Tónlist

Here is the list of the various Icelandic and other Nordic/Arctic musical groups I’ve mentioned in FITK over the years:

Áki Ásgeirsson
Amiina
Andy Schauf
Apparat Organ Quartet
Árný
Árný Margrét
Atli
Ásthildur Ákadóttir
Ateria
Áuslaug Magnusdóttir
Æla

Baggalútur
Bára Gísladóttir
Bárujárn
Bedroom Community
Benni Hemm Hemm
Between Mountains
Biggi Hilmars
Björk
Björt
BKPM
Bláskjár
Borko
Bríet
Brimheim
Buff

Cosmic Call
Cyber
Daníel Bjarnarson
Ditka
DJ Margeir
Dr. Spock
Egill Sæbjörnsson
Eivør
Elin Hall
Elisapie
Evil Madness
Flesh Machine
Fókus
Frid Fufanu

Gabriel Ólafs
Geðbrigði
Ghostigital
GKR
GDRN
Greyskies
Gróa
Grúska Babúska
Guðmundur Óskar Guðmundsson
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson †
Guðrið Hansdóttir
GusGus
Gyða

Hafdís Huld
Halla Tómasdóttir †
Halli Guðmundsson
Ham
Hekla
Hekla Magnúsdóttir
Hellvar/Heiða
Hildur Gunðadóttir
Hildur
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson
Hjaltalín
Hjörvar
Högni
Hraun
Hudson Wayne
Hugar
Iðunn Einars

Jakobínarína
Jana
JFDR
Jófríður Ákadóttir
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhanna Elísa
Jóhanna Rakel
Jonathan
Jonfri
Joshua Wilkinson †
Júniús Meyvant
K.Óla
Kaktus Einarsson
Kalli
Kevin Cole †
Kimono
Kira Kira
Kiriyama Family
Kitchen Motors
Kjallarakabarett Kónguló
Kristín Sessala
Kvikindi

Langi Seli Og Skuggarnir
Larus Halldór Grimsson
Liva Mo
Ljáðu Okkur Eyra
Lupina
Mag og Tómas
Magnús Jóhann
Marius DC
Markús & The Diversion Sessions
Marta Ákadóttir
Mikado
Mezzoforté
Mr. Silla
Mugison
Múgsefjun
Mukka
Múm
My Summer as a Salvation Soldier
Mysterious Marta
Neonme
Nini Julia Bang
Nóra

Oculus
Ojba Rasta
Ólafur Arnalds
Ólöf Arnalds
Orphix Oxtra
Osmé
Óttarr Proppé
Pale Moon
Páll Óskar
Pellegrina
Pascal Pinon
Pellegrina
Peter Evans †
Petúr Ben
Rakel
Red Barnett
Retro Stefson
Reykjavíkurdætur
Róshildur
Rokkurró

Salka Valsdóttir
Samaris
Screaming Masterpiece
Shadow Parade
Shahzad Ismaily
Sigrún
Sigrún Stella
Sin Fang Bous
Sindrí
Siggi Ármann
Sigur Rós
Ske
Skúli Severrisson
Sóley
Sólstafir
Sprengjuhöllin
Stórsveit Nix Noltes
Sunna Margrét
Svavar Knútur
Sycamore Tree
Systur

Tappi Tíkarrass
Team Dreams
Tilbury
Toggi
Úlfur Eldjárn
Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán
Una Torfa
Uni
Unun
Útidúr
Valgeir Sigurðsson
Vicky
Wim Van Hooste †

† = Fellow Travelers

Iceland Airwaves Update - Day Four

I managed to dash between the raindrops on my way back to the Nordic house. Pascal Pinon, a group consisting of four 15 year old girls, played a memorable set of their quiet and very personal songs:

While simple in structure, these songs (in both Icelandic and English) were carefully constructed, but they often came to an abrupt end- which was actually refreshing after hearing acts in the last few days who didn't know when to stop. These songs all had complete lyrics, often with many stanzas. This is the kind of musical experience which is rare- an honest look into the mind-set of adolescent girls, untainted by show-biz and uncorrupted by age and cynicism. They spoke afterward in an informal Q & A, discussing how they came to write the songs and who their musical influences were: “mostly each other” was their answer.

They even had a self-produced EP in a numbered edition!



When asked about writing in Icelandic versus English they mentioned that Icelandic was better suited to poetry, which was evident in their lyrics, even to this non-speaker. The whole experience added up to another wonderful Airwaves moment.

After a delightful, , if somewhat poignant, afternoon spent over coffee with an old blog-pal, I took a little break back at my apartment to recoup my strength. After wards, while strolling down Hverfisgata, I stumbled into an art opening, the highlight of which was this black swan sculpture:



I was really looking for a place to eat, but before I found one, I saw the Ojba Rasta band playing groove tunes with a Caribbean flavor in the Karamba coffee house:



Later,  I went over to Þjóðleikhúsið, the National Theatre of Iceland, to see their production of Frida ...viva la vida:


photo credit: Þjóðleikhúsið

Post-play found me heading back to the Reykjavík Art Museum, where I came across the notorious Dr. Spock, who had pulled a trailer into a street, blocking traffic, and did a riotous set of their surf-punk-grunge-whatever. The first act I've seen which had its own fire-eater:

The final act of the night at the museum was Páll Óskar singing with Hjaltalín. Páll is a national treasure of Iceland; he was resplendent in his sequined suit. This was a show sung entirely in Icelandic, for Icelanders, and a complete joy to behold:

"Maður í bleikum pallíettujakkafötum getur ekki klikkað." ~ Kristín Gróa

As I write this at 3 AM the music is still going on in various clubs, but I doubt that anything could top Páll and the entire crowd singing along on every song. This day started with a most special experience and ended with a musical performance I'll never forget:



Alternate view:



Yet another view:

Iceland Airwaves - Recap

Having had a few days to recover from the 2009 Iceland Airwaves music festival a few thoughts about the experience as a whole, and some of the acts in particular, are in order:

First, the festival's organization was excellent. Almost all of the acts were on time, and despite the occasional full venue, I could usually have a choice of interesting acts to see. Those shows whose demand for tickets exceeded the venue capacity, particularly the Kings of Convenience at Fríkirkjan, were usually balanced with another high-demand show at another venue. The special wristband queue for Kings was probably as bad as it got, but the queue was a place to socialize, so that was at least partially redeemed.

The venues were generally good, and although the Reykjavík Art Museum's set-up and lighting wasn't as nice as it was in 2006. It did have a high enough stage to make sight-lines good for all but the shortest patrons- and risers along the sides and back would have helped with that, too. NASA, a large club, was a little better, except when it was crowded. Sódóma and Grand Rokk were both second-floor clubs, which meant low ceilings and low stages, but both were fine when not too full. Grand Rokk, kind of cruddy to begin with, was downright scary when over-stuffed. Still, none was as claustrophobic as the old Gaukurínn used to get. Iðno seemed a little less inviting this time- the stage set-up was a bit darker and the PA risers which flanked the stage took away from the room's considerable charm (along with the performances of several sub-par acts which I did not review.) Hressó's courtyard tent was a most informal and comfortable venue possessing very organic vibe. I missed Batteríð- the few acts I wanted to see there always had a long line.

The off-venues have greatly expanded since 2006; there was music everywhere. Most of these mini-concerts were in record stores and funky coffee-houses. The big stage in Skífan probably had the most effective presentation, with the most incongruous being at Eymundsson's bookstore (nice view of the jail, though!)

But the best venue by far, large or small, was the Nordic House, with its cozy 50 seat auditorium. Although it had no stage per se, the intimate nature of the mostly acoustic performances there didn't need one. Some acts, like Pascal Pinon, Oh Land! and Casio Kids suited the room perfectly. Kudos to Sari Peltonen and all the people at Nordic House for an unforgettable series of ten concerts (and Q & A sessions) over three days. It is well worth the trek across a windy heath.



Finally, the main reason I love the Airwaves is that the chance of seeing something new and exciting is always high. Even groups whose musical styles I don't care for had good things going on- Captain Fufanu, two teen-aged technos, have the potential to become monsters. Cosmic Call showed themselves capable of creating solid rock tunes, while Útidúr and Rökkurró both expanded the usual musical boundaries of pop-rock. All of the orchestral/fusion groups (Hjaltalín, DJ Margeir, Daníel Bjarnason) were exceptional. Musical considerations aside, some acts were just plain fun to see (Vicky, Dr. Spock, 22, Casio Kids, Ultratechnomegabandið Stefán) and there were many singer-songwriters (maybe a few too many) who showed promise (Toggí, Oh Land!, Uni, Hraun, Björt) and just some good old hard-rock bands (Æla, Bárujárn, Darling Don't Dance.)

I saw over 40 acts, less than a quarter of the total, and all were within walking distance of each other- some of the venues were only meters apart. Reykjavík is a fun city, day or night, with many shops, galleries and places to eat. Almost all of them are original concepts, not franchises:



In general, the Icelandic bands were, by far, the most exciting and innovative. I might have to wait a few years before I return, if only to give a new crop of Icelandic acts time to develop and mature.

Iceland Airwaves 2011

Dr. Spock, Tryggvagata, 2009

The Iceland Airwaves Music Festival starts today! I don't have any direct links to the festival this year, but here are some good on-line sources of information:

The Grapevine Airwaves site, offering daily reviews and photos.

A wide selection of videos from this year's Airwaves along with other, related video, is at Wim's IMM site.

Auður's HD videos from the downtown hostel are almost unbelievable- the camera is right next to some of the performers!

Columbia College is sponsoring a group of journalism students who are covering this year's Airwaves.

The Seattle radio station KEXP has blog with photos from their live broadcasts (to be archived later)

And, of course, the Airwaves Site itself.

According to Airwaves Insider Bob Cluness, next year's Airwaves will be held in November. This is a terrible idea, the weather is much worse, and there is about an hour less of dimmer daylight every day. It also means that some of the airports which Icelandair uses seasonally (Minneapolis, for example) will not be available for Airwaves patrons. In 2009 I had to go through Boston's Logan which added a full day's travel time (including a night spent in that horrendous airport) and $500 to the cost of the trip.

Of course, I'm not in the desired demographic. The festival has always been aimed at Western Europe; limiting it to nearby countries might well make some economic sense. Few Americans are interested in anything foreign, and the cost of an Airwaves package, while reasonable, is higher than the disposable income of most young people.

The new player in the Airwaves festival is the Harpa concert hall. Construction was started before the economic collapse, and I suspect that it needs to be used as much as possible to cover the construction costs. There may be more profitable uses for the hall in October, I don't know. I do know that the days of glorious fall weather spent exploring Reykjavík and the surrounding countryside will be greatly diminished for the Airwaves patrons. If the weather is foul enough it may discourage festival goers from ever returning to Iceland, which is exactly opposite of its original intention.