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Iceland Airwaves 2010 - Friday review

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 - Thursday review

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 - Wednesday review

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.

Wow - A quick word on Iceland Airwaves 2010

Wow

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...

• IMX for proving the festival is in safe hands.
• Whoever arranged that my wristband had the word "darling" on it.
• The Grapevine newspaper for being so damn up to date.
• Reykjavik! for working as hard as ever and dedicating a song to iceblah!
• Door and bar staff for being so much friendlier than ever before.
• All who attended the brunch of legends... Bob, Wim, Elly & Katie - fine work all week!
• The website gig-blog.net which has the best photos I've seen yet (3 of which used here - thanks!)

The week in numbers:

Bands seen :       55
CDs acquired:        9
Hot Dogs:        2 (a record low!)
Pizzas:            2
Beers:           unknown
Free beers:        2 (thanks Hjaltalin)
Brennivin shots:        1
Björk sightings:        1
On-stage mentions:    1 (thanks Reykjavik!)
Days without rain:    0

 

MORE SOON...

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #19 - Einar Örn Benediktsson

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.

---

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #18 - Haukur S Magnusson of Reykjavik!

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.

---

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #17 - Retro Stefson

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.
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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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #16 - Dr. Gunni / S.H.Draumur

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #15 - Mugison

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #14 - Ólafur Arnalds

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.

If you're a twitterer, find and follow him here.

 

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #13 - My Summer As A Salvation Soldier

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #12 - Hjaltalín

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #11 - Snorri Helgason

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.
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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!

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #10 - 'Iceland' Bob Cluness

If you see this man, buy him a beer --->

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...

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #9 - Rökkurró

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.
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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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #8 - Yunioshi

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #7 - Yuni In Taxco

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #6 - Eliza Newman

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!

 

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #5 - Of Monsters And Men

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.

Who is in the band?

Nanna (vocals, guitar), Raggi (vocals, guitar, melodica, glockenspiel), Brynjar (guitar, melodica), Arnar (drums, percussion, melodica, glockenspiel, vocals).

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #4 - Feldberg

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

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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.

 

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #3 - Jungle Fiction

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.


Jungle Fiction's are on myspace, facebook and twitter. Or listen to them at soundcloud.

More importantly, be sure to catch their Iceland Airwaves 2010 performance - they are headlining at Venue on the Saturday, at 2:30am.

 

 

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #2 - breakbeat.is

 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:

Ramadanman

Ewok & Kalli

Hypno

Muted

Raychem

Subminimal

I spoke to organiser Kalli...

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010 Interview #1 - Wim Van Hooste

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.

Iceland Airwaves 2010. Nearly.

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

Iceland Airwaves 2010 schedule

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!

Download Airwaves 2010 iceblah

 

 

 

Dear Iceland Airwaves...

Dear Iceland Airwaves,

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?

FM Belfast. Obviously. Or the party is incomplete. Unmissable. Tropical - FM Belfast by VNN

Jan Mayen. (pictured above) I'm pretty sure I've seen them every year. I don't want to break that!

My Summer As A Salvation Soldier. Gorgeous, bittersweet songwriting, delivered brilliantly. Or his other band...

Gavin Portland. Louder, faster than MSAASS. Electric live.

Fjallabraedur. I can't resist this choir of fishermen, backed by drums & electric guitar, the noise they make is incredible.

Ghostigital. Again, I've seen them every year. Surely Einar Orn will make an appearance? Spellbinding. Not Clean by ghostigital

Jeff Who? Grown up pop songs, irresistible.

Sin Fang Bous. Seabear are playing, so let's hope for a show from their lead singer's other project.

Nora. One of the best Icelandic discoveries of the year, would be great to see them play for the first time. Nora - Bolaheidfall by einarmarel

Petur Ben. Not been seen live for a few years... would be magical.

Please?

Here's a fine, fine thing

Everyone (quite rightly) is making a big deal of The Arcade Fire's "We Used To Wait" video thingy made with something called HTML 5. It was, I must say, stunning and jaw-dropping, I couldn't quite believe what I was watching.

But here below is another fine thing. It's an excellent brand new song by long-time iceblah faves, White Collar Weapons, and it comes with a video which is creative, different and that you will need to watch at least twice. Enjoy.

 

 

And if you like that, here's another of their finest moments...

 

Glad I Am That's Not Me by whitecollarweapons

The Iceland Airwaves 2010 Twitter List

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...

http://twitter.com/iceblah/icelandairwaves2010

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. 

Here's the whole list...

http://twitter.com/icelandairwaves

http://twitter.com/IcelandMusic

http://twitter.com/iceblah

http://twitter.com/Alexmetric

http://twitter.com/BasiaBulat

http://twitter.com/BombayBicycle

http://twitter.com/chateau_marmont

http://twitter.com/stayfierce (Diamond Rings)

http://twitter.com/Efterklang

http://twitter.com/factoryfloor

http://twitter.com/HerculesLA

http://twitter.com/theohurts

http://twitter.com/infohurts

http://twitter.com/joyformidable

http://twitter.com/junip_music

http://twitter.com/LCMDF

http://twitter.com/moddimusikk

http://twitter.com/Mondkopf

http://twitter.com/mountkimbie

http://twitter.com/neonindian

http://twitter.com/oh_no_ono

http://twitter.com/robynkonichiwa

http://twitter.com/rolotomassiband

http://twitter.com/silvercolumns

http://twitter.com/smksweden

http://twitter.com/snailhouse

http://twitter.com/t3eth

http://twitter.com/timbertimbre

http://twitter.com/Korpisthlm (The Amplifetes)

http://twitter.com/theantlers

http://twitter.com/thinkaboutlife

http://twitter.com/toroymoi

http://twitter.com/thisistunng

http://twitter.com/walls_band

http://twitter.com/wildgeesemusic

http://twitter.com/yunioshi

http://twitter.com/yuniintaxco

http://twitter.com/agentfresco

http://twitter.com/bennycrespos

http://twitter.com/Biggibix

http://twitter.com/bloodgroup

http://twitter.com/CaptainFufanu

http://twitter.com/cliffclavinband

http://twitter.com/dikta

http://twitter.com/endlessdarkband

http://twitter.com/ensimi

http://twitter.com/ForaMinor

http://twitter.com/ForeignMonkeys

http://twitter.com/HafdisHuld

http://twitter.com/Haffihaff

http://twitter.com/hjalmarband

http://twitter.com/hjaltalinband

http://twitter.com/kimono_em4dp

http://twitter.com/mammutband

http://twitter.com/mugison

http://twitter.com/OlafurArnalds

http://twitter.com/Oculusmusic

http://twitter.com/ourlivesband

http://twitter.com/retrostefson

http://twitter.com/Reykjavikband

http://twitter.com/rokkurro

http://twitter.com/seabearband

http://twitter.com/sometimemusic

http://twitter.com/sykurtheband

http://twitter.com/toggipop

http://twitter.com/utidur

http://twitter.com/wellwhoknew

 http://twitter.com/rvkgrapevine

http://twitter.com/haukurSM

http://twitter.com/wimvanhooste

http://twitter.com/ellyoracle

http://twitter.com/icelandbob

http://twitter.com/paulosullivano

http://twitter.com/gogoyoko

http://twitter.com/kimirecords

Iceland Airwaves 2010 & Progress

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.

Most exciting to me is the return of Icelandic legends, Apparat Organ Quartet who are always brilliant and haven't appeared for a few years. Get in that venue early to see them at work. Also added is up and coming American (i.e. I'd already heard of) Dominique Young Unique (pictured), as well as acts like Chateau Marmont, Film, James Blake, Le Corps Mince De Francoise, (who sound BRILLIANT), Neon Indian, Ramadanman, Rolo Tomassi, Wild Gees and Yuni In Taxco (who we should all love since they made friends on twitter straight away!)

Exciting times... I wonder what colour the wristbands will be.

Reykjavik! - Cats

There's a new song by Reykjavik! available. Listen to it here.

Hopefully there will be a whole album's worth of this stuff by the time Iceland Airwaves 2010 rolls around. Of which, more soon... x

Retro Stefson - Kimba

Man, I love this new Retro Stefson tune, and the video is hilarious. Can't wait to hear this at Iceland Airwaves 2010. Just too much fun...

Inspired By Iceland Concert

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...

Why Should I Go To Iceland Airwaves 2010?

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.

So good, they're making a film about it...

Glastonbury? Or beautiful Icelandic waterfall?

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.

The list of Icelandic acts is pretty impressive - how about Seabear, Amiina, Lay Low, Steindor Andersen and Hilmar OrnHilmarsson, Hjaltalin, Hafdis Huld, Gus Gus, For A Minor Reflection, Parabolur, Dikta and Mammút? And the confirmed overseas acts are singer-songwriter Damien Rice and space-rock dudes Spiritualized (who have been busy rehearsing with an Icelandic choir for this one-off). So, you get it, this is a unique line-up in an inspirational location. You should be there. If not, you have some options - the whole thing will be broadcast live at www.inspiredbyiceland.com and you can come back here afterwards and, with any luck, you'll find some videos, photos and backstage stuff.

I'll tell you what's exciting

Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton

Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

Bono & Luciano Pavarotti

Queen & David Bowie

Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue

George Michael & Aretha Franklin

Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush

Prince & Sheena Easton

Run DMC & Aerosmith

Mugison & Reykjavik!

yep - they've made a song together, it's as brilliant as it sounds, download it here.

Jónsi in London

I went to see Jónsi in London last week, at the Forum in Kentish Town. I'd listened a lot in advance, the album is incredibly good, this reviewer is one of many who agree. I'd read a lot in advance, and seen this video, about the work & planning that had gone into the live show. I was expecting a lot, and the evening mainly delivered. I had one huge complaint though, nothing to do with the artist, the venue was HOTTER THAN THE SUN (see right Alan Partridge fans) - it was unbearable. I was standing upstairs and everyone was dripping in sweat and leaving regularly for liquids, truly horrible.

The first half of the show was kind of lost on us all due to the desperate attempt to stay at a decent temperature. Like a Sigur Ros show, the audience was very silent throughout the songs - I do love it when people get told to be quiet at a live show, makes me laugh - and it is amazing considering the irritating and irrelevant babble at most gigs (like at Metric in the same week). And once Jónsi moved on to some of the more upbeat moments, the crowd seemed to relax and move about a bit and the temperature started to drop (I'd love to think the gentle swaying acted like a big human fan). The highlights were predictable, my favourites from the CD - Boy Lilikoi, Grow Til Tall and the incredible Go Do, and the whole visual show was a work of genius which kept my attention throughout.

Jónsi is back in London in November, I'll be going again, surely no heatwave that day?

As an aside, Jónsi's music has been put to very good use in a new advertising campaign for paint (yes, yes I've thought of the watching paint dry gag Jónsi non-believers), watch the video below (technology willing), it is an excellent piece of work.

So, I'm off to do two things (1) listen again and again and again to the collaboration between "Gods of music" Mugison & Reykjavik! and (2) gather music by the latest set of international additions to the spectacle that will be Iceland Airwaves 2010 (already done, brilliantly, by genius blogger Reykjavik Sex Farm)

Iceland Airwaves 2010

Iceland Airwaves 2010. It's on. The tickets are on sale. The website is live again (but looks really, really bad - or is it just me?). And we've got some bands confirmed. I love this bit - I love how I decide that I'm going to do loads of research into these intriguing foreign bands, I'm visiting their sites, I'm downloading tracks, I'm making ipod playlists of them to get familiar. I also know that I'll get to Reykjavik in October, and when the time comes I'll be off to see Jan Mayen again, or Reykjavik! again, or Retro Stefson again. Still, it amuses may and I always find a few that I want to see if the programming allows.

I was going to do a clever little thing now where I compare some the unknown non-Icelandic acts to the more familiar Icelandic ones. What a good idea I thought, and then I paid my daily visit to the Reykjavik Grapevine site, and saw this article. Seriously, much better than I would have done it, give it a read. I will say that based on my extensive research (a couple of plays) so far that the overseas bands to make a note of are The Amplifetes (who sound absolutely brilliant), Basia Bulat and JJ - but generally, and as always, the Airwaves talent spotters have done a great job. More of that over the next few months no doubt!

The Icelanders already confirmed are all listed on the main website here - there's a reassuringly large number of them, some of the better and/or more familiar ones include Agent Fresco, Bloodgroup, Cliff Clavin, Dikta, DLX ATX, Seabear, Mínus, Pascal Pinon, Reykjavík!, Sudden Weather Change, Sykur, Feldberg, Mugison, Hjalmar, Retro Stefson, Mammut, Bang Gang, Ensimi and Hjaltalin. That's a whole lot of looking forward I have to do.

In case you need more help, the link below is a spotify playlist I've created - there aren't loads of these acts present on spotify, but that's possibly not a bad thing...

Iceland Airwaves 2010

I know someone who knows more acts that are yet to be announced, Irritatingly they aren't about to tell me - but there was a cheeky smile that has to be a good sign. You really should go, you should book now - that volcano is nothing to worry about, it's an exciting bonus. Iceland Airwaves is the best festival anywhere in the world. Don't take my word for it, look at this movie trailer.

"Instead of asking why Iceland is the way it is, I've started asking why aren't we more like Iceland"

"The little secret is that the musical centre of the earth is in Iceland"

Correct.

Testing

A little test to see if this iPhone app works for posting... and I'm off upstairs to do a quick (proper computer!) post about Airwaves 2010 in a second.

Phew... It's Good

So the UK election result will be known in a few hours, and the endlessly repeating conversations of empty possibilities have driven me upstairs to make another attempt to prove I'm not a terrible blogger like Nick Hornby (who is, of course, a wonderful writer in any form).

And even though, I still haven't got around to truly finish off my top albums of 2009 list (The XX? Olafur Arnalds? Or something else) - I'm afraid you're about to be subjected to another bout of enthusiasm for music I'm listening to right now, in 2010! This little lot come under the category "Phew", so here follows a list of music that's great - but that I did worry wasn't going to be... happy surprises,

We Are Scientists - Rules Don't Stop After 2005's truly immense "With Love And Squalor", the follow up three years later, "Brain Thrust Mastery" was, to these ears, a huge disappointment. I loved them so much, I especially loved being right at the front of their amazing Airwaves show in 2006. It was a massive relief and delight to hear this classic piece of guitar pop and fall immediately back in love with them. Great tune, great humour, nice video. Phew.

Blur - Fool's Day, which you can find all over the web, including here. What a nice surprise. I really thought that this would be a bad idea, but it's a lot better than most stuff on their most recent too albums. It's unmistakably Damon, it's unmistakably Graham. And it mentions Ladbroke Grove. It's all good. Phew.

Kele - Tenderoni - here's a thing to dread. The lead singer of one of my very favourite bands, strikes out alone. These things usually end in a messy and over-arty way, in a bid to prove independence. Not this time - or at least if it is, it's in a way I like. A lot. Listen to it here, tell me if I'm wrong. It's dirty, gritty dance music, and better than anything else in the vicinity. Bring on the album. Phew.

The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter - a whole album of phew. It seems now that every new album by Mark E Smith is hailed as a return to form. Does that even make sense? Whatever, another triumph for this most unique of set-ups. It's always a phew moment. I don't understand how this shambolic seeming group churn out something so fascinating and addictive. Listen to "Bury Pts 1 & 3", "Funnel Of Love" or "Y.F.O.C. / Slippy Floor". Magic. Phew.

And I just can't go away without the most surprising, delightfully nostalgic thing I've seen for a long, long time. If you never loved Adam & The Ants, then this may not mean a whole lot, but he was my first musical hero, I was that kid with the stripes on his face. He's been through all sorts of shit, but he's back playing again as the Pirate Metal Extravaganza (hmmm) and he played in the Scala at King's Cross recently. It sounds amazing here, next time - you'll find me in that audience. Phew.

GO Eyjafjallajökull !

I was planning to write this weekend about music that has got my enthusiasm going so far in 2010. Events have overtaken me somewhat, and I've been having enormous fun with everyone's new best smoky friend Eyjafjallajokull (hilarious guide to pronunciation, and some truly woeful attempts here).

I've enjoyed the coverage so much - seeing so much of Iceland on TV, in the papers, and hearing that familiar accent! I'm not inconvenienced (although you have to feel sorry for people who have been), in fact I live on the flight path into Heathrow so it's pretty good news and noticeably peaceful round here at the moment.

And the photos. Wow! The two here are taken from big picture and the always wonderful Reykjavik Grapevine. There are so many incredible photos of explosions, floods, glaciers, broken roads, ash clouds and brave people (and horses) on those two links, and also on flickr here and here.

The whole thing has been utterly awe-inspiring. The sights we've seen, the unquestionable dominance of nature over anything else and the humour. Looking at the power, It's great that more people and animals aren't harmed, let's hope it stays that way.

Finally, we all know how inspired by landscape and nature these Icelandic musicians are ;-) ... this should keep them going for a while!

Reasons To Be Cheerful 1,2,3,4

I'm really in love with music in 2010 - I've heard some fabulous stuff from new discoveries and old favourites - over the next days and weeks I'm going to write a series of short posts under the general theme, "reasons to be cheerful" :-) - about the tracks and albums I've loved over the first quarter of this year.

I'll start here with a few gig and internet reasons to be positive...

gogoyoko.com - what's that? an Icelandic music website, where you can listen to full tracks by loads of artists - Icelandic and otherwise. You can buy individual tracks and albums if you want. You can send messages to other users. There's nothing not to like. My favourite discovery so far is Pascal Pinon, and especially the fantastic song, "I Wrote A Song".

Teitur at The Purcell Room, London - Fabulous artist, fabulous venue. Before the show even started, the evening was good - there was a chocolate festival right outside the place. A fine beginning. The venue was perfect, but sadly only about two-thirds full. But we were all there to hear this incredibly talented guy from the Faroe Islands (which is nearly Iceland - isn't it? - can I get away with that?). The show was fabulous - Teitur's voice accompanied by either piano or acoustic guitar, was flawless and engaging. The string quartet which joined him on stage for some songs was perfectly employed. But it is Teitur's songs which shine through, he has a knack for melody and for lyrics which sweep the audience away - every moment was listened to in a complete hush, which would break into warm applause at each tune's close. A perfect night, check out his album, "All My Mistakes" here; highlights include Jospehine, Catherine the Waitress, Don't Want You To Wake Up and Louis Louis.

Hjaltalin at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill - again, a wonderful venue for this edition of jajaja nights in  London. The Tabernacle is a curious thing, a bar/restaurant downstairs and open, school-gym kind of performance venue upstairs. It works, it is the sort of venue, like Kilburn's Luminaire, that makes me more likely to go see a band. The Tabernacle is surrounded by houses and homes, and for this reason has one of those noise meter's on stage (and visible to the audience) - this little sparkly box put a premature end to the set by Megaphonic Thrift - they overdid it several times before giving up. Next up were the mighty Hjaltalin. The Icelanders certainly have improved from album to album, and now also from show to show - they are increasingly confident - buoyed no doubt by their success at home but also by having two albums-worth of strong material. The set was well-received by an only-half full room - the love in the room grew throughout and peaked for the rousing motown sounding set-closer "Feels Like Sugar" from new album Terminal. (Hjaltalin photo is from lovely website itsatrap)

Finally - Iceland Airwaves 2010 - it's happening, the dates are confirmed, and it is under new management. Now, I don't have a bad word to say about anything Mr Destiny ever did with Iceland Airwaves, but I know the people at IMX well - they even think it's a good idea to have this blog on their homepage, (thank you!) - and they are super-smart and super-passionate about Iceland and the music, I know they'll do an amazing job. First bands to be announced very soon, watch this space... :-)

White Collar Weapons : I'm Not In A Band

Not that talented.

I've had a deluge. I've had 3 whole messages to this blog in the last week - trust me, that's more than usual. They accused me (playfully!) respectively of

1. being in a band (and therefore motivated by self-interest)
2. being in the music industry (and therefore motivated by self-interest)
3. being Icelandic.

In reverse order...

I'm not Icelandic, I sometimes wish I was. If I was Icelandic I guess I might be in a band.

I'm in the publishing industry, I stop myself from writing about books too much.

I'm not in a band. I love bands, curiously I especially love Icelandic bands. And when I love them, I write about them. And if something good happens to them, I'll tell you - not because I'm in a band.

So I'm quickly going to tell you that iceblah's favourite London-based-non-Icelandic band, White Collar Weapons, got the lead song from their debut E.P. played on iceblah's favourite London-based-non-Icelandic radio station, xfm. And excitingly, you can replay the glory here.

And if I can work the technology, you should be able to play another track from that E.P. "Birds" below.

Batteríið

Oh this is very sad, I just heard that the bar Batteríið, or Organ is we used to know it, is gone - burned down overnight.

The photo to the left is stolen from the lovely okidoki.is website, and they agree with me that the venue had a knack of generating a great atmosphere. Without checking back I remember ghostigital in 2009 being amazing in there, and the year before Reykjavik! and Skatar were incredible. It is so sad to see the state it is in today.

So Airwaves will be in need of another great venue this year, hopefully we'll have news of Iceland Airwaves 2010 soon, the website has gone offline for now - that worries me!

London bonanza

The best Icelandic music has to offer have been, or are about to arrive, and it is about time I caught up with the Icelandic goings-on in London. I'm sitting listening to Sigur Ros remixes (Gluteus Maximus mix of Gobbledigook - wow!) and knowing that several feet of snow have just been dumped on Reykjavik I'm glad (for once) not to be there! And happy therefore that so much has been going on at this end!

The main Icelandic music event recently was the jajaja night in January. First on were Leaves, who having just delivered what I think is their best album so far followed up with an assured performance to a satisfyingly packed (sweaty) upstairs at The Lexington pub in Islington. The headline band of the night were the always impressive Sudden Weather Change, making their UK debut. Would they continue to excel without hometown support? They sure did, the room was hot and there was a lot of love for the headline band. Sudden Weather Change will be welcome back in London anytime at all. There are some great photos of the night from lineofbestfit, their shot of SWC's drummer is to the left. The night was a huge success, the place was packed, I caught up with some lovely friends of iceblah - some for the first time. And the larger than life editor of grapevine, guitarist of Reykjavik was there, in a professional capacity reporting on the event, even interviewing me (desperate!)

Turning to the future, the next jajaja night is tonight, I won't be there - and not JUST because there is no Icelandic band! But the next one has one of the finest, and always improving Icelandic bands of them all. Hjaltalin are in London town to perform on Thursday March 11th at the gorgeous Tabernacle venue in Notting Hill - joing them on the bill are Lucy Love (Denmark), Husky Rescue (Finalnd) and Megaphonic Thrift (Norway). Hjaltalin's debut album, Sleepdrunk Sessions, was gorgeous and their live shows became essential. Their new album, Terminal, is better again - March 11th is essential. In fact, Hjaltalin play in London the day before at Koko, and the day after at The Windmill (with Pete & The Pirates). It's The Tabernacle for me though!

Also, coming to London after Hjaltalin are the numerous members of Benni Hemm Hemm, playing at Brixton's windmill venue on March 25th. They are followed a day later by the not-actually-Icelandic, but absolutely fantastic Teitur from the Faroe Islands who will be playing at the South Bank Centre, 5 minutes from my work. I'm booked in the front row. Nice.

Even more excitingly, two of the very best Iceland's music scene has to offer hit London in the next few days. Next Tuesday the amazing FM Belfast play here for the first time (I think?) at The Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. This, like all their shows, is sure to be spectacular. And before that, this Saturday 27th, the best of them all, Mugison will be playing at The Water Rats in Kings Cross. Mugison's (right) shows are amazing, his sound has moved from one-man-band laptop folk to be stadium sounding ballsy rock. The man has it all, the new album "Itrekun" is utter proof of this, please don't miss this treat. (although saying that I haven't sorted out my tickets yet, so don't arrive too early - or can anyone help with guest list?!)

I think that's it for the moment. If you are an icelandic band and you are coming to London, please tell me and I will promote. In fact, if you have any news, tracks or whatever - keep in touch, easiest was is at twitter. And if you're going to be at any of the events above - give me a shout!

And, with nice symmetry, I'll sign off for now - to the sound of "Shook" the Sigur Ros / Mobb Deep mash-up, available here.

Win A Trip To Iceland!

As if the upcoming (this Thursday 21st January) jajaja night in London wasn't exciting enough...

- 2 out of the 3 bands are Icelandic

- and they're really good ones - Leaves & Sudden Weather Change

- curated (including DJ set) by the very wise Sean Adams from the Drowned In Sound website

...very exciting! Well now those lovely jajaja people have made it even more exciting bu offering a trip to Iceland as a competition prize. You'll have to be quick, and over 18, as the winners will be announced on thursday night. All the info you need is below,

In advance of this Thursday's impending party at The Lexington, Ja Ja Ja is offering the chance of a lifetime to one lucky winner and their even luckier friend...a free trip to Iceland! All you have to do is sign up for the Ja Ja Ja newsletter and name your favourite three Nordic artists over at www.jajajamusic.com

Ja Ja Ja is a night that brings together the brightest new emerging talents from the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - for monthly parties at London's Lexington venue. Each night is curated by a very special guest. The opening night's performers were selected by Radio 1 Introducing DJ Huw Stephens, with Drowned in Sound head honcho Sean Adams taking the reins for January.

In front of media, industry and music lovers alike, these exciting prospects reveal their talents, making every Ja Ja Ja event a night to remember. The winners of the Ja Ja Ja Iceland competition will be announced this Thursday, 21st January at the party, which includes sets from Icelandic bands Sudden Weather Change and Leaves alongside Norway's Simon Says No! You can preview these bands at MySpace.com/Jajajanordic and read exclusive interviews by Ja Ja Ja media partner The Line Of Best Fit here. Good luck! to win two free flights and a two night stay in a four-star hotel in Reykjavik*.

Good luck indeed - and if you're going to be there on Thursday, be sure to say hi, leave a comment on this blog or get me on twitter (link onthe right on this page). And if not - I'm going to try to keep twitter updated from the venue, with photos if I can master the technology!

Beating the back to work blues

Tonight I've been "looking forward" to getting back to work after the nice long Christmas break. In case of depression, I've been frantically and furiously downloading a nice big fix of Icelandic music to make those journeys on the underground that much nicer! Eight whole albums! And I feel SO much better for it. And here they are,

• Mugison - Itrekun
• Fjallabræður - Fjallabræður
• Bloodgroup - Dry Land
• Hjaltalin - Terminal
• Leaves - We Are Shadows
• Feldberg - Don't Be A Stranger
• Kimono - Easy Music For Difficult People
• Ghostigital - A Quiet Afternoon
  

I will of course let you know how they sound before long. A good evening's work!

None of this is helping me get those best of 2009 lists finished!

December? Already?

December, for music lovers, is all about those end of year lists (and not really about Christmas Number One, is it?). These lists are very beloved to me - I enjoy putting weeks and weeks of thought into them, and I must shortly decide who will succeed Kings Of Leon and Sigur Ros. First, I devour everyone else's opinion in case there's something I might have missed. Recently (as you may have noticed - sorry), I've been busy, happily occupied, and haven't given these important matters the time they deserve. I'm working hard now to put that right. You can expect to see my personal albums and tracks of 2009 appear here over the next week or so. Once I work out once and for all, how good (or otherwise) Bob Dylan's "Christmas In The Heart" really is.

2010 already looks promising. Bloodgroup's album (right) has great reviews in Iceland but hasn't reached my ears yet, Sigur Ros' Jonsi (free mp3 at that link!) has a solo album coming in March, Seabear promise a return in the Spring and then head to SXSW... there will be more.

I have been devouring the music magazine's opinions. Over at the NME, The Horrors got the crown. Kasabian were flavour of the month (erm, year, surely) at Q magazine, Uncut went for Animal Collective whilst Phoenix ruled supreme at the marvelous Drowned In Sound website. I've stopped caring what Mojo think - it always seemed to be Richmond Fontaine. Tell me if that's changed.

I haven't spotted any Icelandic albums in this year's round-ups. This can only mean that those round-ups are wrong. It has been another wonderful year of Icelandic output, as so clearly evidenced at Iceland Airwaves in October and this is reflected over at the Iceland Music Export website which will very soon be updated with the best of 2009 list featuring contributions from various experts (blush) on the subject.

EDIT: I am wrong - Jonsi & Alex made it to #17 on Rough Trade's best of 2009 list - thanks for the info!

One huge development (for Icelandic music lovers in London) over the last few weeks has seen the start of a new club night in snowy London town form the wonderful team at JA JA JA music (A Big Nordic Music Affair). The first two nights were curated by Radio One's Huw Stephens and then last week by xfm's brilliant John Kennedy, who very wisely picked Iceland's electro-tastic Bloodgroup, I then unwisely got sick and missed it. I will not make that mistake again for the third installment, curated by Sean from Drowned In Sound. Sean is a man of evident taste as he's picked 2 Icelandic acts out of the 3 slots. So get down to The Lexington on January 21st to see Sudden Weather Change and The Leaves. Brilliant - thanks JA JA JA!

Iceland Airwaves 2009 + 1 week

Busy week back in "the real world" for the past 7 post-Airwaves days, but back in Iceland someone (and I REALLY can't remember who) set me a little task. A week after the festival I had to write a short post saying what songs were still swimming around my head, which songs and moments really stuck in the memory for 2009's festival, so I've got ten...

• Oh Land - Frostbite
• Reykjavík! - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
• Sudden Weather Change - St. Peter's Day
• Dikta - Just Getting Started
• Ghostigital - Trouser
• Feldberg - Don't Be A Stranger
• Mammút - Rauðilækur
• Hafdis Huld - Kongulo
• Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið
• FM Belfast - Killing In The Name Of

Great tracks, I feel an ipod playlist coming on.

I've found just a couple of reviews of Iceland Airwaves 2009 around the internet, but I haven't looked hard (yet). For now, there have been short reviews at Drowned In Sound and (hilariously) in The Daily Telegraph. Judge for yourself.

As ever, The Reykjavik Grapevine is THE place to go to for everything Airwaves related, and download that free album if you haven't already. And they're such nice people too, so I hope they won't mind me reproducing an extract of their review (by an American visitor) of one of Reykjavík!'s shows.

This was Reykjavík! In college, a writing professor taught me to never use an exclamation point unless I really, really meant it. Reykjavik! really, really mean it. While they set up and turned up every mic till it went into the red, there was much shouting and laughing. Someone shrieked “Too much foreplay!” which further confirmed the inkling I had that we were all about to get fucked. Hard.

Minutes later, their singer was jumping off the railing with a thud, taking a circuitous path through the crowd to end up next to the pudgy, drunk and happy guitarist Haukur, who was borrowing a guitar from the previous band Mammút. The vocalist moved on to test the fan for its ability to carry his weight. If I were in Mammút I would never lend a guitar to Reykjavik! They are as abusive as they are loud, as reckless as their witless audience, as damaging as a wildebeest stampede, and no thing or person could escape from their wrath last night.

They treated the stage as a guideline, a home base to return to after seeing how far the mic cables could stretch into their bombed and wobbling crowd. Sure, I was able to identify a few key riffs within the thick mess of sound, but their strength is certainly not in their mastery of melody. Three guys created a flurry of tightly locked drum, guitar and bass jabs which gave guitarist Haukur and singer Bóas the freedom to throw out the rules of tonal harmony and do what any man might do with a stomach full of beer and a soul of black calcified rock: scream. They know the PA will distort and disguise the fact that they don't sing actual notes. Reykjavik!  is like the friend at a party that gets you funneling beers when you'd intended to merely have a few. Being in the room with them meant you had to headbang or get the fuck out. I did the former until even the venue had had enough; Reykjavik!,  a band as vehemently dedicated to the party as the city they're named after, had to move on and get the fuck out.

He captures the feel of one of those shows perfectly, DAMN why are some people so much better with words than me? Full original text is here.

Leave other reviews in the comments below if you can, leave your own top tens (especially if you set me the challenge!). Ta ta for now x

Iceland Airwaves - Saturday Review

Saturday at Airwaves, and as always half of the crowd disappeared off to the blue lagoon for a bit of pampering and relaxation at the hangover party. I haven't been for the last few years but I couldn't resist posting this fabulous photo which totally captures the spirit of the party taken there yesterday by Johan Eckerström. More of his excellent photographs can be found here.

Once I had employed (again) the world's best hangover cure (Icelandic hot sulphur water shower, windows wide open, skyr, expresso, expresso) I ventured out into the steady rain to search for that optimum balance of (a) seeing lots of off-venue shows and (b) keeping dry. Reykjavik! played an 'acoustic' show in the Lost Horse Gallery, which is a room with space for about 20 people in it. Now, however, it had around 50 in it and minds were concentrated on avoiding swinging guitar necks and splintering wood as Boas got 'acquainted' with the chairs. At Skifan, I caught some of Lara's set of pleasingly, head-shaking songs. But the store really filled up soon afterward for yet another show by this year's hardest working band, Mammut. Word clearly had spread around town that this is a young band well worth checking out, and again they delivered a high energy, hook heavy set and no doubt sold a few records too as they headed out to prepare for their next show later in the evening.

I started the evening (my last at Iceland Airwaves 2009) with my annual trip to see Jeff Who? play live. Every year (except last year when they suffered as a result of being in the festival's worst venue, but best hang-out, Hresso) I wonder why they aren't more successful. Their songs are obscenely catchy; guitar riffs and synth chords everywhere, and an audience full of huge grins. They look good too, as I overheard one possibly jealous guy say, "They just found the best looking man in Iceland and put him at the front of a band" - more to them than that, the guy can sing too, I'll leave his looks for others to debate! The show was great, and from my point of view it was nice to hear some songs from their superior first album like "Golden Age" and "Death Before Disco", before recent hit, "She's Got The Touch" brought Nasa to an early evening crescendo.

Out again into the chilliest evening of the festival for some serious venue, and genre, hopping as I attempted to see three excellent but different acts within an hour. First to Batteriid for ghostigital. The venue was running late, bad news, and a caught the very end of BB & Blake's set which didn't seem to have engaged too many, with the exceptional of two particularly keen girls swaying along at the barriers. Ghostigital set up very quickly, considering the amount of electronics which seem to go into their sound. This band is genius, Curver is a superb electronic musician pumping out massive beats and distorting the vocals of the King of Icelandic music, Einar Orn, as he barks about whatever he likes - variously tonight his subjects included trousers and hairy scary things that are "behind you". Einar Orn has the best crazed stare in all of music, and probably beyond. I left before the end of their set, reluctantly, as I knew by know at Idno Olafur Arnalds would be on stage. Olafur returned to Iceland especially for this show having been performing his score for a ballet in London, and I wish he had ben allocated a bigger venue. This guy is becoming an international music star and Idno was very cramped and very very hot - I saw people arrive but turn away immediately when they saw the crush, and felt the wall of humidity (or less politely, sweat). Sometimes, however, all this can be forgiven - the show was incredible. the audience stood in utter silence watching Olafur, in jacket and bow-tie, playing keyboard and laptop and his four piece string quarter deliver half an hour or so of the most stunning modern, electronic classical music. This style is so out of my normal taste, or even interest, but I find his songs irresistible. His "Found Songs" project is one of my most listened to pieces of music of the last 12 months and it's highlight "Ljosid" was also the highlight of this performance. The set ended abruptly, robbing us of one final song, when the technology failed and couldn't be recovered in time to keep the venue on schedule. there was one idiot vocalising frustration, but the rest of the audience drowned him out quickly with rapturous and deserved applause.

Into the streets again, delighted to be cooled down, and ready for a swift move up Laugavegur and into Grand Rokk for Jan Mayen. But hang on, what the hell is that noise - too loud surely to be coming from inside a venue. A passing truck held the answer, Dr Spock's (not that) secret gig was taking place, everywhere on the back of a moving truck! This was truly a piece of theatre; as always there were a few enormous rubber gloves, and the flamboyance we all love from this incredible live rock band as they carried on performing as the side of the truck opened and closed mechanically. They were followed by a lot of spectators, a mobile merchandise store and a long queue of surprisingly patient traffic. Delayed somewhat by the spectacle I arrived for the last few songs of Jan Mayen's only appearance at this year's Airwaves, but it told me all I needed to know. They remain one of Iceland's finest guitar bands, possessing some great, catchy indie tunes which would be at home on any radio station in any country. Let's hope for some new material soon.

Undecided where to head next, I ended up in the Art Museum (no queue!)  and was very glad to catch the end of Oh Land's main set having seen them at the hostel previously, and my timing was perfect as she closed with one my favourite songs of the year, "frostbite". The Cocknbullkid from London was on next, but this is not my cup of tea I'm afraid, so I left again to ensure my spot in Nasa for Reykjavik's finest young bands, Retro Stefson and FM Belfast. Both sets had a very similar vibe to last year, there's an excitement around this pair of bands that they are making sounds which could lead to success outside of the island. They were rapturously received as the home-grown young stars they are. Both sounded as fresh as they did last year, and performance wise, and visually, they had improved as bands. Retro Stefson delivered a familiar set of songs in at least four different languages and then FM Belfast brought my night to a close with fabulous dance music, bringing the house down, as in 2008, with their cover version of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name Of". A fitting end to my festival, it always seems to end in Nasa with something incredibly and deliriously 'dancy'! Often that has been GusGus who I will be very sad to miss this year, particularly as they have just delivered what just might be the best album of their long career. Don't miss it folks, and enjoy the party. Over and out...

If you were there, I'd love you to leave a comment below. What were the highlights? What sucked? What did I miss?

Iceland Airwaves - Friday Review

(Firstly, a big emotional thanks to everyone reading this - over 500 of you apparently in the last 24 hours, that's amazing. Thanks for putting with the ramblings, the spelling mistakes and the unprofessional photos. Cheers!)

The lateness of this post will tell you something of Friday night at Iceland Airwaves 2009. It was one of those that went long into the early hours of the next day and involved those funny Opal shots that taste as if they are a vodka/cough medicine cocktail. Which frankly is what they are, I can't think of many things more likely to kill germs. Delicious.

The off venue shows during the daytime were, as ever, an absolute delight. To recap briefly, I started at the hostel downtown to see the Danish former ballerina now known as Oh Land. I have ben completely charmed by her song "Frostbite" ever since I looked her up on Hype Machine and so she was one of the non-Icelanders I was determined to see. Her show was lo-fi, and low-key but delicate and beautiful. Off to Skifan to see Hafdis Huld again, she played the exact same set as the previous night in Nasa but that didn't matter too much as it was just as enjoyable again, including the second viewing of the pink flying V ukulele. She's also a tremendous saleswoman, she plugged her new album and next shows mercilessly and sold and signed quite a number after the show for her admirers. Well Done! There followed a little bit of running around to catch a few songs of Sykur (at kaffistofa), the Hudson Wayne (at 12 Tonar) and then, again in 12 tonar, for the brilliant Eberg who charmed the packed record shop with his one man show. Finally a quick jog to Skifan where I caught the last five minutes of hotly-tipped Canadians, Brasstronaut, who sounded nice!

So, huh, thinking back to the on venue stuff... the evening started at 8pm in the Art Museum with my first view of <3 Svanhvit (photos above, and left). It turns out it was my last look at them too, since this was their last ever show. That's a shame because this a humorous bunch with some good songs, and they brought the party to a fairly empty Art Museum. Firstly they called the audience further and further forward, then made us all stand on the left half, and then the right half - this must have bemused the latecomers. The show was full of youthful energy, as if the band UMTBS had gone from 4 to 8 people and then all learned different instruments. At the end they over-ran and were finally cut short by the organisers so they only managed to play the intro to what was to be their final performance together. A shame, I would have liked to see them again.

Once the over-priced (small) can of beer was drained it was off to set up camp in Sodoma for the entire evening. Thursday and Saturday are running around days, Friday's bill in Sodoma made movement unnecessary for once. For an hour or so it was pretty empty, I guess those who managed to get the limited Kings Of Convenience wristbands were all over at Frikirkjan settling in for their reward, and it seemed like most other festival goers were either in the Art Museum or in an enormous queue outside of it to see the inordinately trendy bands at Moshi Moshi night. Me, I was happy in the low ceilinged (?) rock dive over the road.

First Me, the Slumbering Napoleon and then Bob Justman played to a half empty room but both emerged successful due to their comfort at interacting with the audience, making friends as they went. Napoleon (can I abbreviate?) went about their normal, noisy, 70s rock-tinged with skill and had the audience's attention fixed on them throughout. Bob Justman had a few technical issues it seemed, not least the complete absence of his usual band, but won me over with charm and some above average singer-songwriter sounds.

Towards half past ten, the venue was suddenly rammed, a suitable reward for an excellent line-up. The always popular Dikta were next and after their somewhat lacklustre show the previous evening absolutely nailed it tonight. Every song in their set now seems familiar, and all the locals sure do know every word of the hits and belt them out. This was an absolute triumph of a show, and it is their songs that are still going around my head the best part of 24 hours (and a lot of music) later. Let Go, Breaking The Waves, Just Getting Started were all huge highlights.

Reykjavik! (photos, right) were up next, a change of pace, and for the most part it seemed a change of audience. At the front now were the kids who knew what was coming, who didn't mind the risk of a shoe in the head when Boas, inevitably, was being passed across above them. A few early technical issues were overcome with some traditional Icelandic singalongs or nursery rhymes (I'm guessing) and then for the foreigners, a rendition of Happy Birthday. The show was awesome, the atmosphere was electric. I spoke to them after the show and they felt it wasn't their best. I suspect they knew about some sort of technical flaws but these go totally unnoticed when the audience is pretty much there to shout, scream and party. There is nothing not to love about a Reykjavik! live show, they are irresistible as the force of their will to have a good time takes over everyone within touching distance. The photographers clearly know there are fun shots to be had, there were hundreds of them (OK, 10 or 12) waiting for that inevitable photo of one, two or even three (at one point) members of the band being in the audience. I must have seen this band something like 15 times now, and for me this was the best performance of all. Don't worry about the technical stuff guys, that's for the studio - play like that and everyone goes away grinning, and/or bleeding. Once again, I'll steal from the grapevine review (professionals!) who put it perfectly, "Few bands can make pretty much anybody and their bitter aunt crave being in the band and the audience at the same time for that matter. Reykjavik! accomplish this, like it is second nature. Their gig was like a carnival or a parade down a narrow street. It pulls you in, even if you are trying to hide from it"

After this I had to retire for some air to the 'roof terrace', in actual fact a smoking area - seriously I think this must be the most heavily polluted area in all of Iceland, no need for a fog machine. I was still catching my breath, and sinking cold goodness for much of the following set by American band Crystal Antlers but it slowly dawned upon me through conversations outside that this was another fabulous band. Similar in style to Reykjavik! they also put on a great show (and stayed on the stage at all times) of fuzzy punk rock that made me think of Iggy Pop at times, they're a band to keep an eye on.

Normally you wouldn't fancy the chances of a bunch of school kids following three such triumphant sets, but this was Sudden Weather Change (left). SWC have the confidence of a much more mature band, with one of the albums of the year already behind them they rose to the challenge of keeping the crowd up with ease. They often look like a bunch of kids playing at pretending to be rock stars, they have all the moves and throw the right shapes, but they actually deliver on the noise as well and they deserve all the credit for that. They had the boys in the front topless and throwing themselves around, and they had the girls leaning across the barriers to get closer. Like Reykjavik! they have an energy that you can't hide from.

Having said that, the end of their set coincided with my complete energy failure, I left the venue at the mercy of closers Aela and headed for sustenance. Exhausted.