.
I think 2006 was the year that the mighty Reykjavik! played a typically boisterous show there, the highlight of which was a three girl choreographed dance routine to "All Those Beautiful Boys" - hilarious and brilliant. We watched with (well beneath) Boas from the audience. You know what? I dug out the video...
2007 was an amazing festival. French band The Teenagers were so cool back then, their Airwaves NASA show was sleazy brilliance. The best kind! On the Saturday night we wandered into NASA off the street after something else finished to catch the second half of a sweaty, pumping, incredible set from Gus Gus swiftly followed by the usual amazingness of Ghostigital (right) - maybe my favourite Airwaves night of them all.
I remember 3 remarkable gigs from 2008 in NASA - the first time I ever saw Retro Stefson, they were so young, they filled the stage with balloons, they sounded great! Dr Spock, complete with rubber gloves, balaclava and a large dose of gob. And Faeroe Islanders Boys In A Band really rocked NASA but the best of the year, one of the most startling things I've ever seen, the choir of mountainous fishermen, Fjallabræður (right) - incredible sounds and then they hit the dancefloor.
The FM Belfast show in 2010 at NASA - the final show of the festival was immense. It was late, it was load, the stage was as crowded as any part of the cramped venue. They played forever, they played every song, everyone knew all the words and then, from somewhere, they played Sweet Child Of Mine and finally the whole place shouted every single word of Underwear right back in their faces.
This list was compiled from 84 votes. 27 different records got some love, Iceland is truly full of wonderful music-makers and some lovely fans too. Here's our best of 2011 list...
1. Sóley - We Sink
2= FM Belfast - Don't Want to Sleep 2= Björk - Biophilia
4= Sin Fang - Summer Echoes 4= Of Monsters & Men - My Head Is An Animal
6. Reykjavik! - Locust Sounds
7= GusGus - Arabian Horse 7= Lockerbie - Ólgusjór
9= Hellvar - Stop That Noise 9= Snorri Helgason - Winter Sun 9= Mugison - Haglél 9= HAM - Svik, harmur og Dauði
Thanks to everybody who took part. I've counted up 84 music-loving votes. I've checked and I've double-checked my maths.
27 different records (including a couple of E.P.s) received some love - I guess that underlines the breadth of talent around right now in Iceland. In a shock (!) development, 12 records have made it into the Top 10 (because 4 tied in 9th place). And, thank the lord, we had a clear cut winner and I do not need to make a casting vote. Tomorrow, here, I'll post the top 12 records as voted by lovers of Icelandic music. It's an exciting time!
For now, just as a tease, some of the albums which did not make the dozen most popular were by such awesome talents as Ólafur Arnalds, Vicky, Lay Low & some band called Sigur Rós.
So here's the plan. You lovely fans of Iceland, music and therefore Icelandic Music email me at markollard AT googlemail.com with up to 5 of your favourite albums of the year by Icelandic artists. We'll have a deadline of Monday December 19th, then I'll do some sums and report back on the top ten and we will crown the inaugural people's choice for the Icelandic album of the year.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir first came to my attention playing with the rather marvellous bands of Mr Sindri Már Sigfússon - Seabear, Sin Fang Bous and then plain old Sin Fang. Presumably she got fed up of not being in other bands - I believe the other members of Sindri's line-ups also turned up in bands such as Kimono, Mr Silla and Skakkamanage. We're really glad she did - her solo records are beguilingly different and totally absorbing. Her debut E.P. from 2010, Theater Island, contained six minimal and dreamy tunes highlighted by the amazing "We Will Put Her In Two Graves". That was promise was followed up and exceeded by her full length debut We Sink earlier this year. It's an album of fragility and beauty. It's been described as a soundtrack to Alice In Wonderland and certainly manages to sound innocent but also dark and threatening. It's a gem.
The exciting news for me and other Londoners is that she is coming to play at the very excellent monthly Scandinavian (and Icelandic) showcase night JaJaJa next week, Thursday November 24th at The Lexington. Music lovers should get down there. I was really excited to have a quick chat with Sóley before her very hectic sounding 24 hours in London. So hit play on the track below from the new album and have a read of what she had to say...
Congratulations on all of your great reviews at Iceland Airwaves! You seemed to be playing shows almost constantly, how many did you play in total and did you have a favourite?
Thank you. I played my stuff six times and with Sin Fang twice so yes I played a lot of shows, lot of fun and stress but I have to say that I really liked the on venue show at Kaldalón in Harpa on the Wednesday night, it was full of people and I heard there was a big queue outside the door which was really surprising! I also secretly like the surprise show I did on Friday night at Tjarnabíó. I was asked with one days notice so there was no time to announce it clearly so when I came on stage I think there were like three Australian people in the crowd and they "wooo-ed" a lot and made me feel very comfortable because when I went on stage and I saw no one, because it was all black in there, I got a bit pissed off thinking why I was doing this other show because no one knew I was playing. Anyway, in the end I was not stressed at all, I mean I have never ever been as calm as then and after a few songs the crowd grew and in the end I was pretty happy that I did this "secret sóley show!"
And did you manage to enjoy any of the rest of the festival? What bands did you see that were great?
Well it´s hard to enjoy the festival and be playing that much. For example I was playing with Sin Fang at the same time as Beach House was playing and I would have loved to see them. But I saw Tune-Yards. She was awesome, I loved her show!
How important is Airwaves to you as an artist?
It´s one of these showcase festivals which means a lot of journalists and other people who maybe work at festivals etc come to your show and I was for example invited to play at Eurosonic in Holland and ByLarm in Norway which are both festivals like Airwaves. I think I was also invited to play at jajaja after someone saw me at airwaves, I'm not sure though! It´s also most important for people who are there for the music. Now I´ll stop talking business! I mean music lovers travel a long way to come and spend money on flight tickets and staying and living in Iceland for a week. I mean in the end it´s all for them. It´s a good opportunity for Icelandic bands to get known outside iceland without leaving the country!
How do you compare playing your own shows to the shows you play as part of Sindri's band?
Since September we have only been two in my band. So it's very simple but still very tense at times because it´s almost only voice, keys with effects, loops and some weird sounds. So if I´m nervous, hell you are going to hear it! I have nothing kind of to back me up. Not a big band at the back of me so my act is a bit naked while Sin Fang is more like a real pop band with five members and everyone playing together. It´s just different.
Are you looking forward to your show in London? How long are you in our little town for?
Yes I´m really looking forward to it. Me and the drummer are going to stay in good old London for 24 hours! It´s almost like having a meeting. we are going to a business trip to London!
I find that your songs have a very literary air, and I've read more than one journalist make the comparison with Alice In Wonderland. Do you have a favourite book or author? And has that been an influence on your lyrics?
Yes for inspiration I read a lot of poems, in Icelandic. my favorite poet´s name is Davíð Stefánsson and he wrote these beautifully dark poems about death and love that can never be. Since I was little I loved Edward Scissorhands, it was so scary when I watched as a small girl, so i like Tim Burton and if he would call me and ask me to make music to his new movie I would quit everything else, move to Hofsós, a small town in the North of Iceland, have only a piano, candles, banana bread and espresso machine and start composing.
So here's the thing, and I say this with the credibility of someone who goes to precisely zero other music festivals most years, Iceland Airwaves is without doubt the greatest music festival in the world. I've done it for years and years, and it's only getting better. This year was, in a nutshell, every bit as good as always with the addition (permanent) of the incredible Harpa building and venues, the addition (temporary) of Björk's too good to be true Biophilia shows and the addition (again) of more great people to meet and friends to keep. The curation of international artists was as good as ever (bands on the upwards curve) plus the additions of Yoko Ono and Sinead O'Connor added a different kind of buzz. For me of course the international part of the line-up is of secondary interest compared to the continued amazement at the volume and talent of the local acts.
The high points were many, and I'll get to them very soon. The disappointments were few: Late running shows at the otherwise brilliant Bakkus programme of events (not official Airwaves) on Friday meant I missed out on seeing HAM (according to the Airwaves brochure, "If you miss this show, kill yourself" - eek) for the second year in a row. An enormous downpour left me stranded (like a wimp) in Nasa whilst Prinspóló played at Tjarnarbío. Hoffman cancelled their show, not for the first time. Glaumbar is a great venue if you are one of the 30 people who can stand around the stage, but it's a terrible, chattering, obscured view bar-room if you are not. The Aurora Borealis that appeared as a green smudge on Saturday night never developed (whilst I was watching anyway) into a real show.
That's it, a handful of minor inconveniences from four days of partying in Iceland (no Sunday for me this year). The organisation was perfect, the queues were no worse than usual apart from the occasional punchy drunk, the beer prices were very mixed (three cheers for Bakkus, slap in the face for Hressó). There seemed to be more than ever going on off venue. I've still never made it to The Nordic House for any of their shows, the reports I heard were good and bad. I still find any show in a bookstore totally irresistible and a unique experience, and I'm utterly addicted to that marquee in the backyard of Hressó - it's a fun space and the line-up is unfailingly strong.
I've had my say on the Björk show here, and two weeks later I really can't believe how good it was to be so up close and personal and see that unique show during Iceland Airwaves. Trying to pick individual songs as highlights isn't easy, but Crystalline and Cosmogony of the new songs and Isobel and Nattura of the older ones are rarely out of my head. The other new star of the show of course was the Harpa building (above) which now, controversially, is finished. I understand the local reservations about the building and its long, drawn out completion but as architecture Harpa is a stunning achievement. From the outside it is beautiful and fits in its position in Reykjavík harbour perfectly. Its look is stunning by day and glittering by night. Inside, it is a light, open and airy building housing four world class music venues of varying sizes plus cafés, free wi-fi and, fantastically, a brilliant new 12 Tónar store (below). And then there were the shows, day and night, relentlessly...
Wednesday was the travel day. After a rapid airport to guesthouse to Hressó transfer, I started Iceland Airwaves 2011 with Retro Stefson and a beer. I had arrived in the best possible fashion. Retro Stefson are a wonderful live band that never quite captures it on record but on stage, here or elsewhere, very few can match the sense of fun and excitement they bring. The bulk of the night was obviously spent at Harpa watching Björk. After we tipped out of there, the evening was spent running around venues catching as much of the Airwaves opening night spirit as possible. The new sight of Krummi (the singer from hard rockers Mínus) playing from behind a laptop in Faktorý was 15 minutes well spent, as was a few songs from hip-hopper Blaz Roca in Gaukur - the Icelandic language certainly lends itself to rap, and this guy is the best I've seen. Then into Bakkus for an affordable beer and a good set by newly formed band, Dream Central Station, which features either 2 or 3 members (depending on who you believe) of the now sadly defunct but once utterly outstanding Jakobínarína. From there it was back across the (very) windswept harbour to discover two more of Harpa's halls - Norðurljós for functional sets from Dikta and then Pétur Ben & Eberg and Kaldalón (seated only, a little disappointing) for a bit of Markus & The Diversion Session. Of course Björk dominated day one, with honourable mentions to Retro Stefson, Dream Central Station and for the late night snack.
Thursday was a hectic day, daytime and evening, and featured more bands than any other this year for me. It started with recent iceblah interview 'victims' Porquesi down at the tiny space of the downtown hostel. I often struggle with instrumental guitar/drums/bass bands, but Porquesi have enough in their armoury to hold the interest. They play with the pace of songs very effectively and in their tune "Obvious Harmony", had one the songs of the week for me. I was to see them play twice more. Running around town during the afternoon I saw, in very quick succession, a bit of Borko in the Hressó marquee, I heard but couldn't see Mugison at the new (and very beautiful) Kex hostel, Mammút at Kaffistofan and then Þórir (right) at the great original 12 Tónar store - watching him alone, seated, with an acoustic guitar in that shop is loaded with great memories of Airwaves past. His set was made up only of Icelandic language songs, so the language was lost on me but the voice and playing gets me every time. Finally for the afternoon session it was back to Hressó again to watch the wonderful and charming but a little late running ("I was at my job, I forgot about the show!") Sóley play an excellent solo show in support of her new record before joining Sin Fang on stage for their brilliant show packed full of indie pop songs, which was performed to a packed out venue and delighted crowd.
Thursday night got underway at Bar 11 to see excellent UK band Yunioshi (right). They are not only a really good live band, but also deserve massive love for enjoying Iceland Airwaves 2010 so much they came back again to play a series of off-venue shows (Iceland Airwaves does not have repeating overseas acts). Just prior to Airwaves they played several dates all around Iceland with their friends Bloodgroup. Much respect! From there I went to see Dream Central Station at Iðnó, having really enjoyed them the previous night. This show wasn't as good as in Bakkus though, the bigger (and frankly, emptier) room did them no favours and perhaps neither did the earlier slot, they definitely sound like a late night band. However, given that they formed a matter of months ago there's a load of potential here, I'll be keeping an eye on them for sure. There then followed some running around, starting at Nasa where I was delighted to see Estonian band, Iiris. They weren't in my plans at all but were one of those typical Airwaves delights of being in the right place at the right time - a whirlwind of a front-woman backed by a tight and loud band, Iiris was a total and unexpected delight and everyone in a half full Nasa knew it. Off to Amsterdam to see Porquesi's only on-venue show amongst their dozens (it seemed) of off venue efforts. Still, this was a relatively small venue and their instrumental indie sounds filled it very well indeed, there was much nodding of heads and tapping of feet. Back in Nasa, Lára Rúnars (right) was putting on a slick show to a sadly quite empty room. The front few rows were clearly loving it, and although she's not really my kind of thing it was clear she was doing a great job up there. I had picked out Karkwa weeks ago as a (shock! horror!) non-Icelandic band I'd like to see so I headed to Tjarnarbíó to catch some of their show. It started slowly and I was left slightly disappointed that they seemed to be playing a less characterful, and more pedestrian, version of the recorded stuff I had heard. I got the impression the venue wasn't helping them, at Hressó 2 days later they were much, much better. Next, off to the Art Museum to see the last part of Hjaltalín's big show, they finished with a wonderful "Feels Like Sugar" and the packed house couldn't get enough, there was a tremendous atmosphere in the cavernous space. It was set up nicely for Retro Stefson, I was really keen to see how they would do in this big room, essentially as supporting act to one of the festival's biggest overseas acts, Beach House. Of course, I thought they did a great job - the music really works live but so much more than that, these kids can work a crowd so incredibly well - they had everyone crouching, then leaping, then parting down the middle so they could run up and down the created corridor.
It was a show, and the (not quite full by now) Art Museum knew it. Beach House were next, and although there were fears of disappointed queuers I think everyone got in OK, there was certainly some space towards the rear. I like the Beach House record, but two songs in I had had enough. It's true that plenty of people were loving it, but the dreamy pop just didn't connect with me. I headed out, knowing that the excellent Sin Fang would be on stage in Iðnó. And indeed they were, playing to a hot and heaving crowd, there was not one inch of space left. Sin Fang's music is the very definition of indie-folk to me, and not the crappy kind. It's always a pleasure to see them but actually this show was so crowded that it was less brilliant than earlier in the day at Hressó. Time to end the night with a crazy party and a chill out. the crazy party was going on at Amsterdam where The Fist Fokkers (not as scary as they sound) were doing a few of their own tunes but also a load of covers that had been "crowd-sourced" on "social media" sites, all very 2011. The result was a bit sing along party where hairy, topless men with fairy lights for necklaces and headbands led a bar full of drunkards through renditions of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", Sinead's (sorry, Prince's) "Nothing Compares 2 U" and No Doubts' "Don't Speak". A crazy, brilliant yet totally typical Iceland Airwaves moment. The chill out at the end of this Airwaves night came at a unusually full Glaumbar where the lovely Lay Low was singing with her acoustic guitar. It was beautiful and it was sleepy. And it was a 5 minute walk home, after a 19 band day.
Friday's daytime session was more curtailed than others. I started at Hressó again - the shows are always good, the food is always good. The beer is also good, although it is amongst the most expensive in town. I saw Caged Animals, but *may* have been a little distracted by my incredible burger during their set which I could certainly hear but not really see. They are an American band playing guitar tunes with an electro edge. It was fine. Finnish rockers Murmansk were next up and they were a lovely surprise. I was a little worried, they had been described as "goth to the core" - but they sounded like a good, noisy, occasionally brooding rock band to me. I had expected to quickly go off to check out other events, but I stayed for the whole set and checked out where and when they were playing their main show (I never made it). Sóley was once again out and about, she definitely played as many shows as anyone - today she was playing upstairs in the Eymundsson book store and was every bit as good as the day before, songs such as "Smashed Birds" from the new record becoming better with every listen.
Friday night was much anticipated. The plan was to see three giants of the Icelandic scene - Mugison, Reykjavik! and HAM. It was a good plan. Readers that are paying attention (well done you!) will know that I was to miss one of them. The evening began in Nasa with Samaris, winners of this year Musiktilraunir contest for new bands. They make a nice, interesting sound with plenty of room for development. This is trip-hop sounding stuff, it reminded me of some of Tricky's older sound, but with added clarinet. Does it work? Kind of - it sounded a little samey after a while, but let's wait and see, this band has been going for 8 months. I left Nasa and began to head over to Harpa in plenty of time to see Mugison. There was a brief stop to see those nice Dandelion Seeds in Amsterdam for a couple of songs - 70s rock, nice harmonies, good drumming and bass. I was at Harpa in plenty of time to get a good spot for Mugison, in time even to see the end of Hljómsveitin Ég's show - a band that have never grabbed me. Very quickly the Norðurljós hall filled up ahead of the Mugi-show. Mugison has been essential since his very first record back in 2004, he is perhaps enjoying a peak of popularity in Iceland right now thanks to his brand new Icelandic language album Haglél and chart-topping omnipresent single "Stingum Af", and of course his ever growing and now seemingly glowing, beard. Having heard the new album, more quiet and acoustic than some recent, QOTSA-supporting, rockier stuff, I was a little concerned that this could be a quiet and Icelandic language heavy show. Not a problem - Mugison at Harpa was THE show of Iceland Airwaves 2011. It was packed, everyone was excited and Mugi delivered. He started with the wonderful Mugiboogie, a cracking, noisy, dirty rock singalong of an opener. the pace was maintained through The Pathetic Anthem and into Sweetest Melody where this large white roomful of people were screaming every word back at the stage. The pace and volume dropped as he ran through four tracks from the new album, including a stunning version of the aforementioned single which had the Icelanders in the room beaming with delight. The noise came back for the traditional set closer and utterly genius track "Murr Murr", which has developed from a sweet acoustic song a decade a go into a fierce, fun rocker driven by an insanely catchy riff. This was the perfect show, he's a wonderful songwriter and showman in front of a highly talented band (how sweaty was that drummer!?).
But the night was young. Once out of the heaving, happy mass of people Mugison had left in his Harpa wake it was off and out across the blustery harbour and headed to Bakkus for Friday night part 2 - Reykjavik! Bakkus is a brilliant bar, it's the best size, it has Reykjavik's best atmosphere, cheapest beer and the venue that was once known as Gaukur is now integrated into it (different from what is now Gaukur, which is what was Sodoma, and before that Gaukur's pool room. Clear?). On arrival a band called Beatless were playing, this was pretty fun. It was dance music fronted by an older guy telling stories (that might sound like Ghostigital! but not even close to being that good), still it was interesting. Should I have known who the guy was? They were followed by a band called Vigri, who passed me by as I was at the bar and chatting - everyone was here tonight. Everyone wanted to see Reykjavik! who were proudly clutching, and quickly selling, their brand new and utterly brilliant record, "Locust Sounds". Time, frustratingly, was ticking by. Clearly it would be midnight before R! took to the stage. The same time that HAM would begin over the road at the Art Museum. ARGH! CLASH! NIGHTMARE! In fact, there was no choice. I would be back in London by the time Reykjavik! played their only other show on Sunday night. I had to stay, I had to see them. Add to that, Bakkus was rammed full of people I know, plus Jónsi who I bravely (!) said hi to at the bar. (Yep, me too - he was everywhere this week!). It was late, I had given up on HAM (frankly, I had forgotten about HAM), Reykjavik! came on stage without giant Viking guitarist Valdi (which may have limited the scope of the set a little?) but with a big bottle of vodka to be given out by guitarist and chief party-starter Haukur to anyone seen singing along (and knowing the words) to the tunes. And yes, no surprise, Reykjavik! were as ever a blisteringly fantastic live band. You will never see more energy given, more noise created and more chaos ensuing from a live show. I love watching them play their songs live - the new ones sounded great, I think it was "Sneak" that they kindly dedicated to little me - they won't have heard my shouted reply, the voice had gone by then - better, though, than Paul Sullivan who was in the gents for his shout out! (Sorry Paulo). As for the more familiar stuff, a brilliant version of "Cats" was followed by a rasping, astonishing and utterly terrifying version of the ever-brilliant "Kate Bush" which was delivered in an almost pitch black room creating a brilliant atmosphere, with Boas as mobile around the room as ever delivering much of the vocals from atop the bar (right). An encore was demanded and we got "All The Beautiful Boys" a gem from the first album. Everyone knew the words, but the vodka bottle had been emptied long ago. There was no point going elsewhere now, we all hung around to see the wonderful Mammut, but this time from the distance of the venue's front bar. They sounded good I seem to remember, it was a good night.
Airwaves Saturday, and what a beautiful clear, crisp, sunny Reykjavik morning. No better place to be in those circumstances to than in Harpa watching Iceland's latest next big thing Of Monsters And Men. Big things are happening for this band, the week before Airwaves they signed with Universal, and the Rolling Stone review following the festival compared them to Arcade Fire. Good work. They were clearly the buzz band of the week and all being well those of us lucky enough to see them perform in the coffee shop at Harpa or in the tiny bar Glaumbar will look back on that very fondly as they sell out stadiums worldwide! Live, they are charming and confident, on record they are forceful and the tunes work immediately and stay with you. The Arcade Fire comparison isn't unfair on either band (yes, that was me the little blog man telling Rolling Stone magazine that their journalism was OK). Anyhow, it was a really chilled and low key show by a band going places and following it I took the opportunity, given the amount of sunlight pouring in through Harpa's glass walls, to have a proper poke around this incredible construction. It is stunning. The rest of my Saturday's off venue entertainment came at the now traditional and very welcome Canadian Blast at Hressó. First up I saw a much improved show by Karkwa that made me glad to have picked them out pre festival as a band I wanted to see. The personality and driving drums and guitars were here this time, I think they had some sound issues on Thursday. I'm wary of bands labelled as "experimental", so I was unsure what to expect from the hyped band Esmerine. Their set was pleasant if never spectacular until they were joined by Airwaves addict and all-round genius Patrick Watson to perform their collaboration "Snow Day For Lhasa", which was a stunning moment. Finally, it was time for a bit of sitar driven rock from Elephant Stone and I think they delivered the best show of this year's Canadian Blast, certainly they had the largest and most appreciative audience that I saw there all day. The sitar was used sparingly, certainly they never became any kind of novelty sitar band but when it was used it was fabulous to watch as well as to hear.
Saturday night, like the previous one was aimed squarely at the giants. Today's targets were Ghostigital, Ólafur Arnalds and GusGus - would I get all three this time after falling one short on Friday? I began at Nasa where I wanted to see new (to me) Icelandic electro-pop band Kiriyama Family. Plenty of potential here ad one to keep an eye on but I wanted to do some venue hopping early in the evening. So it was off for a bit of the very gentle Pascal Pinon at Glaumbar, in time for their best moment "I Wrote A Song" followed by the fuzzy sounds and hairdos of Led Zep obsessives (just a guess) The Vintage Caravan at Gaukur and then up to Faktorý to catch some of Tonik's set (strong dance stuff, great pink lights) before Ghostigital. Part of the fun of Ghostigital concerts is watching them set up beforehand. Clearly this is a band with a lot of wizardry going on, there are a lot of wires on the stage, but the band members roam around on stage, off stage, to the bar with such nonchalance that you wonder how it all comes together! I'm sure, of course, that everything has been testing a hundred times earlier in the day. Certainly, when they did all coincide on stage and the lights went down everything was perfect. The first thing to note about Ghostigital's set was how very, very, very, very loud it was. Yes I was at the very front next to that great big speaker but they do always get more volume out of a set-up than anyone else can manage, year after year. The show itself was great, the guitar working especially well this year. I missed the backing visuals of last year's excellent Tjarnarbíó show, but the brilliant electronics created by Curver were outstanding, pulsating and insistent, there was no escape. As for the wonderful Mr Einar Orn, he gave another great performance, getting more like Mark E Smith (or is it the other way round?) every year. His lyrics vary from the recorded versions of songs so often and so seamlessly, it is fascinating to watch. He is so alive on stage, in his natural habitat, prowling around bathed in bright lights and dense fog - putting the world right. The fantastic new single, "Don't Push Me" sounded particularly great, a good sign for the forthcoming album. This is a band, and a front-man, that you cannot take your eyes or ears off.
The 5 minute walk from Faktorý to Harpa was a very long journey in terms of musical styles. Going from Ghostigital to Ólafur Arnalds does require some mindset adjustment. I arrived at Harpa to find the Norðurljós room seemingly packed. Nobody could move in or out. However when this blockage did move it revealed plenty of space further forward - what were all those people trying to achieve hanging around the doorway? In the 5 minutes before the show the room filled up quickly, as full as it had been for Mugison a day earlier. I think this was the best show I've ever seen (of 5 or 6) from Ólafur, the band seemed especially relaxed and their enjoyment transferred quickly to the audience. I'm afraid I'm terrible at knowing song titles when I don't have lyrics to prompt me, but I do know that set closer, 3055, was a particular highlight.
Once again, the visuals that accompany the songs definitely adds to the experience as does the brilliant lighting of the stage and the room. A victory for the artist but also for the venue - truly wonderful stuff. two great shows within an hour and I was onto the final lap of my Iceland Airwaves 2011. After sticking around to see the first couple of songs by Danish band Treefight For Sunlight I headed back across the harbour one more time to search for entertainment before my finalé of GusGus. First, to Amsterdam to watch Swords Of Chaos - this is the sort of hardcore, screamy rock that I can love here, in small doses, but no more than that. A packed bar of devotees was lapping it up however. 15 minutes later I wandered up to Glaumbar where Endless Dark were playing. Of course being Glaumbar, this wasn't a full plugged in show from these young riffers but it was a total revelation. Endless Dark (right) are a very talented 6 piece rock band, with some excellent songs in their armoury. I suspect that the challenge of playing a small, chilled acoustic set would expose most bands of their age and genre but they thrived here. They proved that you can take away the fuzz, the noise, the show and their tunes and talent will shine rather than disappear. I was so impressed with this performance, another wonderful Airwaves surprise. The queue outside the Art Museum told me it was time to get in there ahead of the GusGus show, so I did manage to see the final 10 minutes or so of Canadian 80s, synth types Austra, which was pretty pleasant. Like in Bakkus a night ago, it seemd like everyone was in the Art Museum tonight, it was full of familiar faces and various Icelandic musicians here to pay their respects to the perfect end of night band, GusGus. They sounded great, for such a long-standing dance act they have truly stood the test of time and have developed and changed over their 2 decades (ish!). Watching them I was left with the impression that the quality of vocals, now and throughout the career, had a lot to do with this - they really are at their best live. That said, as the set went on, the crowd towards the back of the hall (where we were) grew more and more chatty, seemingly slightly losing interest in events at the other end of this long, narrow space (right). Still, it sounded good and a good social event as well. At the end, I spilled out into the cold air knowing that 4 hours later I'd be on a flybus away from this unbelievable party. Another Iceland Airwaves in the bag, and even more incredible memories.
So yes, my A list of Icelandic bands were reliably brilliant (Reykjavík!, Mugison, Ghostigital, Ólafur Arnalds, Retro Stefson, GusGus, Sin Fang, Mammút), the next generation are getting better all the time (Of Monsters & Men, Endless Dark, Pascal Pinon) and there were some really memorable shows by bands I hadn't seen before (Sóley, Porquesi, Dream Central Station, Samaris). Everything I have come to expect from this increasingly brilliant few days every year. Oh yes, and there was Björk too. This festival continues to give unique, special moments - one after another.
A few other sights of the week:
Scary bicycle
Too much singing along to Reykjavik! will make you horse
Prinspóló are one of those Icelandic supergroups where you'll recognise everyone on stage from one or more bands. This lot are led by local legend Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson, of Skakkamanage and the truly wonderful but now defunct and legendary Runk. The band includes members of FM Belfast, Reykjavik! and Sudden Weather Change. So, they're pretty good, as those credentials would suggest. I had a chat with Svavar about this and that...
Hello Svavar, where are you? What are you up to?
Hi there. I'm at my home in Reykjavik where I'm planning a road trip with Prinspóló, FM Belfast, Sin Fang and Borko. We're going to Akureyri on October 22nd on a tour we call Partíthokan (The Party Fog).
The band has been touring in Eastern Europe - was that a load of fun or are you all fed up with each other now?
We did Poland in September, with a stop in Berlin. It was awesome! Polish audience took us like royals and we had so much fun. Our love to Poland and to our selves has gained very much after the tour and now we have a plan on touring Poland every year until 2054 or something.
When Prinspóló go on tour about 4 other bands lose members! How does everyone cope with that?
Well, the Prins is always number one because we have no king.
Good answer! When you play at Airwaves there will be 5 or 6 other shows happening - so why should people come and see you play?
You should because you must. The herd must follow it's Prins.
You aften spend a lot of time clearly saying something very funny in Icelandic between songs - are we allowed to know what you are saying?
Yes of course. I really suck in English storytelling, especially when I'm about to pee in my pants with stress. And sometimes, while on stage, I feel like saying something to the audience, especially when they are smiling to me, and then something long and pointless comes out of my mouth. Usually I'm in some kind of a mental blackout because of stress and I don't know where I am or what I'm saying.
I have to take the opportunity to ask you about Rúnk - that was the band that made me realise (I think in Grand Rokk in 2002) that there was a depth to Icelandic music beyond former Sugarcubes, so thank you! - It was a great band, is there any hope of you guys getting back together again?
How nice of you to say. Well, next year is the 10th anniversary of Rúnk's one and only LP Genghi Dahls. If time and money is on our side we might have a Fanta Lemon or something.
If you get together, I'll buy the Fanta Lemon! Can I also ask about Havarí? The store closed earlier this year, but is there any news about it reappearing?
We have no plans on that, and we are all pretty busy working on even worse business models than Havarí. But you should never say never. We still have a social number for the company and some debts to pay.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What are you really excited to see?
I will probably go and see what my colleagues in Reykjavík and Sudden Weather Change are up to. Both are releasing and working on very exciting stuff. Then I might check on Borko, Beach House, Dad Rocks!, Ghostigital, John Grant, Mr. Silla, Sin Fang and Sóley and what ever knocks on my ears.
You can see Prinspóló at Tjarnarbio at 8:50 on Saturday 15th (today!) - pay your respects to the prins, and bring your party hat. You'll have no regrets.
I'm an optimist. So all the anticipation of how good it would be to see Bjork in Reykjavik, at Iceland Airwaves, of how good this particular much lauded performance of Biophilia could be, could have been crippling. In fact my wildest expectations had nothing on the reality. This was music and performance at it's pinnacle, in a setting so perfectly intimate that it was hard to believe. To see a major world star performing her finest creative work in her home town, in a beautiful, brand new venue delivering crystal clear sound, with a crowd which, by her standards, must be tiny was a treat beyond all optimism.
As soon as I went into the room it was clear this was going to be incredible. A small stage, mostly at ground level hosting a range of bizarre instrumentation, some electronic and some (as promised) entirely natural - dominated by the 4 giant magnetic swinging things which doubtless have a name, but whose function is to set the beat on various songs. To one side of the stage was around 20 rows of tiered seating. To the other 3 sides just 4 or 5 steps hosting an audience never more than 7 or 8 deep kept back from the performance area by just a rope
We were asked not to take any photos, and that was almost entirely observed until the very last song. I think people guessed that Declare Independence was the climax and that this was their chance to capture this performance. Still, there were no flashes. Clearly, I'm just excusing myself - the photo above was the best my iphone could do in that room and in that light! The photo below of the choir dancing is from IcelandAirwaves on instagram, so that must be OK!
The lights dimmed just a few minutes after 8. Bjork was the last to enter the stage. She was supported by Manu Delago on the percussion, ipads, upturned woks (probably not) and who knows what else and a guy (sorry, missed the name) on keyboards, laptops and assorted electronica. There was also a harpsichordist for some tracks. As well as these three guys there was a choir of twenty or so girls who were brilliant and charming throughout, active on all but one or two tracks and dancing throughout, sometimes choreographed and sometimes freeform at the madder moments.
Bjork herself was wearing the dress and that wig from the album cover. The wig is incredible, it appears to be held on by an inch wide black chin strap, and it has the effect of making her already tiny features and frame become even tinier.
I'm not going to try to run through the show. It was an incredible nearly two hours. It was perfect. She seemed nervous at first but within 3 or 4 tracks was very clearly enjoying herself enormously, I guess she had a lot of friends and family in the audience. Oh, and that voice. That voice. The voice that first got me interested in Iceland back in the Eighties is still in wonderful working order from quietest whisper to the rasping but tuneful screams. She danced, she ran around the stage in circles, she sat down and sipped at tea.
I overheard more than one conversation on the way out around the topic of best gigs ever. This has few peers. For the Bjork stattos out there, I did get the setlist, so here's what she played:
Thunderbolt
Moon
Crystalline
Hollow
Dark Matter
Hidden Place
Mouth's Cradle
Isobel
Virus
Sacrifice
Vertebrae By Vertebrae
Where Is The Line
Mutual Core
Cosmogony
Solstice
(encore)
One Day
Nattura
Declare Independence
The Grapevine review of last night is here. You can still get one of 200 tickets for Sunday's show by queuing at Smekkleysa on Sunday morning. I really suggest you do.
Mr David Berndsen, or "Berndsen" as we know him is a regular Iceland Airwaves favourite. He wears his flawless eighties influences high up on his sleeve for all to see. His shows are all about giving the crowd a good time. They're usually full of locals too, that's always a good sign.
Hello - Where are you and what are you doing right now?
I am having a cup of coffee, and preparing for Airwaves and planning to move to Porto next monday!
Wow! Good luck! When you play at Airwaves there will be 5 or 6 other shows happening - so why should people come and see you play? what should we expect?
People who are in a good mood and want to have a good time should see us play! or if you just want to chill you can see something else! There are a lot of fun bands playing this year.
Is it fair to say that you're a guy who loves the music of the 80s? Are there any bands in particular who influence your sound?
I love the 80´s music, and all things about it, the synths, the look, the sounds. I am mostly influenced by OMD, Duran Duran and The Twins.
But you have a beard! (a very excellent one) there weren't many beards in music in the 80s were there?
Ha Ha... I don´t know if my beard is considered to be 80´s! It's just a twist on things.
I've just recently heard your excellent song with Bubbi Morthens - how did that collaboration happen?
We used to work on a radio program together, and fooled around making a song and couple of months later we did a song and it became a mega hit.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What are you really excited to see?
Excited to see Oculus, Hermigervill, Gus Gus and a lot of cool stuff.
What are your tips for first-timers at Iceland Airwaves?
I recommend people to just walk around downtown and see whatever that's always so fun, just see thing you don´t know nothing about!
And that, my friends, is THE BEST TIP for Iceland Airwaves, go and discover stuff you don't know. Do as Mr Berndsen says! You can see Berndsen at Iceland Airwaves 2011 at Hresso on Wednesday at 4pm, at i8 on Friday at 4pm and his main show on Saturday is in Nasa at 9:40pm. Synthtastic.
At Iceland Airwaves last year, a band called Yunioshi arrived determined to have fun, make friends and entertain. They succeeded brilliantly and I know I'm not the only person delighted to see them back in town again for Iceland Airwaves 2011. I don't spend a whole load of my Airwaves time watching acts from outside Iceland, but this lovely bunch will be on that short list for the second year in a row. Good work them. Here's the story...
Hi again! I'm excited that you're going to be around again this year in Reykjavik - how has your year been?
We've been quite nicely busy so far this year. Plenty of festivals both in the UK and abroad. A couple of highlights have been playing in Toronto for Canadian Music Week back in February and then the amazing Dot to Dot festival in the UK. We managed to pack out the venues and get people dancing. The venue we played in Toronto was burlesque themed - the topless bartop dancing ladies were a little distracting during the set - but something we should encourage more at our gigs we think!
So, Yunisohi, what did you enjoy so much about Airwaves 2010 that you want to do it all over again in 2011? (see also their awesome video diary from last year below)
Airwaves is such an awesome festival. I think we might even go so far as to say our favourite festival to play. Last year we met some amazing people, played to the best crowds who just got involved, played some amazing venues from half-pipes to cosey cafés. Whats not to like!? We're so lucky to have made some really good links with Reykjavik over the last few years - it feels like our home from home. I think the crammed gig at Kaffibarinn, the crazyness of Bakkus and the shear oddity of playing in a hairdressers will long stay in my mind as unforgettable moments!
You don't appear on the official line-up, so what are you up to?
We're semi-official! Airwaves don't tend to book international artists year on year, but such is our love for the festival and Iceland we've booked some great off venue shows - Barbara on Wednesday at 9pm, Bar 11 as part of the Gogoyoko line up on Thursday at 8pm so far - and maybe one more to be confirmed!?
We're also arriving a week early to tour with our good pals Bloodgroup which we're really looking forward to. We'll be playing their hometown on one night so it will be a real honour to play with them there. We're playing The Green Hat in Akureryi on Saturday 7th followed by The Slaughterhouse in Egilsstaðir on Sunday 8th before a few of us take a slow drive back to Reykjavik along the South Coast. Its gonna be amazing exploring more of Iceland.
Have you had a chance to look at the line-up? Anything you're particular keen to see?
There are some great bands as usual. International ones like Beach House, Yacht, Niki & the Dove and SBTRKT will be great to see - but for me I really want to see some of my favourite Icelandic bands like Hjaltalin, Lay Low and Utidur. We're bound to catch up with Svavar Knutur in Hemmi & Valdi at some point and if we could bump into Bjork that would be pretty amazing! Of course, we'll be watching Bloodgroup every chance that we get too!
What are your tips for bands playing this year? and for Airwaves punters?
Simply, just enjoy it! We've always had the best experiences in Reykjavik. The crowds are truly amazing and the music that you get to see is just astonishing. You can find it anywhere and everywhere. You'll grow to love the eggy water too!
Do you have any new music coming out? And please tell us how we can buy your wonderful tunes...
We've released a new single this year "Invisible" available at bandcamp where you can also find other tunes as well as some free downloads. We're also working on tracks for the new release and hope to have at least one extra new tune in the set for October. We may also have something extra up our sleeves for the Icelandic crowds - we just hope we have the time to pull it off! Everything else is available on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon as well as through RVKs very own Gogoyoko.
So, yes, please, go and make friends with and listen to and dance with Yunioshi in Reykajvik this week. And after that befriend them further on facebook & twitter.
For A Minor Reflection are four young guys from Reykjavík who have grown from a hard rock duo, via a bunch of Pink Floyd covers, to the very wonderful post-rock soundscapers they are today. If this sounds like your thing you must catch them at Iceland Airwaves 2011 on Wednesday at 3pm at Kex, and then their main show on Friday in the Art Museum (Listasafn) at 9pm. If they don't sound like your thing, try them anyway - you may be pleasantly surprised and they tell jokes between songs. I had a chat with Kjartan Holm...
Hi Kjartan! Where are you, and what are you doing right now?
Right now we're in Reykjavík, Iceland and we have just finished recording an EP album which we're going to release at the end of September or the beginning of October. We're in the middle of the mixing process along with getting ready to go to China in four days.
Who's in the band?
The band consists of four 22 year old, pretty different guys who make music together. And drink beer with each other in-between. They're names are Kjartan Holm (guitar, keyboards, samples), Guðfinnur "Guffi" Sveinsson (guitar, keyboards), Elvar Jón "Elvis" Guðmundsson (bass, saxophone) and Andri Freyr Þorgeirsson (drums).
I heard that you used to play covers of Pink Floyd - is that true? Which other bands would you like to cover?
Yeah that's right. To begin with, before we had the guts to write our own material, we used to cover Pink Floyd massively. Mostly Comfortably Numb though, because of the epic guitar solo. Guffi and I, we are the egocentric ones in the band... I would like to cover Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" or Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" because they're just amazing. We're all big 80's suckers.
Who isn't! Your next record is being funded over at pledge music - how is that going? It seems like a really sensible way to get a record made.
The Pledge campaign is going incredibly well! We've reached 100% already and we have almost 40 days left. When a Pledge campaign reaches it's limit, it can still go further, so I encourage everyone who's interested in making a pledge to do so.
When you play at Airwaves there will be 5 or 6 other shows happening - so why should people come and see you guys?
People should come to see our show because we give it all we got in our live performances. It's energetic, quiet/loud, atmospheric, has visuals and extra instruments on stage, so yeah... We promise one heck of a show! And between songs, Guffi and I do stand-up. Something for everyone!
Have you seen the festival line-up? What are you really excited to see?
The festival line-up this year is really nice. What I'm most excited to see is Iceage from Denmark!
Any tips for first-timers at Iceland Airwaves?
The tips I have for first-timers at Iceland Airwaves is just to go and see and do as many things as your body and mind allows you to do! There is a reason why Iceland Airwaves is so highly appreciated by Icelanders and people from all over the world. It's simply one of a kind!
Thank you Kjartan, enjoy Iceland Airwaves 2011!
You can catch For A Minor Reflection twice during Iceland Airwaves 2011, at Kex on Wednesday at 39m then their big show at the Art Museum on Friday night at 9pm.
My instinct is to dislike (not really!) those Brits lucky enough to have settled in Iceland, especially when they end up "in bands", "with girls" or "working at grapevine", but they always turn out to be such lovely people. So I must wholeheartedly recommend that you see and befriend the half British, half Icelandic, all excellent four-piece Porquesi during iceland Airwaves 2011. You will have plenty of opportunity (see below), for Porquesi are one of those bands who seem to be trying to play more shows than any other. I managed to squeeze myself into their insanely busy schedule of gigging and social networking...
Hello PORQUESÍ! Where are you and what are you doing right now?
Good evening! We have just come back from a “hard day” at the office, taking photos with the awesome Matt Eisman of musicinfocus.net and we’re now just relaxing at Skúli’s place with some pizza and beer, just going over a mix for a radio programme we recorded last week. All in all, just working hard and playing hard.
Who's in the band?
Two Vikings: Skúli Jónsson (Guitar, Vocals, Piano), and Egill Jónsson (Bass Guitar) and two Anglo Saxons: Russell Harmon (Guitar), and Jonathan Baker (Drums).
I like your name (I told you this would be unprofessional)! Why did you choose it?
The name? Just because. Haha, nah, well “porque si” means “just because” in Spanish. Skúli and Egill lived in Spain for a year when they were younger, so the Spanish influence came from there. But we chose the name one night when we were all drunk on San Miguel and just thought that taking a Spanish name would be appropriate. And yeh, basically, just because.
So you are half from the UK and half Icelandic? A very nice mixture? How did you meet then? Are some of you Brits that are lucky enough to live in Iceland?
Yeah, that is right. We are a nice blend of England and Iceland. Russell moved here for his girlfriend, and then Jonathan came over for an internship at The Reykjavík Grapevine, and also met a girl. From there, we all just met through mutual friends, and mutual musical interests. One thing lead to another and here we are. Now we are BFF!
When you play at Airwaves there will be 5 or 6 other shows happening - so why should people come and see you guys?
There are lots of great bands and artists playing over Airwaves at the same time, so it is definitely a difficult decision; one that we are facing ourselves. However, if there is anyone out there into intense, emotive, live rock music, then they should check us out. We like to think we put on a good show, so why not?
Have you seen the festival line-up? What are you really excited to see?
Phewww, there are so many bands that we all want to go check out. Probably too many to mention, but for instance Liturgy, Deathcrush, Reykjavík!, For a Minor Reflection, Agent Fresco, Swords of Chaos, and Dope D.O.D are all on our to see list. We also highly recommend the Icelandic bands Gang Related, Vigri, Andvari, and Musik Zoo.
Any tips for first-timers at Iceland Airwaves?
See as many bands as possible, drink as much as possible, and just have a good time basically. The festival is always amazing, so just enjoy the experience.
So, yes, you ought to check these nice guys out, here are your chances...
October 12th at 4pm in Reykjavík Backpackers.
October 13th at 2pm in Reykjavík Downtown Hostel then again at 8:50pm in Amsterdam.
October 15th at 3pm on the street at Hringa on Laugavegur and at 4pm at Macyard (Sirkus)
And finally, phew, on October 16th at 8:30pm in Dillon.
After all of that you are going to want to get to know them even better, so you buy the debut album from gogoyoko or at all the great record stores of Reykjavik 101. You can make follow, stalk and "poke" them on twitter, facebook, bandcamp, myspace (yes!), soundcloud and gogoyoko. Phew - how do they get the time?
I've never quite dared to do this before, but people always want suggestions of which local bands to go and see at Iceland Airwaves 2011. And whilst I could, in all truth, wholeheartedly recommend 30 or 40 bands that I know would not ever be a let down, the number I've been asked for by 2 separate people is 5. So with huge regret aimed at the bands not on the list (and I'm leaving Bjork & Gus Gus, you all know they're great right?), deep breath, here goes...
Reykjavik! are a phenomenal live band (not from Reykjavik - I know, those crazy Icelanders). If you situate yourself within 20 yards of the stage, you are quite likely to become part of the show as Boas inevitably gets itchy feet and begins to wander, either through or over the crowd, to involve as many people as possible. But amongst the visual chaos is some seriously powerful rock riffing and song-craft, you'll come away with the tunes lodged in your brain for days afterwards. They're about to release their third full length album, which judging by the previews, looks to show no let-up in quality from their first two and although they aren't officially playing until the Sunday when all the members finally coincide in Reykjavik, they will be well worth waiting for. You will leave sweating, grinning and a fan for life.
I've never seen or heard anything quite like Ghostigital. Let's get the basics out of the way - Yes, that is Einar from the Sugarcubes. Over recent years he has teamed up with electronics genius Curver to create the most original, pounding, crunching electronic music you'll ever uncover. Across Curver's sounds come Einar's words - they're random but somehow also tell you a story. They're funny and they're magical. The live experience will make your teeth shake, and your eyes widen. Like Reykjavik!, Ghostigital are also readying a new album (also their third), and the taster single, Don't Push Me, is one their finest moments to date. Unmissable.
Mugison looks like, and is, a former North Atlantic fisherman. Musically he has been ever-evolving and always crucial. At my very first Iceland Airwaves his show was highlighted to me by the good people at 12 tonar record store as the one, single show I must not miss. I've been addicted ever since. He's moved from a one-man-band armed with acoustic guitar and laptop to a balls-out rocker chosen to tour North America with Queens Of the Stone Age - now he moves between the two, and all points in between, effortlessly. Since the QOTSA tour he's re-recorded his earlier quieter numbers as rock songs. Now, you can never be sure quite what you'll be getting. At Iceland Airwaves last year he was joined on stage by 2 special guests - first a pogoing, spitting metal front man and then a choir of schoolgirls. The songs are always great. Most songs from his album, Mugiboogie, are pretty much adopted by the natives as unofficial national anthems. His most recent output has been in the Icelandic language culminating in a brand new album released this very week. His shows are as strong as his records. Highly recommended. 02 Murr Murr (live) by mugison
Olafur Arnalds makes music that is not my natural habitat. I think we can call it Modern Classical, or even Electronic Classical. Whatever, it's spellbinding, it's beautiful and live, it makes my jaw drop. Like many others, I was tempted in by his fascinating "Found Songs" project of a few years ago for which he wrote and recorded one song per day for a week - each was available immediately as a free download. From there I explored his earlier work and since then his newer stuff. I've seen his shows at Iceland Airwaves each of the last two years, and in London twice in that time also. It's really quite odd and refreshing amongst the insanity of Airwaves to watch a show, always packed solid, where the audience is in respectful and then enraptured silence until the final note of each song has faded. Do yourself a favour, take this experience and keep an eye next week here, on his new project, "Living Room Songs", if it's half as original and exciting as Found Songs, it will be a real treat.
The 5th spot would normally have been for the amazing FM Belfast. I can't believe that we won't get news of an Iceland Airwaves 2011 appearance or two from this absolutely brilliant live band. And if and when that happens, then I command you to be there (in your underwear). But since I can't 100% guarantee that they will be there, and with remorse directed at, amongst others, Retro Stefson, Mammut, Prinspolo, Petur Ben, Nora, Sin Fang, Bloodgroup, Sykur, Quadruplos, Endless Dark, Thorir, Sudden Weather Change & Vicky, let's talk about the mighty, mighty HAM. I've only seen them the once, last year, but I'll be doing my best to be there again this year as they take to the Iceland Airwaves stage. HAM (the capitalisation is crucial, and an indication of the noise) are probably Iceland's biggest ever hard (understatement) rock band, they were first active in the late 80s but until last year's reunion for Airwaves had been off the scene for some time. They reformed last year and the show was packed with Icelanders (always a good sign for music and mayhem). Oh, and they're Bjork's favourite Icelandic band so if you plan on doing any Bjork-spotting, that show might be a good place to be! Since last year's reunion, they have recorded and just released a brand new album, which sold out it's initial production in weeks. Let's hope the stores are re-stocked before Airwaves!
So there you go, my five point plan for utter Iceland Airwaves brilliance. And bring your wallets too, all 5 have just released or are just about to release new albums. Happy Days!
Iceland Airwaves is almost here again. A lot has happened since the last one (and here he is pictured choosing his own favourite Icelandic CD coincidentally titled "Don't Want To Sleep"). This nice little amateur blog suddenly gets a hell of a lot more hits around this time of year, and as normal I've had a few lovely folks getting in touch asking for bits and pieces of help and Iceland Airwaves advice (I know! FROM ME!). So I will give it a bash, and these are all in response to real questions I've had...
Yes. It is as amazing as everyone says.
No. I have no idea how they produce quite so many absolutely thrillingly incredible bands.
No. I don't think it's the glaciers.
Yes. It is brilliantly organised.
Yes. The daytime "off-venue" stuff is at least as essential as the evening stuff. You shouldn't have a waking moment to spare.
Yes. You can buy me a drink. And I'll buy you one back.
Yes. There are queues sometimes for some venues. But don't join them, it means there is space elsewhere, go do something unplanned - you'll probably find something incredible. It mostly is.
Yes. You should plan for it to be cold, wet and windy. It's likely.
No. The venues aren't very far apart, all within 800 metres or so. Enough time to get wet.
No. You can't smoke inside venues.
Yes. You should bring lots of money to buy music, you will want to.
and I've done this bit before...
The best place to read about all of it is here, sorry I mean The Reykjavik Grapevine free newspaper and awesome website. The best record store is 12 Tónar. The best coffee comes from Kaffifélagið The best hangover breakfast comes from Prikið.
So the next post right here, and very soon, will answer the much asked question, "WHO SHOULD I GO AND SEE?"
After that, the normal artist interviews will start, and there will be some new names this time, I've been brave! All the old ones are still on the archive.
The Sugarcubes were my first Icelandic music love, but they were swiftly followed into my early 90s Icelandic pop affections by Bellatrix, or Kolrassa krókríðandi (translation available here), as we used to know them. They were an (initially) all-girl punk-rock band who I would listen to over and over again.
20 or so years later, lead singer Eliza Newman is still making music. In the intervening years, she has training as an opera singer and learned loads of fancy instruments, and moved (mainly I think) to London but those pop tunes are still magical.
Despite that move to London I have still seen Eliza perform more often in Reykjavik than in London, most recently at Iceland Airwaves 2010 headlining the night curated by Trúbatrix - the umbrella which promotes Icelandic female singers.
Happily then, this morning a new CD from Eliza arrived in my mail. The new record is called "Pie In The Sky" and contains 10 (or 11 if you 'go digital') new but reassuringly familiar sounding tunes - Eliza writes classic pop and has a beautiful voice and an ear for instrumental embellishments. I've only heard the record twice but those tunes are working away at embedding themselves into my brain, and they're very welcome. Hopeless Case, and particularly Star Wars Bar are the early favourites.
I was lucky enough to interview Eliza just before she played at Iceland Airwaves 2010, you can read it right here if you wish.
And, finally, I'm resolved to upping my attendance record at her reasonably frequent London shows, so I hope to see you at one of these upcoming opportunities to hear some sweet pop songs:
So, Happy New Year. Blogs everywhere are full of top tips for music in 2011. I'm not going to give that a go, mine would (as always) be full of Icelandic acts! Having said that, I will say that I've been clicking on a lot of these 2011 tips and have found 2 bands that sound really promising, Cults and Love Remains. Both fairly lo-fi, but affecting on my early listens. Anyhow, I have no reason to talk about 2011, I haven't finished my 'best of' 2010 lists yet, but it's coming. And in fact, as 2 people pointed out (and frankly I'm staggered that anyone is paying that sort of attention) I never posted the 2009 lists on here. If I get one request to see the 2009 lists I'll put them up. I'm so on the ball.
There's a fair bit going on in the world of Icelandic music. Jónsi finished off his world tour in Reykjavik with a hugely anticipated show. When I saw him in London it was a wonderful (and incredibly hot as I remember) night. This reviewer was impressed, especially by the drummer.
Retro Stefson have been going down a storm in Holland, Bloodgroup are doing a European tour which seems to mainly been restricted to Germany. In fact Germany seems to be miles ahead of us (U.K.) in terms of loving and attracting those lovely Icelanders. In my other life in book publishing I read recently that over 100 books by Icelandic authors were published in Germany in 2010, I shall get to work on putting that right! That was from a recent edition of Iceland Review which also contained a deservedly praise-filled article about Amiina's new album and shows.
There are few albums I'm catching up on (and therefore won't be in my 2010 lists, they'll be 2011 instead - my game, my rules). I've just received Agent Fresco's full length debut, "A Long Time Listening" but haven't had a listen yet. I'm looking forward to it, the reviews have been mainly excellent and although I've not yet fallen in love with them, maybe that's coming. An album I can't wait to get hold of is Apparat Organ Quartet's long time coming, "Polyfonia" - judging by their Airwaves 2010 show, the advance track "Cargo Frakt" and the words of everyone I know who has heard it, it's an album that will be bothering the upper reaches of the 2011 list! Finally Benni Hemm Hemm have a new release "Skot" which I'm hoping to get hold of at their London show (YIPPEE!) on January 27th.
Talking of London shows, the musical highlight of the first quarter of this year is pretty certain to be Ólafur Arnalds show at The Tabernacle on Feb 7th. I've never seen him play outside of Reykjavik before and this is a very happy coming together of wonderful artist and brilliant venue. Can't wait. I thought it was sold out but there do appear to be tickets at this link. You can also read a recent feature on him from The Observer newspaper (published recently, but I think I'm right in saying that the interview was done during Airwaves).
Finally, I'm off to the U.S. very shortly for a quick visit which will include a spare few hours in New York. All suggestions for using that time (cool record stores perhaps) will be gratefully received... Happy New Year!
Airwaves Saturday is always a pleasure. And after an incredibly great Airwaves Friday, a lot to match up to. The afternoon session with a quick look in at a couple of off venue gigs. Firstly was Of Monsters & Men (below, right), the winners of this year’s battle of the bands competition.
They played in the lovely bookshop, Bókabúð Máls og Menningar, and had drawn a decent crowd. I really enjoyed their tunes which sound really different (better) than the MP3s I had managed to download pre-Airwaves. I was really impressed; I hope they will be playing again next year. Next, I quickly popped across Laugavegur to Hemmi Og Valdi (such a lovely hangout) to see Eliza Newman play a few songs. My only complaint was that the store was so full I couldn’t get to the coffee bar, but Eliza’s gorgeous acoustic, and mostly new, tunes combined with the atmosphere and coziness to make it the perfect place to be on a windy, wet afternoon.
Which is why I left to head to a couple of outdoor gigs down the road at the Nikita skate shop, or in their back garden to be more accurate. I arrived in good time to see British band Yunioshi (above) who I had made internet friends (!) with but had yet totally failed to see (sorry). Firstly, this venue was pretty cool. There was a wooden shack-like stage in the grassy back yard of the shop. The stage was covered but the audience were mostly huddled under a tarpaulin suspended between two tall trees, one of which had a bicycle on top of it. A few small children were running around, clambering up the muddy slopes at the rear of the yard and generally being entertaining. The atmosphere was fun. Yunioshi were as good as I thought they would be from the E.P. I had heard. Keyboards, sometimes guitar, good vocals, great bets and a fun stage presence combined to make this a lot of fun. This is certainly a band to keep an eye on back in the UK. Just occasionally their sound reminded me of an old band very dear to my heart, Collapsed Lung. The mighty fine Yunioshi were followed by, yep you guessed it – another set from Reykjavik! (below) Possibly the first time I’ve seen them outdoors? What can I say – I loved them again. If I love them in the pouring rain of a chilly Icelandic back yard, I’m always going to love them. They didn’t play my new favourite “Cats” this time but there will be another chance (oh yes). Haukur and Boas both ended up in the audience and in the mud as we could all have predicted. The whole crowd were involved by the end, except for those small children who – for the first time – sat motionless, staring at the stage. I can’t explain that.
At that Reykajvik! gig, they were missing one guitarist, who was sound-checking with his other, new band, Lazy Blood (below) for their show opening the night at Factorý – so that is where I started. Factorý had about 20 people in it when they came on stage, a massive shame as this was a full-on assault on the senses. This duo were giving it everything vocally over a wall of electronic sound, they were visibly shattered a few songs in, emotionally drained. There were veins popping out all over the place and some audience members didn’t quite know how to act as they writhed around the floor at their feet. I’m really glad I saw this, an unexpected, dizzying high. I then raced down to the Art Museum where I wanted to catch Danish electro dudes Spleen United who had been highly recommended. The venue was again running late so I actually arrived before they even took to the stage. That turned out to be a good thing; I enjoyed their set and the members of the remarkably large early evening crowd (already taking their positions for Robyn several hours later) were all feeling pretty much the same way judging by the nodding heads.
There followed a whistle-stop tour of venues before the next main event etched into my planning. I saw a bit of the wonderfully named, but underwhelming Just Another Snake Cult in Sódóma. Then I popped into Nasa where Factory Floor were playing a set that got mostly great reviews but just didn’t do it for me. Finally, off to Iðno where I saw the end of a set by Codes In The Clouds at the Erased Tapes night. I really did just see the last couple of minutes, which sounded good and judging by the ecstatic applause as they left the stage they had just done a fine job.
I was at Iðno to see Olafur Arnalds (photo above from Iceland Airwaves flickr) – the venue was actually less full than last year’s show in the same venue. This time the audience were seated on the floor which created a relaxed and hushed atmosphere (apart from when I knocked over that bottle, sorry) which was such a pleasant contrast from last year’s sweatbox. The show itself was wonderful. This is classical music for the new generation, it wasn’t stuffy or elitist but it was charming. Everyone on stage was relaxed and dressed down. A brief pause for technical issues was field by relaxed small talk and a happy birthday to a violinist. Plus, the music is gorgeous. Everyone in that room was transfixed by the sounds coming from Olafur’s machinery, four violins and one of Bloodgroup at the back making beats (I think I have that right). I apologetically don’t know the names of these songs – the only two I could name weren’t in this set but it doesn’t matter one bit. The whole thing was a beautiful experience, professional yet relaxed, classical yet completely modern and relevant to me. A complete triumph.
I left Iðno happy and headed to Nasa to await the triumphant return of Icelandic legends Apparat Organ Quartet (above). Before that I was fortunate to catch the last part of Mount Kimbie’s great sounding set. I had just kind of assumed their stuff wouldn’t work live but I was happy to be proved wrong. The crowd swelled afterwards though, and I’d bet that it was Icelander heavy and Nasa was full despite the rumours of a very full Art Museum and insanely long queue snaking around the harbour all trying to see Swedish pop uber-star Robyn. Apparat were greeted in the traditional way, hundreds of people making their logo with two hands above their heads, it made the venue look pretty. The set was fantastic – a mixture of old and new, with the new easily standing up to the standard of time-worn classics. Once again, an Iceland Airwaves set finished, the lights came up to reveal a sweaty, exhausted crowd. But the show must go on, out into the streets again.
This time the target was new venue, Tjarnarbío, for the last 2 acts of a Ghostigital curated evening. Firstly, I love this venue. And old cinema I believe, and of just the right size with a floor downstairs big enough for a few hundred and seats up above. Oh, and a quiet bar (at least when I needed it). I was here to see the mighty Ghostigital, headlining their own curated night. I was also here for the most intriguing event of the week – Icelandic band Sudden Weather Change (indie, guitars) performing a set made up only of Ghostigital covers. A very courageous undertaking indeed, not only taking on another band’s body of work but also a band so singular, as unusual as Ghostigital. I just did not know what to expect.
They were brilliant (above). I can’t imagine how many hours and days they dedicated to getting this show to state of excellence it was performed in. This was dedication and musicianship of the highest order mixed with Sudden Weather Change’s usual sense of fun and Ghostigital’s sense of humour. Their take on the classic “Not Clean” was absolutely superb and ridiculously enjoyable. I was close to Einar and Curver from Ghostigital in the crowd and I’m happy to report that they were smiling and nodding throughout. This idea worked wonderfully.
The real Ghostigital (above) followed this onto the stage of Tjarnarbío. They were as excellent as ever, Einar was the brilliantly engaging front man that he always is. Half story-teller, half madman, he rules his stage and has his audience engrosses and transfixed. This year the band was bigger, with most of The Sugarcubes on stage (plus the most famous one of all in the audience) and a good part of Reykjavik’s latest political rulers in attendance. The gig was utterly compelling – the most carried away with the music that I was at any of my 55 shows. The let down of the show ending was replaced by the entire venue demanding an encore, and Ghostigital obliged (I think this was genuinely unplanned) and the dancers amongst us (not me) got up on stage and joined in (below). Magic.
And that wasn't even the end. There was still time to hotfoot it (wrong word in Reykjavik) back to Nasa for another chance to see Retro Stefson (below). After seeing them play in the marquee outside of Hresso it was good to see them play their main show of the festival to a packed and sweaty Nasa. The set was similar to a couple of days ago, and that's totally not a complaint. Retro Stefson area good-time party band, with each performance they seem to grow in confidence and know how to work, and please, a crowd. They were wonderful in London a few months ago, but have improved further since then. With a good second album now out with great tracks like Kimba and Mama Angola to prove they have some staying power, the future looks bright indeed.
Friday started with the very bad news that Lee had to get home in an emergency. Once the swift arrangements had been made and I’d taken him off to the bus station it was time to meet with fellow bloggers Bob, Wim, Elly & Katie for the so called “brunch of legends” - an excuse to catch-up and chat and gossip about this lovely little scene we’ve all somehow ended up a part of. Clearly the B in this brunch stood for booze, and there was no hint of food happening, so once we emptied onto the street and into the rain (again), food was high on the agenda. Noticing that cool French electro dudes were about to play in Hresso we headed there. It turned out that this was a dj set rather than a ‘performance’ but it was pleasant background music for a large and lamby burger. It was also around this time that we received ‘word’ from ‘the man’ that there was to be a rather exciting and (kind of) secret performance by the doubly marvellous Reykajvik! and FM Belfast after the afternoon screening of Backyard up at the Bío Paradis cinema.
Until that time I had a whistle-stop hour visiting three different off-venue shows. Firstly, I couldn’t resist the chance to see Pascal Pinon (right) again, who were great in the intimate Eymundsson bookshop on Skólavörðustígur. Then, swiftly up the road to 12 Tonar to look in (from the outside) at a packed gig by Canadian electro artist Diamond Rings, which sounded fabulous. Finally, another bookshop set - this time at Bókabúð Máls og Menningar featuring the well-named and great-sounding and really wonderful vocals of trio Reptile & Retard who were certainly giving it there all in this cute bookstore.
Then to the cinema to find that not only Reykajvik! (above) were, as rumoured, setting up for their set but also I found excellent Brazilian dude, Elzio, who I hadn’t seen since last year’s Airwaves. Needless to say, I absolutely loved seeing two of my favourite bands in this small space. Reykajvik! were as great and loud and passionate as ever, the new songs were again my highlights. This was my first look at FM Belfast (below) this year, I know they’ve been busy touring around Europe and even in this small space, unsuited to live dance music, they excelled and showed the confidence of another year’s touring. A couple of new songs were thrown in, assuring us all that they weren’t to be a one album wonder. Their show was dynamic and interactive, as it needed to be to work in that space. If they were pulling out a show this good in this cinema foyer, what on earth were they going to do in Nasa on Sunday night? An incredible hour spent in the company of two of the best bands Iceland has to offer, and a perfect distillation of why I and many others keep coming back year after year.
Friday night started with a bang, well not literally a bang – more an onslaught of really loud music. Standing at the front of Iðno, on the right, next to the massive speaker may have been a mistake for The Vandelles set. This was fuzzy guitar rock, kind of like The Raveonettes and perhaps Iceland’s own Singapore Sling. I liked it they sounded good, they looked good and they rocked hard. It was sweaty work in a venue as consistently hot as anything in Iceland. But I was mainly here in order to bag a good spot to see Mugison, always around the top of my must-see list. Mugison started off as playing electronically driven folky tunes before becoming a all out guitar rock God. His Iceland Airwaves 2010 slot was a perfect coming together of both styles. He was backed by a rock band (featuring Petur Ben as ever on guitar) but also had his self-designed instrument (the mugifone?) which added electronic noise to the classic rock line-up. At various times he was joined by the singer from Dr Spock who spat and shouted his way around the stage and by a choir of young women, who did neither of those things when they joined on the set closer. All the popular songs were accompanied by mass singalongs, especially Mugiboogie, Murr Murr and the rousing Sweetest Melody – I’m not sure why Mugison ended up in this relatively small venue, he clearly retains a large and loud following here.
I headed out of Iðno buzzing after that performance. I popped in on two shows, Nolo in Venue and Prinspóló in Amsterdam, which were both fine – I enjoyed Prinspóló a lot more than on Wednesday. Next I wanted to watch Dikta play in the Art Museum, something I also did last year. Dikta are the kind of band, I must admit, that probably wouldn’t get my attention were they not from Iceland. But they are, so there I was. This is evidently a band on top of their particular game – the Art Museum was packed and noisy s Dikta turned out soft indie rock with sweeping, singable choruses – the locals loved it, and it was impressive how they filled this cavernous (relatively) venue with noise much more than many larger overseas acts I have seen there.
I left half way through the set to do a little more venue hopping. Firstly I went to see Me, The Slumbering Napoleon in Amsterdam (I like this venue a lot). I saw the band last year as well and they were good once more, clearly fans of Hendrix, they do it well. After that I was intrigued enough to go back to the Art Museum to see what Everything Everything were like. They’ve had a lot of radio play and hype in the UK so this seemed like a chance to have a look. Unfortunately for some reason there was a frustratingly long wait for them to come on stage and the large crowd were pretty restless. Nevertheless as the lights finally dropped there was a huge cheer. I’m afraid I left after two songs, I found the voice vaguely irritating (much more so than on record) and I decided my time was better spent elsewhere.
Back to Amsterdam again to have a look at The Caterpillarmen (great name) . People in there were loving this lot and their prog-rock influences, and the singers marvellous hair. They were fun, and better than what I had just come from. Next up was Hafdis Huld (above) in Risið, having seen Hafdis several times last year this was my only chance to see her this year. As ever I found her an engaging, cuter than cute performer with some really excellent songs. Most of this set came from her latest, second, album and as with the previous night it was a real shame that Risið was so sparsely populated. I headed straight of the road to have a look at Hurts, another much hyped UK band. They were such a contrast to Everything Everything. I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed the performance, and the clearly fabulous set of tunes they're packing - yes, they could hardly be more "eighties" but so what, I had enormous fun, everyone was singing and smiling. Hurts (photo, right, from grapevine) were loud and technically very good indeed. They were having fun, interacting and seemed (convincingly) to be really pleased to be in Reykjavik.
I did leave this one slightly before the end but this was no reflection on Hurts, this was because I wanted to be sure of getting a good spot to see Nóra at Iðno. Nóra have been getting a lot of good local press for their debut album and having enjoyed that a lot I was really keen to see them. Iðno was comfortably full and the band clearly do have a loyal local following. I had no idea what they even looked like before they ambled onto the stage. There’s a lot of them (6 or 7?) and I must admit I’m over the sight of kids wearing bow ties and cardigans (!), but I can’t fault the way they sounded at all. They played the vast majority of the album, it all sounded great (highlights were Haeðir, Skóflaðu Mér and especially the wonderful Bólaheiðfall) and was really well received – this is a gentle, well-put together folky brand of indie music, the two main voices complement each other very well. This is the best new Icelandic band I’ve seen in 2010. A fabulous end to a musical feast of a day.
Thursday morning in Reykjavik and there was no rain. According to the forecasts this was to be a rare moment during Iceland Airwaves 2010 so Lee & I set out on a whistle-stop tourist tour of Reykjavik by foot – I added to my collection of photos of Hallgrimskirkja just to prove the blue sky existed. A combination of hitting the tourist trail and a long, lazy, huge lunch at Vegamot meant that the daytime schedule passed me by, so the energy was up for the evening session which promised to include my first sight of new band Pascal Pinon and a trio of old favourites – Reykjavik!, My Summer As A Salvation Soldier and Jan Mayen.
First stop, as on Wednesday, was Sódóma. This time though in contrast it was almost empty – a good sign for the evening ahead but not great for the first band up tonight, the 59’s. The venue continued to fill up slowly throughout a fun set of rockabilly numbers, led by a limelight-loving (hogging?) double-bass player whose accent suggested roots closer to London than this capital city.
At the close of their set, we made an immediate move to the almost adjacent venue, Risið. This was my first visit, it’s a nice small bar (same design as the Cheers bar), not perhaps logistically perfect for a gig but really cute and intimate all the same. It also featured toilets with no labelling, so finding out which one was intended for your particular gender was achieved by trial and error. Enough bathroom detail, I was here to see Pascal Pinon whose album, “Pascal Pinon” and in particular the song, “I Wrote a Song” had enchanted me over the summer. The first thing to strike me was how young they are. I mean I already knew that but in person it’s very obvious. They were shy and very quiet indeed but the quality of the playing and the voices overcame that, I thought they were a delight and the aforementioned song was my absolute highlight.
Off to Nasa next where an evening of Iceland rock was in progress, destined to culminate later with local legends S.H.Draumur and HAM. For now we caught the very end of a set from Kimono which I wish I had seen more of, especially as I’d enjoyed their latest album “Easy Music For Difficult People” so much. Next up, for the first but not last time at this year’s Airwaves were Reykjavik! These guys are always amongst my festival highlights. I can’t give an unbiased review. Their Nasa show was great, although I enjoy them more in smaller spaces - they have the most incredible stage energy (above). I watched from the side of Nasa as the crowd slowly, and then quickly, became embroiled in a riotous moshpit led by front-man Boas (below) as ever. For me, the highlights this time were the two new songs, Internet & Cats which I hadn’t seen live before. Cats in particular sounded just as fantastic as it does recorded. By the end of the set Nasa was hot and full, but we were headed out into the streets to see what else was going on.
Landing at Sódóma again, we found that Finnish band, Le Corps Mince De Francoise were partway through their set of electronic dance stuff. Before the festival I had been impressed by what I heard, but live they were a little weaker sounding although they had an infectious sense of fun. We had managed to find a spot in Sódóma which had proximity to both the bar and some fresh air, so we stayed put to see Danish band, Oh No Ono (right). This was a nice surprise, danceable indie music fronted by a guy with incredibly high curly hair, and hence an excellent silhouette. As well as this, he had an amazingly high voice which I hadn’t noticed somehow on the tracks I’d heard before Airwaves. I have to credit Lee here, who christened the genre “Fraggle Rock”.
Next it was back to Risið to see My Summer As A Salvation Soldier. The first thing that struck me here was that it was almost empty; there were maybe 30 people in there. Sure, it was between bands, but surely there couldn’t be that many people trying to work out which toilet they should be using. A couple of quick enquiries at the bar told me that the previous act had not gone down well and the place had emptied out. A massive shame as it never really re-filled and thus the set by MSAASS was played out to a pitifully attended bar and the atmosphere suffered badly. Þórir was joined on stage by a drummer and bassist and as a result his fragile songs were louder and bigger than I was used to, and some of their personality and fragility was perhaps lost. That said, the songs themselves were as good as ever, but the moments when the sound was stripped back to just voice and guitar were wonderful.
We finished the night with two bands in Amsterdam, which by the way is a very welcome addition to the Airwaves venue list. It’s a tidy stage at the end of a long bar. The fruit machines at the back are slightly surreal (for a gig, not a bar) especially when they start bleeping and paying out mid-song. Jaakko & Jay (right) were an excellent surprise. This Finnish duo made a hell of a noise between them and their brand of folk-punk (?) created more atmosphere in a packed Amsterdam than anyone else I saw in there all week long. These guys are engaging, fun performers armed with short, fast, breathless songs which they scatter around like sonic bullets. They were followed by a long-time favourite of mine on the Icelandic scene, Jan Mayen. Maybe it was the end of the night, and my brain was slowing down but it really sounded like these guys had entered some sort of mature phase – the pace and franticness which I love about their work seemed to be lessened. The tunes sounded slower and more considered when all I really wanted was the same set I’ve seen them do for the last 6 years. It will be interesting to hear any new material they’re working on.
All in all, this was a good night, with Pascal Pinon, Reykajvik! and Jaakko & Jay (Lee’s band of the day) the big winners. Thursday was a whole lot better than Wednesday, let’s hope the upturn continues.
Day one at Iceland Airwaves is the culmination of months of planning and anticipation. By the time I got to Gatwick I was very well aware that if the journey went well I would arrive in time to dump bags, have a quick coffee and head straight out either to catch Rökkurró in 12 Tonar or to see Mammút and then Retro Stefson in Hressó. Gladly, Iceland Express were indeed bang on time and the flybus was waiting, so as predicted arrival at the lovely Luna apartments was followed swiftly by exit into the streets of Reykjavik.
I headed for Hressó to find my first cold beer of the week. There I found a newly erected tent in the empty space to the side of the bar housing a small stage and enough room for a couple of hundred spectators - including for the first, but not last, time this week Wim, Elly & Katie. This was a risk free choice, Mammút (right) & Retro Stefson (further down, right) are excellent bands and both delighted the small audience with tight, hook-ridden sets which promised much for their larger scale shows to come. Retro Stefson were about to (the following day!) release their new album, Kimbabwe, but their set continued to include the cream of their debut - and they closed with party anthem Senseni.
Back to the flat for a quick pizza and off out again with friend and Airwaves virgin Lee, who had agreed to name an independent and unbiased band of the day for this very blog. First stop, obviously, was Hotel Plaza to collect wristbands - I was of course delighted to find I had one with the word darling on it. So delighted in fact, that I took a photo (below).
At the outset, this looked like an evening to be split between Venue (Benni Hemm Hemm, Sin Fang), Nasa (Bloodgroup, Mammút - again!) and Sódóma (Pétur Ben, Ólafur Arnalds, Dikta). It didn't end up that way, it seemed like for once everyone was already in town for the Wednesday and so with only six of the ten official venues in operation the main sight of the day was queues. The warning signs were there early on, arriving in Sódóma at just after 8 to see Pétur Ben I was surprised to see the venue already almost at capacity. I watched most of his set with a craned neck, and what I caught proved that he was as good as ever - sophisticated song-writing, good voice, tremendous guitarist - after a few year's break from playing at Airwaves. I gave up after 4 or 5 songs and headed out to find somewhere quieter, but there were long lines at all the venues that I had in mind. So, I did what you must do at Airwaves in such situations, follow your nose and see what you find.
There was space in Amsterdam, and as so often we happened upon a pretty good show by a band I hadn't come across before, let alone knew how to say - Sjálfsprottin Spévísi. They played a decent indie-rock set with a clear ska influence, I shall check them out further. Out into the street again to spot that, wait, no queue at Venue? So we rocked in there to see Prinspóló, a band named after a chocolate bar filled entirely with members of other bands that I really like (Skakkamanage, Reykjavik!, FM Belfast, Sudden Weather Change) - what could go wrong? Well, the two songs I saw were fine, but the chat between songs was so much longer than the time spent performing the music. I can't complain, this is Iceland so it's fair enough to speak in the native tongue, and whatever was being said was clearly pretty funny. But despite a few abortive past attempts to learn Icelandic I had no idea what was going on and frustrated, I went out again to find some actual songs.
Surprisingly I ended up next in Apótekið, a venue I pretty much assumed I wouldn't visit, the music in there is not usually my kind of thing. But there was no queue outside, space at the bar and music happening. Rafgashaus were in the middle of a loud and hugely entertaining set. Good, fun dance tunes being performed well by a trio including a man dressed in oil rig worker style dungarees. Entertainment - especially during the song which I assume was called "Picture Man" which he sang with a heavy looking picture frame around his head. The next act, Fu Kaisha, didn't inspire - to the extent that without a clear view of the stage we weren't actually sure if they had begun or not. We gave it a few minutes but were soon emerging again into the drizzle and headed up for the long (well a few minutes) trek up to Faktory, partly just to make sure Lee had seen all available venues.
In Faktory were a duo called Stereo Hypnosis, a father and son duo apparently. They were busy over decks and keyboards and were clearly going through a religious style experience as a result. Not us however, this ambient electronic music didn't fit the mood and we determined to head back from whence we had come to search for alternatives. With Nasa, Sódóma and Venue (although we heard Miri form the base of the staircase before turning around) now clearly packed and with queues, the bands in there would clearly not be on tonight's agenda. Once again we found refuge, bar space, Iceland Bob and most importantly of all, guitar music, in Amsterdam. This time it was in the form of the marvellously named (and coiffured), The Vintage Caravan (right). They turned out to be the last band of the night and were a pretty decent way to finish. These kids, aged sixteen apparently, are clearly big fans of Led Zeppelin - they looked, dressed and sounded like their heroes, they headbanged impressively, they made a good, authentic seventies rock noise. And they made me smile and nod. Then it was back to the flat via, of course, a hot dog. Not the best day one, and certainly not as I had planned. Lee's band of the day were Sjálfsprottin Spévísi, but I was hoping for better luck in the days to come.
So another year of Iceland Airwaves is over. I've got a load of notes and a load of (occasionally good) photos and even some shaky video and I'll get to it and get something (a lot) posted once the mists clear, the ears stop throbbing and sleep patterns stabilise.
It's a fair summary of the mood and brilliance throughout the week that the festival ended on Monday morning at about 1am with about 20 guys on the stage (and being carried around the crowd) in Nasa in just their underwear, singing what must have been the 20th chorus of FM Belfast's alternative national anthem for Iceland, "Underwear". This after a set that included a few new tracks, most of their debut album and an amazing array of cover versions of songs by Technotronic, Snap, Guns n Roses, Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder, The Teenagers plus their classic take on Rage Against The Machine's festive song.
They were the second act to bust out the cover versions. One of the many absolute highlights of the week was watching one Icelandic band perform an entire set of cover versions of another. Brilliant work by Sudden Weather Change taking on the work of Ghostigital and somehow, thrillingly, pulling it off.
For now though, huge thanks to everyone who contributed to another amazing (the best yet?) Iceland Airwaves, particularly...
Einar Örn is one of my very few proper, all out, musical heroes. Along with Bjork and The Sugarcubes he started my love, some would say obsession, with all things Icelandic back in 1987/1988. That may have been his most public peak but Einar was a busy and influential part of the Icelandic punk scene before The Sugarcubes, most notably with Kukl and Purrkur Pillnikk. Since The Sugarcubes he has headed up the record label Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) and the associated record store and has recently helped comedian Jan Gnarr become Reykjavik's mayor and has a seat on the City Council himself. And all of this time he has continued to produce staggering, innovative, unique music with Ghostigital with his partner in crime, the utter electronics genius, Curver. Ghostigital shows have always been essential, from the year they had the whole of the Nasa venue dancing as one sweaty mass, to the year they very literally blew up the sound system in Gaukurrin to last year when they played in the daytime in a room full of dry ice so thick you had no idea what was around you. I cannot tell you how excited I was to have a conversation with this guy...
Hello Sir, where are you right now and what are you doing?
I have just returned from a Reykjavik city council meeting. I will be cooking supper quite soon, then I will contact Curver for next weeks performance.
You seem to have a lot going on - musician, the label, the shop, vice-president of the best political party - what's occupying you the most right now?
Mostly answering emails and spending time on the phone, and sitting in a chair, trying not to turn into a chair myself.
You were very involved in comedian Jan Gnarr becoming the mayor of Reykjavik, with the aim of "making Reykjavik an enjoyable place" - how is it going? Will October 13-17 be enjoyable?
October is always enjoyable. It is my Birthday month, and Iceland Airwaves does not spoil the month at all.
I once asked Mark the reverse question so - how was working with Mark E Smith on "Not Clean"?
What can one say but, recording in a hotel room in manchester is certainly an experience. Check Curver's facebook to see a photo from the session or after the session.
Can I ask you what song you are most proud to have been involved in is?
All songs are quite good, but i do believe that the whole of Einar örn Ghostigital record is one hell of song in itself still. Very complete and good.
A lot of people will want me to ask you how you write your lyrics?
The lyrics are stories. Maestro Ken Thomas urged me to write my stories, as I was a story teller a decade ago, so these days I say stories. I have a start to a story, then I end it. The way it works in the studio with Curver, is we a have song and I start a story to fit the song, we go over it, and I improvise the story, so it evolves and finally we are happy, and we have a lyric. Previously I have written poetry, which have been the key to a lyric in a song, which like in The Sugarcubes, evolved around what Björk was writing. In both these cases it is a matter of feedback. In Purrkur Pillnikk I started writing lyrics, sometimes as poetry, but I then discovered it as a key, a tool to open up my thought.
How do you describe the Ghostigital sound? I can't find a way, wikipedia goes for "electronic beat music, drawing in elements of dub, hip-hop, rock and noise, combined with Einar's idiosyncratic worldview" - any good?
I am not idiosyncratic, I describe the world as I see it. That might be idiosyncratic. Ghostigital always pushes the envelope a little bit further. We thought we were pop, now we realize we are somewhere else, somewhere where no one else is, and it feels not lonely but good.
There will be 5 other bands playing at Iceland Airwaves at the same time as you - so why should people choose the Ghostigital experience?
For the simple reason we are unique and play few concerts, every concert might be our last, so at least me and Curver will not for the love of our life, try to miss it. That is good enough reason.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Every band at Airwaves deserves to be there, but we curated our night, with the artists we wanted to see, so that explains a little what we are wanting to see and not miss.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
If you get lost, walk back, and take a right, you will find something.
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Ghostigital are playing in the new venue, Tjarnarbíó, on Staurday at midnight. Not only that but they have curated the whole line-up at that venue on that day. Check it out.
Haukur is a special character. You will see him everywhere in Reykjavik all year around, but especially during Iceland Airwaves. He has not one, but two of the best jobs in the world. Firstly he is editor of the most awesome newspaper, The Reykjavik Grapevine - seriously, the first thing to do on every trip is to get hold of the latest issue. Secondly, and even more importantly, he is guitarist in the world's greatest live rock band (according to me) Reykjavik! (they're not from Reykjavik - crazy Icelanders). HE know his stuff, which is why I asked him about some stuff, all sorts of stuff...
Hi Haukur, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Hey Mark. I am in my living room, just working on stuff. I do a lot of that, as it were. Turns out I am finishing our fancy ICELAND AIRWAVES special (for the Grapevine, you know). It's fun! Then, I didn't manage to finish writing this thing when I started writing it. So now, the Airwaves special is out, and I am at KB, preparing to shoot the final shots for a video we're making with the mighty Árni Sveinsson of BACKYARD infamy!
What are the plans for grapevine during Airwaves this year?
Man. We really wanted to do dailies again. But unfortunately, our TOTAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE doesn't allow for it :( -- print costs are up, sponsoship $$$ is down.. So instead we're writing a special Airwaves issue full of info and niceties, and then we'll be posting reviews of every single act on our website daily. And interviews and stuff. Maybe competitions? Like we did last year. That was fun, right?
So it'll be a lot of work. But work is fun. Unless you have a shitty job. I am very familiar with those. I used to work a lot in the fishing industry. The pay wasn't so good, and it totally kills your body. And your mind. But it's OK sometimes. Yeah. Fishing industry. Might go back there sometime. Who knows?
As well as editor of grapevine, you are guitarist in the band, Reykjavik! - will they be getting a good review this year?
I... don't know? I never write our reviews, and you can rest assured that I never try and steer my writers' opinion on anything. Especially not my band. That would be shitty and awful of me. Also, it's kinda like winning a boardgame with cheating, you know. That's no fun. Well, maybe if it's a cash game, I don't know. I never gamble. I would probably lose all my money. Anyway. Yeah.
Me being editor might affect the Grapevine's writers, though, for all I know. Most places, writing a bad review on your boss would be sort of frowned upon by that same boss. But we're a pretty anti-establishment rag from what I can tell, and do not promote reverence for authority figures. Myself included. Or I hope we don't.
I might also note that after six years of playing around we've yet to get a single bad review, anywhere. Even places where I'm not editor (we occasionally get mentions in those).
Can you introduce us to the rest of the band?
Sure.
djók!
OK. There's Bóas. He's the singer and uh... we founded the band together based on our mutual love of philosophy, cigarettes and un-shitty emo. He teaches children in his day job, and he also has a couple himself. He is furthermore the only one from the band to not come from Ísafjörður. What a guy! What a guy!
Then there's Valdi. He also merits the exclamation: "What a guy! What a guy!" He used to inspire me with his rockingness back when I was a kid (and he was a slightly older teenager) -- no one else in Ísafjörður had that sneer and irreverence and greasy long hair and total composition that Valdi did. These days, he travels the world composing music for modern dance pieces (he is bff with FABLED MODERN DANCER ERNA ÓMARSDÓTTIR - they also have an awesome band together called LAZYBLOOD) and uhm. Being coo.
There's also Gummi. He's my uncle, and I love him. What a guy! What a guy!
He is loved by all. He is handsome. He has enough common sense and amiability in his body for the rest of the world.
Dude, this is going to take forever! SHEESH!
OK. Kriss Rokk. Drummer. Fucking great guy too. He manages Kimi records now, and he is very knowledgable about all sorts of music. Kristján Freyr Halldórsson, he's called. Gave me a job in a record store when I was young, and I always sought musical guidance from him too. Top notch character!
Then there's Geiri. Ásgeir Sigurðsson. He can fix things, he can laugh at things, he can drink things. He is a charming person, an excellent bass player, an even better guitar player, super smart, gets angry when he's drunk sometimes (it's real fun. He doesn't get angry at *you*, he gets angry at government and shit. His rants are unbelievable).
There will be 5 other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
Because it will be really fun! Oh I don't know. You're all about putting people on the spot there. I guess that you should come see us because maybe there will be something there for you.
I think you played 4 shows last year - can you beat that?
I'm pretty sure we played seven. But sure, we can beat that. We once played twelve in a day (that was rough). However, we're not going to try and beat it this time around. Man, we're always playing everywhere. If folks can't manage to catch us at NASA this year (or at that Nikita garden party), then they will just hafta hunt us down on the street and catch us there. Might play a private show at my house? That would be fun!
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
SLAYER!
Also, Neon Indian and JJ. I hope they're good. Toro Y Moi. That dubstep band, Mt. Kimbie. And Bob Cluness.
Oh and the local bands. They always rule our world.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Uh. Don't be an asshole. See local bands. Don't get picky - most of the bands are pretty good. Read Grapevine. Go swimming. Shop at Havarí. Dare to be surprised. Spend all your money so we can buy new flatscreen TVs and SUVs.
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OK, so a lot of that made great sense. Do not miss Reykajvik at Nasa on Thursday at 9:10pm. Also as Haukur said at Nikita at 5:45pm on Saturday. Loud and fun.
Retro Stefson are undeniably and irresistibly FUN. Ever since i first saw them several Airwaves ago, I've been getting more and more hooked on their, well, hooks. Since then they have visibly grown up before our eyes becoming increasingly confident and never losing their sense of fun. Most recently I saw them at the London Iceland Airwaves preview show in Hoxton. I wasn't surprised at just how thrilling their show was, but their was a roomful of people converted in moments. By the end of the show, the audience were putty in their hands - crouching down on the floor, leaping up, doing Mexican waves - hanging on their every word. At last year's festival, a lot of people quite rightly held up their show alongside FM Belfast as the high point of the week. There are plenty of chances to see Retro Stefson during Iceland Airwaves 2010, they have a brand new album (with fancy looking cover, right) full of songs to play for us, including the fabulous single "Kimba". So if you like a bit of indie disco with world beats and occasional heavy rock mixed with fabulous fun, grab a spot near the front.
Hi Retro Stefson! Where are you right now and what are you doing?
Heylo! We just came from a band practise so I guess everybody is at their house. I´m not sure what they´re doing but I just arrived home after a 30 min bus trip to Grafarholt, awfully tired after a long day and I think I´m just about going to bed and resting for the festival!
Who's in the band?
Unnsteinn Manuel (Singer and guitar), Logi Pedro (Bass), Jon Ingvi (Keyboard), Þorbjorg Roach (Synthesizer), Gylfi (drums), Þórður (Guitar) and Haraldur Ari (Percussion and singer).
How was your trip to London recently? Did we dance enough for you?
It is always enjoyable to play for a new crowd. We had heard the audience can be a little difficult in the UK so we decided just to have fun and enjoy the concert. But as the concert started we realized that you can not stereotype the audience of a whole nation because after a few songs the people started to dance. So we were really happy about the concert and about our stay in London. Great city!
You have a sound that is really difficult to describe, a real melting pot - how do you describe it?
Well, I agree with you it is pretty difficult to describe. We try to mix up the genres we like and and stir it into a great cocktail. The cocktail would be a mixture of a Disco drink, Cuba Libre, Viking, Haribo (the Karamba Coctail, our old workplace) and Fernet Branca.
Your new album, "Kimbabwe" is ready to go - how different is it to your debut?
It is a little bit darker, not emotional but a bit heavier. I think it is also groovier. But of course you have to find out yourself!
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
We are really looking forward to play and we´re very happy about the bands that play before us and after. I think this night is going to be a blast. People are going to be sweaty and have fun. We will guarantee that we will put all our efforts to enjoy the concert and to entertain the audience!
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
The line-up is amazing! The bands I don´t wanna miss are Hercules and Love affair, Bombay Bicycle Club, Amplifites and Dan Deacon. Also some icelandic bands such as Fm Belfast, Moses Hightower and our friends band Lockerbie. But if I´d have to mention all the bands we´re going to see the list would be way too long!
Do you have any tips for getting the most out of Reykjavik and Iceland Airwaves?
Try to see as many bands as you can, dress well, so you woun´t get cold (but the weather has been okay recently, so hopefully that will maintain), and don´t wake up late because there are loads of activities to do during the day such as going to the local swimming pools, going to off-venue events and walking around RVK. ---
Retro Stefson's main venue show is in Nasa at 1am on Saturday night / Sunday morning. In addition there are a few chances to catch them around town. On Wednesday (tomorrow!) they will be performing at 6pm in Hresso, and then on Friday (and I'm not quite sure how this will worK) they play at 5pm in Kormakur & Skjoldur and then at 6pm in Havari.
Dr. Gunni is an Icelandic music legend. These days he's busy the whole time it seems just keeping up his amazing website and blog which is updated so often that I'm ashamed and is constant source of great and unexpected MP3s. He's also a DJ on Icelandic radio and a regular on television, presenting the brilliant pop quiz, Popppunktur, which I have often considered a good enough reason alone for learning Icelandic. Then there's Dr Gunni the journalist; every fresh edition of Grapevine newspaper brings a new installment of his "History Of Icelandic Music". And then of course, there's his music. The good doctor has been a solo artist, a member of the bands Bless and the wonderful Unun and most brilliantly of all, the seminal eighties rock band S.H.Draumur. They're a unique band, if they sound like or influenced by anything it is possibly UK bands like The Fall or Joy Division. They supported the Sugarcubes in the U.K. in 1988. Probably the most exciting, enticing thing about Iceland Airwaves 2010 is that S.H.Draumur will play their first show for 17 years in Nasa at 11pm on Thursday. I could not resist asking (OK, begging) Dr Gunni for a little chat...
Hello Doctor , where are you right now and what are you doing?
I'm fine. I'm sitting in front of my computer in my office. Not listening to anything!
How many jobs do you have? As far as I am aware you are musician, journalist, radio presenter, tv presenter? Anything else?
I don't have any jobs. I just do stuff that I like doing. On top of the things you count up I've worked in a bank, a record store, but these were jobs. I've made Popppunktur board game (the second edition is coming out soon), wrote a children's play, and stuff. I keep forgetting what I have done. Ah yes, sometimes I also pose as a consumer watch dog.
Your "History Of Icelandic Rock" in grapevine has reached part 23, and has made it as far as 1985 - it will be huge by the time you reach 2010! Will the whole thing be compiled?
I guess so yes. This Grapevine thing is based on my book from 2001, but I will write another book about Icelandic rock music from 1956 - 2010. This will come out next year. It's based on the old book but will be completely different also.
What was the greatest year, or your favourite year, in Icelandic music history?
1981 because my youthful brain was so acceptable. Also there were great records coming out: Þeyr, Purrkur Pillnikk, Fræbbblarnir, Taugadeildin, Fan Houtens Kókó. Totally great stuff!
So, the big question, how come so many exceptional bands and so many just plain good bands come from this island? The town I am from in England has a similar population but has produced nothing of note musically. What's the secret?
Ah, the question that EVERYBODY asks. There's no real answer to this. You can either be chauvinistic: It's because Icelandic people are so great, or mystical: It's because of the nature - but neither is right. Maybe it's a mix of many things, the way Icelanders are, the isolation of the country, the freedom and lack of discipline for young Icelandic people... Something like that!
I bought your solo album, "Stori Hvellur", during my first trip to Iceland Airwaves, and I still love it. Do you have a favourite song or band you've been involved in?
S. H. Draumur is the best band I've been in because we were at the right age when we were in the band. Goð is the best album I've done. My 1997 children's album Abbababb! is quite good too and the Unun stuff is fine. All the other stuff is pretty good too!
The resurrection of S.H.Draumur is the big story of the Iceland Airwaves 2010 line-up. This will be your first show for 17 years. How did it come about?
The band split in 1988. We did a failed attempt to re-release our stuff on CD in 1993 and did one show, which was fine. The CD was crap though, the sound was bad and the booklet got fucked up. The band has since disappeared from the collective consciousness of Icelandic music lovers, best shown by the fact that God only scored a number 198 last year when a book about the best Icelandic albums was release. We just want the recognition we deserve! Also my friend Grimur Atlason is the boss of Airwaves now and when he offered us to play and Kimi Records wanted to do the CD, all the puzzles fell in the right places. Also "17 years" is mentioned in the song Glæpur gegn ríkinu (Crime against the State)!
There will be 5 or so other bands playing at Iceland Airwaves at the same time as you - so why should people choose to see S.H.Draumur?
If I need to tell them they can just piss off for all I care.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
The line up is overwhelmingly great. I have most often been too lazy during Airwaves but now I wanna go see lots of stuff. To name only five bands I wanna go see TIMBER TIMBRE, a band I fell in love with after hearing one of their tracks on tv show Breaking Bad, CROCODILES, a cool rock band. I would have gone to see OH NO ONO, but unfortunately they play at the same time as us. SKELKUR Í BRINGU is a fine Icelandic art-skuzz band (I don't know what that means but they're good), NÁTTFARI is a cool band which could have been nearly as big as Sigur Rós, had they kept on (the split and are reforming now) and so on...
And finally, you wrote a guide book last year, so how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Hmmm... Go get coffee at Mokka or Kaffismiðjan, go swim, i.e. at Sundhollin (not in the Blue lagoon - it's a rip off!), go to the flea market at Kolaportid and get some weird food samples like rotten shark at the food court. Also check out record stores Havarí, 12 tónar and Smekkleysa, and the 2nd hand store Lucky records and Geisladiskabud Valda!
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Read Dr Gunni's own article from a recent grapevine about the band here.
As well as the main show above, S.H. Draumur are playing at Havari store on Thursday at 4pm.
Mugison was another of my very early finds at Iceland Airwaves. I was told not to miss his show at the 2004 edition and that proved a great decision. His style has changed a lot over the years, but the inflow of awards has never stopped, from the lo-fi folk of debut, "Lonely Mountain" to the rock God stylings of "Mugiboogie" that saw him supporting Queens Of The Stone Age. Throughout, Mugison has remained a charismatic, warm and massively entertaining performer. He even runs his own annual festival with his father in his home town of Isafjordur. His show at the modestly sized venue, Idnó, is going to be very crowded indeed.
Hi Mugi, where are you right now and what are you doing?
I´m lost in transaction, in-between. Stayed up late last night - was trying to sing a ballad for a friend of mine - ballads make me drink. So now I´m just in that transaction, getting my head together again.
Will you be playing with the full band at Airwaves this year? Who is in the band?
Not sure, I know Addi (drums) and Pétur (guitar) will be there, I´m hoping I´ll do 1 or 2 songs on my new instrument... who knows I might pull together a brass band, choir, the symphony ... or I might play all by my self on the guitar, it´s Airwaves - you never know.
Your latest release was a live album of full band versions of your older songs - is your transformation to ROCK GOD permanent?
No, I´ve killed it. You might see some leftovers this year - cause my live show with my instrument is not ready - I´m still recording and developing my next album witch will be all about the new instrument.
Are you working on new material? Will you be playing any new songs?
Lots of new material. Hopefully I´ll put out an album next year. I´ll play 2-3 new songs this year.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
I usually try to see as much as I can myself. I usually listen to 2-3 songs and then run to see something else, that way you can see nearly everything, unless it´s something really popular that year, then it´s a struggle with the queue.
You've collaborated with many of the bands playing (Hjalmar, Petur Ben, Reykjavik!) - might we find you on some other stages during the festival?
I think I´m playing with Pétur Ben, I haven't heard from the boys in Reykjavik for a while - don't know. Hjalmar - hope not, I can never remember the lyrics to that song we did, even though I wrote it.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
I´m looking at the line-up right now - I´m going to try and see everything.
You run your own festival up in Ísafjördur (Aldrei fór ég sudur) - is that a completely different experience to Iceland Airwaves?
Yes. it´s different. it´s free for everyone. bands play for 25 min. there is no sound-check (just plug and play). our festival is about love and good times - airwaves is about money and good times.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Try to go swimming as often as possible, at least once a day. Bring your own booze (it´s expensive over here), if there are people protesting downtown - join in. Give as much love and respect as possible and I promise you it´s gonna be the best weekend ever.
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Force your way into Idnó to see Mugison strut his stuff on Friday night (OK, Saturday morning) at 1:10am - one of the most unmissable shows of the week. I promise.
Olafur Arnalds made my very favourite album of 2009 - the project, "Found Songs" which you can listen to here. For this project he wrote and recorded a song a day for seven days. The highlight, Ljósið, was the seventh. I've only managed to see him live once so far, at Airwaves last year. that show was packed and hot but somehow still serene and wonderful. This year has seen a new full album, "...and they have escaped the weight of darkness" and an extremely extensive tour taking in the far east as well as a show in Manchester with a full orchestra. I found him in Holland!...
Hi Oli, where are you right now and what are you doing?
I have just arrived in Den Haag. I'm playing at Today's Art festival here tomorrow... feeling very jet-lagged - just flew here from China where i've been on tour for a couple of weeks.
You've been touring in some fascinating places this year, for example how was China?
I went twice to China this year. It's one of the most interesting places in the world for me, not just to play but also because i'm a huge history nerd, and well.. china has got a hell of a history... Taiwan and South Korea were also huge highlights. Will go to some new places in Europe later this year like Slovakia and Greece. Really looking forward to those!
And was the Manchester show a highlight?
Yes definitely very much of a personal highlight for me, as i had never before arranged for a full orchestra. I learned a lot of things and gained a really good experience.
You have 2 shows at Iceland Airwaves 2010, will there be differences?
Well... i just found out today that i have two shows, when i looked at the schedule. And the first one actually clashes with Bloodgroup's set (Janus from Bloodgroup also plays in my live set). But yes, i plan to have some differences (and there will have to be differences if Janus is missing!). I think we'll make one of the show just the standard ÓA show, but the other something very different, try something new.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
They shouldn't really. They should go see my other project, Kiasmos, which is playing at pretty much the same time... But then again, i'm not sure how i'm supposed to be at both places at once either...
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Robyyyyn! my future wife. and Moderat.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
The off venue shows are often the best shows! and there are no queues! so don't forget about them!
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Olafur Arnalds is playing two main shows at Iceland Airwaves 2010. On Wednesday night you can, you must, find him at Sódóma at 10:50pm and then on Saturday at 9:40pm in Idnó. Kiasmos are on Saturday night at 9pm in Apotekið. He's also playing two off-venue shows, firstly 1pm on Thursday at Nordic House and then again at the very intimate downtown hostel on Friday at 5:30.
Þórir, for that is the real name of My Summer As A Salvation Soldier, was the very first person who made me realise just how jaw-droppingly brilliant Iceland Airwaves was. One moment he was serving me coffee whilst dispensing spot-on advice as a staff member at the great 12 tonar record store, the next minute he was on a stool in the store holding a sizable crowd in silent rapture to his heart-breakingly affecting tunes. This was seven years ago now, I've dug out the photo to give a small insight of that early Airwaves experience. I've followed Þórir, and seen him every year that he has played. Album after album, project after project, this guy produces something worthy of repeated listens. His Airwaves 2010 shows, with a new set-up behind him, promise to be excellent.
Hi Þórir, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Hey Mark, just sitting at home at the moment listening to some records and answering these questions. It´s 10 on a sunday morning and it´s very very windy outside.
This is the first time you've done a My Summer As A Salvation Soldier show at Airwaves for a couple of years - can we expect anything different?
Yeah I think this is the first My Summer... airwaves show for three years. And yeah I suppose you can. The main difference now is that it has evolved into a whole different project really. Although I´ve always had a few people playing with me when I´ve played the festival before it has now turned into a fully formed three piece rock band with a steady line up. So although it´s still basically based on the same foundation it´s gotten a quite bit louder.
What's the status of your other projects? Will there be anything new from Gavin Portland soon?
I´m always up to something with various different projects. Gavin Portland released a new album last March but at the moment there are no plans for anything new. Although I´m certain there will be at one point or another.
You released an album "Death" this year, just on bandcamp - are you just going to release digitally in the future?
No, no no no, not at all. I´d like to release music on as many different formats as possible. Cd, vinyl, cassettes, digitally. I couldn´t imagine only releasing digitally although I am quite keen on the concept and the practicality of it. So I will definitely to some more digital releases in the future but I´ll still stick to the old formats. I´m sure "Death" will get a proper physical release at some point. At this point there´s only been a hand made cd-r version released that I´ve had at shows.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
Well... because it´s most likely going to be better than those other 5 shows. And I say that with the utmost respect for all the other bands playing. But that´s the only real reason right?
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
I have, and it´s really good this year. There´s some really really good music on offer this year. Mount Kimbie, Dan Deacon, James Blake, The Antlers, Jaakko and Jay and more.. And of course a lot of great local bands.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Well there´s always the classics, Apparat Organ Quartet, Kimono, Sólstafir, Mínus, Klink, Reykjavík! Those are all bands you can pretty much count on giving you a good show. And there is a bunch more. Me the Slumbering Napoleon, Quadrouplos, Swords of Chaos, S/H Draumur and Prins Póló to name a few. But most of all I´d reccommend going to Pizza King while you are visiting Reykjavík.
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I urge you to find the time in the schedule to go and see My Summer As A Salvation Soldier. The main show is on Saturday night, 1am (Sunday morning), in Risið. Browse and obtain his back catalogue right here.
Hjaltalín appear to be on the rise. In fact they seem to have had upwards momentum ever since I first came across them. Most commonly described (and well described) as chamber pop, they're certainly not running away from the tag, playing with orchestras of varying sizes over the last 18 months and refining their sound on their excellent second album, "Terminal". Personally, I can't get enough of the motown/spector sounding, "Feels Like Sugar". Last year at Iceland Airwaves they played one show in a church with a chamber orchestra and one with a disco legend. Shows outside of Iceland has been on the increase too, and the good reviews keep rolling in. Sounds like you'll need to bag a spot early to see this band. Let's get some more info from violinist Viktor,
Hi Viktor, where are you right now and what are you doing?
We are now preparing for the next concerts which we find very interesting to deal with. First of all it is Iceland Airwaves where we plan to play some new songs. We´ve been practicing more together than we´re used to, trying to search for a new sound which we then plan to really dig into and expose. Then we´re dealing with the act of putting together a chamber orchestra in Akureyri where we will perform in the beginning of November. Also in the beginning of November we have this concert with a Swedish duet called Wildbirds and Peacedrums, where we will be performing with an Icelandic Choir in Fríkirkjan in Reykjavík (The Free Church). That´s very interesting for us because it´s a whole new thing for us and a very fascinating set-up. Finally we are about to finish a new album, a live album from the concert with The Iceland Symphony Orchestra which will be released in the beginning of november.
Who is in the band?
There are seven of us in the band; Axel Haraldsson plays drums, Guðmundur Óskar Guðmundsson plays bass, Hjörtur Ingvi Jóhannson on the keyboards, Högni Egilsson is on vocals and guitar, Rebekka Bryndís Björnsdóttir plays bassoon, Sigríður Thorlacius adds vocals and I play the violin.
How was playing with the Icelandic symphony orchestra? Any plans to do it again?
It really felt amazing to play with the orchestra. Somehow it opened a new world of sounds for us because the orchestra was so big. So if you´ll buy our new live album you can hear, and especially in the new songs, that we try to think bigger sound wise. We are not sure whether or not we will do it again in Iceland, we definitely want to, but we are also trying to make this happen with other orchestras outside of Iceland. We've been talking to loads of people and if we're lucky we might be able to do some more orchestral shows in 2011.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
Well, the group has now never been closer in a way. Recently we´ve been sharing a lot some music that we love, which makes us more think as one person, we've been analyzing a lot better what it is in music that we love, and brings us together. So what you´ll witness is not only musical experience but also in a way a very weird kind of connection put together with 7 very different people who aim for the same touch, a connection that stunningly works very well. Maybe a more rockier version of the band, especially compared to our shows at Airwaves last year, where we played one show with a chamber orchestra and one show with disco legend Paul Oscar.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Everything Everything is cool, but unfortunately they play almost the same time as we. I really like the new album from Efterklang, so it will be interesting to see their show. I'm also looking forward listening to Retro Stefson's new songs. And then I've heard Dan Deacon's and Jaakko & Jay's live sets are amazing.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Best hot dogs in the world can be found at a very small hot dog stand downtown Reykjavík, called Bæjarins beztu, find it and have "one with everything". Trust me it, is delicious. People should also try to buy beer in the state liquor store instead of just at the bar, it's a very revealing experience. And finally, take a one hour nap every day during Airwaves, it will strengthen your memory (a scientific fact) and most importantly, seriously improve your party stamina.
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Hjaltalín are playing in Nasa on Friday at 11:20pm and in Kaffibarrin on Saturday at 7:30pm.
I've seen Snorri Helgason playing live on stage a lot of times. Always until recently that was as a member of the excellent band Sprengjuhöllin and in the last year as a solo artist, arriving with a mellow masterpiece of a debut album, "I'm Gonna Put My Name On Your Door". Most recently I saw him open the London version of Iceland Airwaves 2010 preview shows. Snorri has recently moved to London but luckily for Airwaves fans he is heading back to Iceland and is playing a lot of shows (details below) before heading further out over the Atlantic to a Canadian tour.
Hi Snorri, where are you right now and what are you doing?
I'm sitting in my brand new apartment in Hoxton in London, UK drinking coffee and listening to Townes Van Zandt. Life is good. I just moved here about a month ago. I've just been writing and performing and getting to know the city and some really good people and so far it has been really fantastic. I've always loved this city and had this romantic vision of it. It hasn't let me down yet.
Will your Airwaves show be completely solo, like the one at the London Airwaves event recently?
The ones on Wednesday at Venue and on Saturday at Risið, my two main showcase, will be with a band. But I'll do lots of off-venue solo performances. I think 3 so far so there will be plenty of opportunities to see me perform. The band that I'll be performing with is going to be awesome. It will consist of, in my opinion, the best rhythm section in town, Góskar and Axel (of Hjaltalín), Birgir Ísleifur(of Motion Boys & Last Boy) on keys and backing vocals and of course Djásnið (of Ojba Rasta) on guitar. It will be fantastic.
You say that you are in the style of the singer-songwriters of the early 70s - who in particular inspires your music from that, or any other, time?
When I was writing stuff for my debut album (I'm Gonna Put My Name on Your Door) I was listening a lot to that kind of music. Paul Simon's first solo albums, Harry Nilsson, Carol King. Stuff like that. I think that inspired a lot of the arrangements and the general feel of the album. The stuff I'm writing now is a little different. A little more experimental, I guess.
What's happening with Sprengjuhöllin now - will there be a third album at some time?
Sprengjuhöllin is on hiatus. A third album some day? I don't know. I hope so. But it probably won't happen in the near future. We had a really good run but now we are all doing our own thing. Hopefully we can make some music together again one day.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose to come to your show?
Because I'll be playing music that doesn't sound like any of the other bands. Not in the "newest, freakiest, most outrageous sound there is!" kind of way but exactly the opposite. I'm not as interested in "new" as I am in "good". I try to write good music. I do not care about anything else. And my band is really really good.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see and could recommend?
Hjaltalín are my favorite Icelandic band and always put on a good show. Go see them. They know how to write good songs. Prins Póló, Sin Fang, Seabear, Retro Stefson, Benni Hemm Hemm, Hjálmar, Lay Low and FM Belfast are all exceptionally good Icelandic bands.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Hmmm. Dress well. It can get pretty cold and shitty and you might have to wait in a queue for some time. Basic. Make sure you check out the off-venue schedule. That's a very good way to see all the bands you want to see and often in a more fun and intimate setting. You should be up and about and downtown around noon each day. You won't regret it. The best pizza in town is at Gamla Smiðjan in Lækjargata. Make sure you try the Icelandic "pulsa" (hot-dog). You will love it. Get yourself the best chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted at Noodle Station on Skólavörðustígur. Go swimming at Sundhöllin. Drink lots of beer and talk to locals. They are a friendly bunch. ---
See Snorri Helgason play his main shows at Venue on Wednesday at 10:50pm and at Risið on Saturday at 10:30pm. He's also playing off-venue three times, on Thursday at 3pm in Mál og Menning and at 7pm in Bar 11 then on Friday at 5pm in Hemmi og Valdi. No excuse not to catch up with him!
Bob Cluness, or @icelandbob as he's known to his twitter family, is one of those lucky Brits to end up living (mainly) happily in Reykjavik. Not only that, he seems to have found a place working for an excellent newspaper covering the excellent Icelandic music scene. You'd want to hate him, but he's just too lovable. When he's not up against the deadlines forced upon him, he entertains himself by writing the excellent (in content, if not name) blog - Reykjavik Sex Farm. Don't worry it's all about the music, as is the man himself - read on...
Explain yourself - how did you end up living in Reykjavik?
Well, I was living in London where I met the woman who became my wife, Sigga. After a few years together she brought up the idea of moving to Iceland. I moved here in May 2007 and, against my better judgement, have stayed here ever since
Living in Reykjavik sounds like perfection to me - am I right or wrong?
Well it has its plus points. Unfortunately until this summer, we lived in the outskirts in a suburb called Breiðholt which meant that I was often missing out on all those plus points, such as the downtown nightlife. The pools and local library kick ass though, while it’s a lot more sedate and genteel than most other capital cities. Alas they do not understand the concept of the sausage or the meat pie, which I think was instrumental in the collapse of their society in 2008.
What made you start your blog? And what made you call it Reykjavik Sex Farm?
Well I have an extensive music collection that I managed to digitise. Then during the Kreppa I decided to start a little project. In 2009, I uploaded one of my albums onto the internet and gave it to my friends as a free copy each week, so they wouldn’t have to fork out cash they didn’t have for decent music. I did this every week or so during 2009. Then a friend suggested taking this on into a music blog about Icelandic Music and other music in general. Reykjavik Sex farm was born. As for the name? Well that was the result of a long night and a bottle of vodka. I ran through several different names (Selfoss Pussy Wagon, Tone Deaf Hipster Hater, Death to Jónsi (and other irrational musings) were front runners). But then this name came out and it seemed to fit the scene perfectly. Have you ever been downtown on a weekend?
A Fair point, yes. Your reviews in grapevine are often wonderfully cruel, but we don't do that here! So what's your favourite album of 2010 that makes you smile and dance uncontrollably?
Cruel?? My good sir I take offence to such an accusation! Ha ha ha! But as for an album of 2010? Oooh....err... actually the thing is I don’t think it’s been a stellar year for Icelandic releases. Most of the big names have been quiet and what has been released has been frankly piss poor. But there have been a few bright spots. Nóra made a very good pop album “Er Einhver að hlusta?”, (read Bob's review here) while there is also some crunching beats from the Likes of Qualdruplus which made my head spin. Oh and the hljóðaklettar compilation "Dress up” I’m still listening too many times over. But if you want metal, I recommend Momentum’s (pictured) “Fixation at rest”.
OK, not cruel. Robust? Honest? Are you working for grapevine this year, reviewing for the website?
I certainly hope so after all the stuff I’ve been writing about it for them! And yes, everything written will be on the website. Also there is an airwaves mini issue that has just been posted so people should go and have a look at it.
What does that mean - that you are allocated one venue each night and you have to stay awake (even, sober?) until the piece is written?
That is EXACTLY what it is! And alas is the only drawback of covering the festival. Being assigned only one place means that you often miss out on several excellent bands and moments that everyone else seems to be having. Like last year on Saturday, everyone was having a great time at NASA and Batteríið, while I was stuck at a half empty Jacobsen nightclub till 5.30 having bargain basement techno foisted on me. But I am stoic if not professional...
Given free will, what local and international bands would you most want to see?
Oooh interesting question. I actually tend to view it in as to who is playing at what venue at a given night as I am a lazy man and rail against having to trudge everywhere. But Given free will I would go to Faktorý on Wednesday (for the hljóðaklettar night), NASA on Thursday (to see Kimono, Reykjavik! and HAM), the art Museum then Sódoma on Friday (to see Chateau Marmont, Momentum, and Sólstafir) and Apotekið on Saturday (to see Mount Kimbie and Retro Stefson.)
And how about some tips for foreigners in Reykjavik, and how to get the best out of Iceland Airwaves week?
Well everyone will have droned about the Hot Dogs and the burgers and stuff. But I recommend going to Noodle station at Skolavordustigur (near the Cathedral). It only costs 850 ISK for a good bowl of supreme noodle broth that is the alpha and omega of food. As for airwaves, I say be prepared for disappointment as you will never get to see everything that you want. But also take a chance to go and see a few bands that would not normally listen to, whether it’s avant garde electronics, metal, or acoustic folk. It may surprise you. Also go to Bakkus for the party mood, then go to Sundhöll the following morning to chill out. Oh, and if you are a total moon-faced caner of a party-goer, then forget getting drugs in Reykjavik. They are way too expensive and are of extremely poor quality. Stick to booze or if you must snort something up your nose, buy some Candarel from the Bónus supermarket...
Ah, lovely Rökkurró, their first album was full of beautiful swoonful tunes and the lovely voice of cellist Hildur. Second album, Í Annan Heim, is freshly released and getting a heap of praise for its 'bigger' sound. I rather expect that I'll be picking that up during the festival. Also, Rökkurró may very well be the first band I see this year since they are due to play in the wonderful 12 Tonar store soon after I arrive in town. Here's my chat with guitarist Axel,
Hi Rokkurro, where are you right now and what are you doing?
We just released our sophomore record in Iceland in August. It's called Í Annan Heim (it means In to another world in English) and it has got great receptions. It's been around the top on the Icelandic charts for a few weeks now and It was the most sold record on gogoyogo.com for three weeks straight I think after the release. We held our release show In Iðnó Reykjavík a few days ago and it was wonderful, a big audience and some lovely additional musicians who helped us make the night a really special one. Right now we are just rehearsing and looking forward to playing Airwaves and visiting London for the first time in october. We'll be playing Jajaja in Lexington on the October 21st, and there might just be another gig lined up during that trip.
Who is in the band?
I play the guitar and sometimes I sing a little and play a bit of drums. Then we have Hildur Kristín our lovely lead singer and cello player, Árni on guitar and baritone guitar and then we have the rhythm duo; Ingibjörg who plays the bass, the accordion and sings a bit as well and Björn Pálmi who plays the drums, guitars and piano and what ever else he can get his hands on.
You've just released a new album, "Í annan heim", how does it compare to your debut?
It's quite different actually. Our first album "Það Kólnar Í Kvöld" was in every way a more simple album. It was recorded just as it was played live but our new album is just the opposite. We spent a lot of time pampering it with long recording sessions and added a lot of additional things that had not been a part of our soundscape before such as strings, brass and a whole lot of backing vocals. Our producer Alex Somers also made a huge difference for us. He attended practices with us before we headed to the studio to help us with the writing process and his touch during the mixing made a lot of wonderful moments on the album who would not be there without him.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
If you want something really Icelandic, come see us. It's kind of weird to say but we are one of very few Icelandic bands that actually sing in Icelandic and foreign listeners seem to be really into that. And also if you were looking for a atmospheric and dynamic show of post-rock/indie/rock/classical tones with a high pitched female voice, eerie guitars, clever drums, groovy bass and a electric cello, I think we're what you're looking for! Haha!
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Oh my, we are all so psyched to see Efterklang. They have to be one of our favorite bands for quite a while now. Personally I'm also really looking forward to seeing Robyn, Bombay Bicycle Club, Alex Metric and the Greek band Film which will actually have Hildur to sing on one of their songs! Then there are also all those wonderful Icelandic bands such as Agent Fresco, Mammút, For a Minor Reflection, Kimono, Sudden Weather Change, Ólafur Arnalds and a lot more that no one should miss out on.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
First of all. Attend as many off-venue gigs as possible. They can be quite amazing. Those gigs are usually really cozy and personal and can be just as good, if not better as the official gigs.
Number two: Eat a hot dog at Bæjarins Bestu. Don't leave Iceland until you've had at least one (preferably a lot more).
Number three. Go swimming. There is no better way to start a hungover festival day than to go swimming in one of Reykjavík's pools. I recommend Vesturbæjarlaug.
Number four. Drink a beer at Kaffibarinn. I don't know why but Kaffibarinn has the tastiest beer around. Go have one or two or nine. ---
Rökkurró's main show is on Thursday at 9:40pm in new venue, Tjarnarbíó - check it out. They also play at 12 Tonar on Wednesday at 5:30pm, and on Saturday at 6pm at the Reykjavik downtown hostel.
Highly recommended non-Icelandic band number two are the excellent Yunioshi from sunny Nottingham in England. They definitely deserve your attention as not only is their E.P. "How To Survive A Robot Uprising" excellent (and featured on South Park on the Comedy Channel!), but also their twitter account has been excitedly discussing Iceland Airwaves 2010 for almnost as long as I have. It's fair to say they are excited to be coming to Reykjavik.
Hi Yunioshi, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Howdy Iceblah! We're in deepest, darkest Nottingham, UK - putting together a press release to let as many people know about Yunioshi playing at the fantastic Iceland Airwaves. Our lovingly self compiled Airwaves playlist is booming out in the background while we're doing this - fueled by the very rock n roll beverage of Tea with just a touch of cake. Airwaves is a band ambition box ticked. We can't wait.
Who's in the band?
We are made of Rob Yunioshi, Anna Yunioshi Suzuki , James Yunioshi san and Hakushi Yunioshi.
Are you looking forward to Iceland? Have you been before?
We just can't wait to get out there. Its such a beautiful country. We're lucky enough to have been out and played Reykjavik in 2008 at the venue Organ which we believe is no longer there. We played with Bloodgroup and Sometime to a packed out house - it was such a good night.
Any other plans for your trip?
We're definitely gonna take in the Blue Lagoon again. Last time we hit Reykjavik it was the perfect place to cure the hangover from the previous nights excess. Hallur from Bloodgroup took us on a drunken late night tour of Reykjavik after our show - hopefully this time we'll do it in the daytime with less drunken eyes. My most resounding memory from that walk in the fresh snow was standing next to a ramshackle building where Bjork did her first gig.
There will be 5 other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
Its always such an honour to play for people that make the choice to come and see us. Like at any festival they could choose to see any number of acts - so we'll reward them with an awesome show of big beats, electro noise and big skuzzy guitar sounds, plus the Yunioshi Catering Company that comes everywhere with us will bake up some fantastic cakes to give to the crowds mid set! We're pretty well known for giving out mid-gig snacks. We'll have bubble machines and we're just working on a couple of other things to make it a memorable show.
You're doing a show with Bloodgroup, how did that come about?
Bloodgroup are really great friends of ours and we tend to stay with them when in Iceland and they stay with us when they play the UK. We're always trying to arrange gigs together when the opportunity arises. We even went out to Berlin in the summer when they were writing Dry Land just to hang out with them for a week, getting drunk and playing Kubb in the Tiergarden. It was great to hear the early formation of such a wonderful album. Our gig with Bloodgroup is still TBC at the moment, but hopefully it'll all be wrapped up soon.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
The festival lineup looks amazing. Like we said, we've already made a playlist on Spotify of all the bands that we could find. Of course we'll be down the front for the Bloodgroup shows but I'm also very keen to take in Hjaltalín, Lay Low, Le Corps Mince de Françoise, Chateau Marmont, Timber Timbre and Neon Indian off the top of my head. We were recently at Bestival festival in the UK and we saw as many bands playing Airwaves as we could. We're massive music fans!
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So, if you like your scuzzy electro-beats to come with free cakes and bubbles, do not miss Yunioshi at Iceland Airwaves. Find them playing their main show at Faktorý on Thursday at 11pm, and off-venue on Saturday at 5pm in Nikita and on Sunday at 7pm in Hemmi & Vakdi.
Wait a minute - this is not an Icelandic band! So, interviews #7 and #8 are with 2 of the best and friendliest international acts lined up for Iceland Airwaves 2010. First up, from Seattle, is Yuni In Taxco who describe themselves as tropical grime. I was intrigued enough to talk to drummer, Bryce...
Hi Yuni In Taxco, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Right now, my brother and I are packing for a trip to Uruguay. We leave tomorrow and plan on getting a little inspiration in the Southern Hemisphere. The rest of the band is putting the finishing touches on our album while Ross and I drink and hang out on the beach.
Who's in the band?
Ross Beamish & Sean Beszhak both play guitar and sing, which is why you hear a different vocalist on every other song we put out. Isaiah Washington sings and plays with some electronics & samples. Jim Saunders is our guru. He also plays bass, and I play drums.
Are you looking forward to Iceland? Have you been before?
We're thrilled to be playing at Airwaves. My wife and I actually honeymooned in Iceland a few years ago and i've been looking for an opportunity to come back. Being able to bring the band along is pretty special. I'm sure one of the guys will be brave enough to try some fermented shark meat. I was not.
Any other plans for your trip?
We'll make a trip out to the Blue Lagoon. But we're more or less saving all our energy for the Runtur.
There will be 5 other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
As far as I can tell, no other band is travelling as fas as we are, except maybe Crocodiles who I hope are not playing at the same time as us, because I would actually really like to see them. And nobody plays escapist tropical surf jams quite like us.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
I'm really looking forward to JJ, Angel Deradoorian, Junip, and Ólafur Arnalds. But we'll also be checking out the bands we've never heard of.
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Make friends with Yuni In Taxco on Friday at 8pm in Faktorý, or on the same day at 2pm in Havari. Find their brilliant E.P. here.
I have such great memories of Eliza Newman from the wonderful days of Kolrassa Krókríðandi (Bellatrix), and she's now a wonderful solo artist. Eliza is a regular on the London scene these days, but it's still always wonderful to catch her on her home ground. Fans of cool song-writing should not miss out!
Catch Eliza Newman at Iceland Airwaves 2010 on Friday 15th at 1am in Risið, or at an in-store event in Hemmi Og Valdi on the 16th at 3pm.
Hi Eliza, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Hello there! I´m in London, right at this moment I´m just chilling out with Mishi the cat watching bad tv and eating popcorn! In the big picture I´ve just finished my Masters dissertation in music psychology and education and I´m preparing for my album Pie in the Sky to be released in the UK in February 2011.
Will you be playing solo or with a band at Airwaves?
I shall be playing solo with half a band! kind of an acoustic set where I play ukulele, violin, and various small and cute instruments as well as having a keyboard and Guitar player with me too. It's gonna be ACE!
Is there any chance of any more shows with the Bellatrix / Kolrassa Krókrídandi gang?
Well never say never! Our one off show this summer at Eistnaflug was such insane fun that maybe we might do it again in the future if the right opportunity presents itself but we are not plotting a big comeback. The show this summer was just a great excuse for us all to get together and go camping together in the east fjords!
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves - so why should people choose your show?
There are other bands playing at the same time ? What an outrage! Well I think people should come and see me because I´ll deliver a good show for all, multi-tasking by singing and playing instruments at the same time oh yeah and I like whiskey which is always good.
I have to ask, might you be singing a song about everyone's favourite volcano (below)? Please?
Yes of course, Eyjafjallajökull will be performed with bells on !
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
I love Le Corps Mince De Francoise, I saw them earlier this year in London and really loved their energy and live show. I would like to see Robin as well and HAM !!! and of course the best thing is always to discover something new so I´m looking forward to having my mind blown by some brilliant young band.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Go with the flow and follow your nose, there are often so many interesting things happening in the off venue schedule and also in the daytime so check that out as well as the main schedule. Other then that have a hot dog at Bæjarins Bestu and go to the swimming pools and you're good!
The annual battle of the bands competition in Iceland, Músiktilraunir, has a pretty good track record of finding good and lasting talent - Kolrassa Krókríðandi, Maus, Mínus, Mammút, Jakobínarína and more all won it in years gone by. So, with that in mind I thought it would be a good plan to check out the 2010 victors, Of Monsters And Men ahead of their big show at Airwaves. It turns out that they're promising a "pretty lady giving out candy". Good reason to check them out...
Hi Of Monsters & Men , where are you right now and what are you doing?
We are in front of the mirror trying on our matching outfits for the Iceland Airwaves gig.
Congratulations on winning the musiktilraunir (new bands) competition, how does it feel to follow bands like Maus, Mínus, Mammút and Jakobínarína?
It feels wonderful! We couldn’t be happier. But it’s on us now to make the most of these “15 minutes of fame” and show people what we can do. Those bands that you mentioned did just that and it would be awesome to follow in their footsteps.
There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
Because we’re something new and something you probably haven’t seen or heard of before. But also if it so happens that you have seen us, than you’ll be in for a big surprise because we have changed our set quite a bit and added a whole bunch of instruments as well, so we promise a great gig! And also there will be a pretty lady in the crowd handing out free candy to all those who cheer us on.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Yeah, they have a great line-up this year. Lots of cool stuff. We’re really excited about seeing Bombay Bicycle Club, Hercules and Love Affair, Efterklang and Rolo Tomassi. There are also a lot of great Icelandic bands that we look forward to seeing. Mugison of course. Also Cliff Clavin, Orphic Oxtra and Rökkurró are all fantastic!
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
We recommend a nice, warm pair of mittens. It can get pretty cold in the night if you’re waiting in an endless line holding your beer. And also, It’s ok to make plans so you won’t miss your favorite bands but we’ve noticed that the real adventures happen when you throw your plans away and just go with the flow. Let the spirit of the festival infest your body. It will probably end up being the best night EVER!
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Be sure to catch Of Monsters & Men, and some candy, at Risið on Thursday at 10pm.
I saw Feldberg a couple of times at Iceland Airwaves last year and came away singing their track, "Don't Be A Stranger" for months and months afterwards. They've been described, brilliantly, as what Daft Punk would sound like if they were human. The marriage (musical only, I believe) of Eberg's (also a solo artist with a couple of excellent albums under this belt) music with Rósa's silky, bluesy vocals works beautifully. I had a quick chat with the male half (with beard, left) of Feldberg...
Hi Eberg, where are you right now and what are you doing?
I´m in my kitchen... in a little flat in downtown Reykjavik... I need to do the dishes
Who is in the band?
To start with me and Rósa Ísfeld but now playing with us as well Nói Steinn (drums) Sigtryggur Ari (keys) and Haraldur Þorsteinsson (bass)
There will be 5 other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
Because we have a dead sexy drummer.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
Not seen it yet... I always just wait until the last minute deciding what to see.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Buy booze in the duty free... dress up warmly and have fun
---
See Feldberg and the sexy drummer at Nasa on Friday at 21:40, and then find them on myspace and facebook. And wrap up warm.
The third interview of the pre Iceland Airwaves session is with impssibly young dance dudes, Jungle Fiction. These guys first came to my attention with a remix of Kele's Tenderoni and then a remix of fellow Icelanders (and soon to be iceblah interviewees) Feldberg.
Hi Jungle Fiction, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Central Reykjavík, Iceland. We are planning the release of our debut EP called 'Heat of the Nite'. It includes 4 originals and a few remixes by artists such as Fukkk Off from Germany amongst others soon to be announced.
Who is in the band?
Benedikt Atli Jónsson, Benedikt Örn Árnason and Sigurþór Sævarsson. We are three 18 year old guys from Reykjavík. We all go to the same school, Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð. We started to make music together at young ages testing out different instruments and different production methods. Artists like Vangelis, Breakbot,Tangerine Dream and labels like Ed Banger, Institubes and Record Makers has shaped our music. We have gotten a lot of inspiration from the French electro scene. We recently did a remix for a Record Makers EP release and we are proud to get our name on one of our favorite labels.
There will be 5 other bands playing at the same time as you - so why should people choose your show?
We have big plans for our live show at Iceland Airwaves 2010. So if you like electronic or dance music in general you know where to go.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
We haven't gone through the whole line up, but at first sight Alex Metric, Neon Indian and Chateau Marmont are at the top of the list. Berndsen are always tight too.
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
This is only our second time at Iceland Airwaves but we would recommend going early downtown and try to get as much from the festival as possible. The Blue Lagoon party is always good fun too. Get a double bacon cheeseburger at Vitabarinn.
The website www.breakbeat.is is the online home of Iceland's longest running club night, the Breakbeat.is residency, which has been going for 10 years. They also run a radio show of the same name. And Iceland Airwaves fans will find the name familiar 0- they've hosted and curated a night at the festival for as long as I can remember. This year's is scheduled for Thursday the 14th at Apótekið, with an intersting line-up as always:
Hi Kalli, where are you right now and what are you doing?
Right now I'm at home, running back and forth from my desk to the kitchen, stirring the soup that's cooking on the stove in between answering these questions. More generally currently my life is divided between studying, work and music and a mixture of all three (as well as some soup!)
Can you tell me about the line up for the Iceland Airwaves 2010 Breakbeat.is night?
Our international headliner is Ramadanman (pictured, right) aka David Kennedy, a young but very talented british DJ and producer. He's been making waves in the dubstep scene in the last few years with great productions and the label Hessle Audio, which he runs with his friends Pangea and Ben UFO. Although he's best known for his dubstep he also produces music that ranges from house to techno to drum & bass and his dj sets have been known to span many genres and tempos, combined with the Iceland Airwaves crowd and party ethos it should make for a great night.
We've also got a host of Icelandic talent starting of the night with live performances from Hypno, Subminimal, Raychem and Muted, all of whom have been gathering accolades at home and abroad for their music. Last but not least my partner in crime Ewok and myself will be spinning some records back 2 back between acts and for the warm up.
There will be 5 other things going on at the same time - so why should people choose the event?
We like to think our nights have carved out a good little niche in the Iceland Airwaves program and in Icelandic nightlife in general, combining interesting and forward thinking electronic music with a good party atmosphere. We got great talent gathered for this years edition in a good venue so we believe it should be a great respite from all those indie playing hipsters around town that evening!
Seriously though, our Thursday nights on the festival have generally been the place where everybody still standing ends up for a dance at the end of the night. All fans of electronic music should in our opinion try and pencil our night into their program.
Some mp3's, audio streams and other goodies from the artists in question will be coming up at www.breakbeat.is/airwaves in the next days. So check that out and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?
This years line up is one of the most exciting in years as far as I'm concerned, great international acts and a strong local line up. I'll probably be checking out the more electronic end of the festival and am excited to see acts like Mount Kimbie, James Blake, Moderat, Toro Y Moi and Hercules & Love Affair. From the Icelandic bands and artists I'm looking forward catch Oculus, Ólafur Arnalds, Æla, Amiina and Reykjavik!
And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
Go get your hangover munchies on at Vitabarinn on Vitastígur, great burgers, then hit the local pools and you'll be ready for another night in no time. After the night out go get some sheep's heads at the BSÍ bus station and then crash an after party.
I can't think of any more appropriate first interview of this year's Airwaves barrage than that omni-present Belgian, Wim van Hooste. Wim runs the I Love Icelandic Music website and seems to be at the front of every gig each year at Iceland Airwaves with a press pass and a camera strap around his neck. I started the interview in the only way possible,
So, Wim, you're not Icelandic but you're clearly in love with Icelandic music - that's a bit strange isn't it? ;-)
In 1987 I was infected by the Icelandic music virus spread by the Sugarcubes’ single “Birthday”. Since then I’m interested in everything Icelandic, especially the music. I started to collect books about Iceland, read a monthly newspaper in English entitled News from Iceland (published by Iceland Review), and ordered regularly Icelandic music through the Bad Taste mail order service run by Dr. Gunni. I visited Iceland a few times in the 90’s. I was exchange student at the University Hospital in the summer of 1996. In 1998 I found a job as assistant medical doctor in Akureyri. A month after I left the country in 1999, after working a year in the north, the first edition of Airwaves was organized. For many years I came to Iceland around my birthday in May.
How many Iceland Airwaves have you been to now?
I’m attending the festival for the sixth time in a row. Like the 5 previous times, I will be focusing on the Icelandic artists. I was always able to attend about 10 gigs a day, off-venue and at Airwaves venues. I think I saw only 15 foreign bands the last 5 editions.
Can you share 2 or 3 of your absolute favourite Iceland Airwaves memories?
The first time I came to Reykjavik for Airwaves, in 2005, the big names were playing at the Reykjavik Art Museum on Saturday evening. Only a very small crowd was listening to the Icelandic bands at the small Grand Rokk venue. But I definitely wanted to see the new band Hellvar. The band of Unun singer Heiða; Unun is one of my all time favourite Icelandic bands. After the concert I was able to talk to Heiða, who gave me a demo. That is what I like about Airwaves, it’s quite easy to have a chat with artists before or afterwards. Most Icelandic artists are down to earth. In 2007 I had for the first time a press pass, because I’ve started my blog about Icelandic music at the end of October 2006. With my pass I was able to enter the Icelandair opening party at the Jóhannes Kjarval Museum. I witnessed Örvar and the 2 Árni’s putting on their bow-ties (pictured, right). It was the first time I heard FM Belfast, and I loved it. I remember the day Ghostigital blew up the PA at the Gaukurinn venue.
What are you particularly looking forward to this year? What bands should be on everybody's must-see list?
Don’t miss Bang Gang, Ghostigital, HAM and S.H. Draumur, especially if you want to see how Best Party politicians (Barði Jóhannsson, Einar Örn Benediktsson, Óttarr Proppé, Sigurjón Kjartansson and Dr. Gunni) rock in Reykjavík. The trio S.H. Draumur didn’t perform for 17 years! I'm also looking forward to hearing and seeing Apparat Organ Quartet (they don’t play that often!), Bárujárn, Ensimi, FM Belfast, Hellvar, Jan Mayen, Kimono, Reptilicus, Stereo Hypnosis, Sudden Weather Change, Vicky and Worm is Green. Don’t miss the bands of youngsters like Captain Fufanu, Ljósvaki, Pascal Pinon, Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán (UMTBS), Útidúr and Retro Stefson. But of course there is a lot of other good music.
And finally, can you give some hints and tips for visitors to Airwaves? How to make the most of the festival?
If you like to wake up early (or just stay awake) you can enjoy a breakfast at Prikið bar: “Rock & Bacon” for early birds. After lunch you can go to the Nordic House for acoustic airwaves concerts. The live performances are followed by a short interview session with the artists. This year there are a lot of screenings of classic and brand new documentaries about the Icelandic music scene around town in cinemas but also in some smaller shops. Screaming Masterpiece, Rokk í Reykjavík, Where’s the snow?!, Backyard, Beyond the sea, Who is Barði?, Electronica Reykjavík, and even more. Also don’t forget your stomach. There’s more than ear candy. I recommend a visit to the flea market Kolaportið, to buy some candy or a tasty ice cream, or a sheep’s head if you want something traditional. Go taste the lobster soup at the Sea Baron restaurant of a retired fisherman (and for those who really don’t like lobster “Moby Dick on a Stick”). Good and cheap festival food: grab a hot-dog “with everything” at Bæjarins Bestu (the best in town) before or in between gigs. If you have enough Viking beer in your veins, try the Icelandic Fanta Egils Appelsín or Egils Malt Extrakt.
Gosh. October. That can only mean Iceland Airwaves 2010 is very, very nearly here. I've been busy interviewing various bands in advance. I've got 12 done at the moment, and another 4 or 5 to follow with luck. They will be appearing at the rate of one or two per day from now until the big kick-off in Reykjavik on the 13th. I arrive in town on Wednesday afternoon and it looks like the first band I'll see will be Rokkurro at the wonderful 12 Tonar record store. See you there?
For today, I have one tip for everyone. Go and check out the blog kept by the legend that is Dr Gunni here. Even if you don't understand the Icelandic, I'm sure you understand the word (?) "MP3". There's so much here to love. Scroll down and you'll soon find the brand new single from Benny Crespo's Gang and exclusive live performances from three of Iceland's very finest - Reykjavik!, Retro Stefson & FM Belfast - all recorded live from the film Backyard.
Most brilliantly of all on Dr Gunni's blog, you will find a thirty track compilation of Iceland Airwaves 2010 artists - tracklist below. Enjoy.
Come back soon for fun interviews...
1. Harrys Gym – Attic 2. LCMDF – Something Golden 3. Crocodiles – Summer of Hate 4. Mondkopf – La dame en bleu 5. Robyn – Dancing On My Own 6. Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer 7. Bombay Bicycle Club – Always like this (James Rutledge Remix) 8. Rival Consoles – Arp 9. Think about Life – Set you on fire 10. Diamond Rings – Show me your stuff 11. Alex Metric – Discotron 12. Hurts – Better Than Love (LightsoverLA Remix) 13. The Amplifetes – It's my life 14. Dominique Young Unique – Show my ass 15. Slagsmålsklubben – Övningsköra 16. Spleen United – Suburbia 17. Film – Berlin (NTEIBINT Remix) 18. Chateau Marmont – Beagle 19. The Joy Formidable – Popinjay 20. Factory Floor – Lying 21. Silver Columns - Cavalier 22. Dan Deacon – The Crystal Cat 23. Everything Everything – Qwerty Finger 24. Oh No Ono - Ba Ba Baba Ba Ba Well Anyway 25. Jaakko & Jay – Equalizer 26. The Vandelles – California Killer 27. Toro Y Moi – Leave Everywhere 28. Tunng – Take 29. Timber Timbre – Magic arrow 30. The Antlers – Two
Let the planning commence. The full (but probably not final!) schedule for the 2010 version of Iceland Airwaves was announced this week. As ever, I've turned this into a spreadsheet. If you want to make use of this you can download it below. Happy planning, let me know how it goes... I know I'll be starting with Petur Ben at Sodoma on Wednesday night, and we'll see what happens from there!
Thank you for all the lovely bands you have booked for the festival this year. You seem to have hit the bullseye again with bands clearly about to be huge (Everything Everything, Hurts, Mount Kimbie, Neon Indian), the amazing Robyn and loads of great international stuff just waiting to be discovered (start with Yunioshi, Le Corps Mince De Francoise, The Amplifetes...). Thank you also for all the amazing and cherished Icelandic acts already booked, loads of my favourites and I'm excited to see them again. But, you also seem to have missed some great Icelandic bands. I'm sure this is a terrible oversight, so I'm sure you'll find the following list useful (and a reminder to everyone that Airwaves is not an exhaustive list of all great Icelandic music). So how about adding this bunch to that great line-up?
Well this passed a few hours. If you are on twitter, and you you'll be at (or interested in) Iceland Airwaves 2010 then here's the list for you to follow...
As far as I'm aware, every act playing that has a twitter account is on this list, along with the venerable organisers and some other entertaining types who I know will be in Reykjavik in mid-October. If you think I've missed you, tell me here.
Things are happening, and it's getting closer. Today, finally, the Iceland Airwaves website sprung into life. It's no longer that nasty, not-quite-working and strangely coloured thing, now it's beautiful and shiny and full of up to date (mostly) lists of artists, and descriptions of venues and interesting snippets.
The headlines then:
* The Airwaves centre has another new home this year, at the Hotel Plaza on Adalstræti.
* Friends of Airwaves - discounts for bracelets is back again.
* Three new venues, at Café Amsterdam, Apótekið (where that LOVELY restaurant once was), Risið and at Venue. And one name change, lovely old (and happily resurrected) Grand Rokk shall now be known as Faktorý.
* Schedule, allegedly, will be available on September 15th, and planning (and headaches) can truly begin!
There are loads of new additions since we last spoke, and some of them not dubstep ;-) Most of the acts have been "announced" by that excellend detective over at Reykajvik Sex Farm but now all but a few are confirmed on the shiny new official website.
Like thousands of
others I sat and watched the Iceland Inspires concert last week. Sadly
the venue
had to be moved due to pretty grim (understatment) weather along
Iceland's south
coast. It finally took place in the centre of Reykjavik and I guess that
an
increased audience made up for the drop in dramatism of the setting.
I've managed to get together 2 minutes of highlights below featuring Amiina, Steindor Andersen, Mammut, Glen Hansard, Damien Rice, Spiritualized, Dikta and Damien Rice (again). Then go here, for fuller highlights and performaces by Gus Gus, Hjaltalin, Retro Stefson and For A Minor Reflection around the Icelandic countryside. Still,
despite sitting in hot and sunny London it really made me want to be in
cold,
wet, grey Reykjavik.
Technically, the
show went well - the feed was really high quality and the sound was
good. I'm
no expert but to pull off a large scale live broadcast like that must be
pretty
difficult. And the show was good too: of the Icelanders, I felt that
Mammut
& Seabear did themsleves most good in reaching out to potential
overseas
audiences. And Amiina certainly did a fine job in what will always be
known as
the Status Quo slot at such events. And I have to say that the overseas
acts
really impressed me, especially Damien Rice and Glen Hansard. Sure, they
did
their jobs competently (Damien excelling himself by performing a rendition of an Icelandic lullaby - any more info very welcome!), they're both fantastically good musicians but I loved the way they
were
engaged and involved - I believe they both played smaller gigs in town
the night before and you could tell from their twitterings they were indeed... inspired by
Iceland.
More great photos of the event below of umbrellas (!), Hafdis Huld, Mammut, Damien Rice & Glen Hansard...
So, somebody emailed me to ask why they should go to Iceland Airwaves 2010. I thought I'd share my reply...
"The hippest long weekend on the annual music-festival calendar" (David Fricke, Rolling Stone)
Iceland Airwaves is the best, most friendly, most
exciting few days of
musical highs imaginable. It runs Wednesday to Saturday (with bits on
the
Sunday). At night the gigs are in 7 or 8 diffrerent venues (indoors)
from bars
with capacity of 300 to one club and one art gallery holding about 1,500
each.
All venues are within a few minutes of each other on foot. If you run
into an
occasional queue, that's just a sign to go and discover something
brilliant and
unexpected elsewhere. The days can be filled with low-key performaces in
cafes,
shops, galleries and streets around town. Or you can go off and explore
outside
Reykjavik. The golden circle is a 6 hour coach trip stopping off at
stunning
wateralls, lakes, craters and geysirs or you can visit the famous Blue
Lagoon,
where there is an Airwaves hangover party on the Saturday with live
music whilst
you bathe.
The festival is under new management this year,
but they're experienced
and trustworthy(!). Iceland Airwaves has a well deserved reputation for
spotting
and booking bands on the cusp of breaking out, record companies want to
put
their hot new things on this bill alongside the incredible,
surprising amount of talented local acts. Off the top of my head past
acts
booked early in their
careers include Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Keane, TV On The Radio,
Klaxons, We Are Scientists, the Hives, Kaiser Chiefs, The Bravery,
Metric, The
Teenagers & Metronomy. This year's international acts already
confirmed include Hurts, Bombay Bicycle Club, Hercules & Love
Affair, Tunng,
Alex Metric, Mount Kimbie, Tune-Yards & Everything Everything. You really should
go, you'll get some new favourite bands, a new favourite city and
definitely a
new favourite hot dog vendor.
UPDATE 30th JUNE: Storms are coming, the event is moved to Hljómskálagarður in Reykjavik, same time and still live on the interweb at 8pm (UK time). That's a shame, Seljalandsfoss would have been an awesome location - but RVK ain't bad either. Good luck everyone! Give me a wave.
So, Glasto 2010 is coming to an end, currently Stevie Wonder seems intent on dragging it out for as long as possible. And whilst it certainly has had it's moments (Ray Davies, Kele, Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer and more I'm sure) I like my music events a little smaller. Iceland Airwaves certainly fits that bill, but this week there's another event happening; small, amazing location, great bands, it pretty perfect.
On 1st July (Thursday) an array of musicians (Icelandic and international) will play at the incredibly beautiful Seljalandsfoss waterfall on Iceland's south coast. If you've done Iceland's south coast, it's that one you can walk behind, I think it was also one of those that turned somewhat 'ashy' grey recently. This beguiling event is backed by those clever types at Inspired by Iceland who have been making a bit of an impact recently on twitter, youtube (genius video!) and elswhere. And importantly, excitingly and reassuringly the whole event is organised and produced by ex- Sigur Ros manager Kari Sturluson - the guy who organised and produced the Heima documentary, so this guy knows about staging spectacular outdoor events. It's going to be awesome.
