Highs and Lows- Reykjavík Calling II

Northeast meets Northwest as Ólöf embraces David at the end of the show

With the lights out it's less dangerous...
Here we are now entertain us...
I feel stupid and contagious...
Here we are now entertain us...

Smells Like Teen Spirit ~ Nirvana

The second pairing of KEXP's Reykjavík Calling concert at Neumos in Seattle was more than successful, it was absolutely inspired. Guðrið Hansdóttir is a singer/songwriter from the Faroes, with a fine voice and guitar chops to match. Her songs concern nature, and nature in the Faroes means lots of rain. Tomo Nakayama was born in Japan and grew up in Seattle, he was no stranger to mists and fog either. His ethereal singing and masterful playing might be considered a bit precious by some, but he was a perfect complement for Guðrið. Trading lead vocals, singing harmony on most songs, this unlikely duo from the opposite ends of the earth really captured the intent of the concert, with numerous highlights in their nature-inspired songs. They captivated the packed venue.

And they had met only the day before!



Snorri Helgason is a troubadour from Iceland, I had seen him in the power-pop band Sprengjuhöllin in 2006. This was a whole 'nother thing. His "partner" was the salt-of-the-earth David Bazan with his primal "bummer songs". Both performers were competent, but neither was very charismatic. Snorri had a top album in Iceland last year, I think his strength may lie in his writing:



Take a deep breath. Okay. The next act was Sean Nelson, performing with a yet-to-be named band. I really would rather not write about his performance, I'll just throw out a few concepts: Buzz Kill. Unbridled Ego. Neurotica.
He barely interacted with the rest of the performers, I think he thought this concert was being held for the sole purpose of showcasing for his new "act". He single-handedly cleared the room of all but the most die-hard Ólöf Arnalds fans. The picture says it all:



Finally, chanteuse Ólöf Arnalds took the stage. She is a paradoxical musician, capable of esoteric art-song and bawdy pub-tunes. She started off with the story of how she learned to play guitar by listening to the Nevermind album, including a spoofed version of Polly. She then tried an acoustic a capella version of a poem by the Faroese writer William Heinesen, but yakkers at the bar wouldn't hear of it.

She played tunes from her new EP of covers, with some wild singing (she definitely is one of a kind!) but this night was not going to be a "serious" performance for her:



Sean Nelson and his band then slooowly returned to the stage, sabotaging what momentum Ólöf had established, with a knuckle-headed mash-up of Lou Reed(?) and Ólöf's own Klara. The finale was a ragged version of, what else- Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit! Everyone (everyone but too-cool Sean) got into the "spirit" although I doubt if anybody really knew the lyrics.

Ólöf Arnalds Day

Today is the "official" U.S. release day (or at least Amazon's release date) of the Ólöf Arnalds Album Við og Við. I first became aware of Ólöf as a solo artist at the Iceland Airwaves in 2006. I literally walked in off the street knowing nothing at all about her and was, along with about twenty other people, stunned by that glorious voice, wonderful songs, and excellent playing. This is quiet and personal music. When I saw her she had just finished recording and her show was basically this album. This CD was a hit in Iceland, and has done very well in Europe. It has appeared on many "top 100" CD lists, both in 2007 and 2008, even in several countries where it hadn't even been released. Of course, with downloads nowadays the actual disc becomes more of an artifact, but this is a real old-style album, with a proper flow from start to finish. All of the songs are sung in Icelandic, which may put some people off- only for the first listen or two- then the music begins to work its spell.

I purchased my copy in Iceland where it included a very nice booklet (it was in Icelandic, of course) in a slip-case. The U.S. version may not have it, not that it matters much. There are numerous links on the internet to her performing in concert, this disc and the Pascal Pinon EP have supplied most of my music needs since my return from Iceland.

Iceland Airwaves Update - Day Four

Let´s get really crazy shall we? Start with the warmest day yet (sunbathing at the pool) and if 6 hours of music is not enough for you, how about starting things off at 17:00 in a century-old church (Fríkirkjan) by the pond with



Jóhann Jóhannsson of Apparat Organ Quartet fame. With his computers, piano, and a proper string quartet, he mixed classical and techno in a stunning fashion. An attentive crowd was transported into musical bliss. An hour later, I walked out into the twilight exhausted- and the night hadn't even begun! After a brief supper, (and a strong cup of coffee) it was back to Iðno for the Kitchen Motors (an artistic collective) night.



20:00 Siggi Ármann, a sensitive singer, verging on the precious, touched the small crowd with his sincere, emotional style.



20:45 Ólöf Arnalds, a young woman with an incredible voice and an accomplished instrumental style sings and plays tender ballads on guitar and charenga, a small lute-like instrument. Beautiful.




21:30 Kira Kira. The hall filled up with groups of friends and couples seated on the parquet floor, the atmosphere became more like a love-in. The five piece combo was led by an irrepressible woman on multiple instruments and computers. A lot of potential, the set was marred by technical problems.



22:15 Borko A quirky blend of samples and guitar rock, sounding a bit under-rehearsed.

23:00 Evil Madness. Jóhann Jóhannsson again, this time in a computer group (with a cellist) inspired by horror-movie soundtracks. Perfectly executed and scary. And people were dancing to it...This guy really gets around. GREAT STUFF! 00:00 Stórsveit Nix Noltes, a ten piece band of accomplished musicians playing eastern European-inspired music in a dynamic performance. Super high energy, the dancers got really into it. I'm running out of superlatives! Great ensemble playing and an excellent guitarist.

I finally give up at 01:00, my head still reeling. Earlier, I had talked with a music promoter from Brighton at the church and then met her again at Iðno. Later at Iðno I was speaking with a very nice young man about inkjet printing and inks. He asked if I liked Icelandic music, of course I started raving about Sigur Rós and Björk. He gave me a small smile and said "I am the lead singer of Sigur Rós."

And so he was.

Three For Under The Tree

Perhaps I'm jumping the gun on Christmas shopping, but here is a trio of recommendations for your holiday gift list:

#1: Amiina, Puzzle

More delicate melodies (zero-gravity is the term they use) and unusual instrumentation from their expanded line-up. Get it directly from the Amiina website. Their sublime first album, Kurr, is available through Amazon.

#2: Ólöf Arnalds, Innundir Skinni

Ólöf's second album has more instrumentation than her first (Við og Við) but both feature her wonderful voice and mature playing and songwriting abilities. She's even joined by Björk on one song! Amazon has both CDs and more.

#3: Pascal Pinon, Pascal Pinon

You really didn't think I'd leave them off the list, did you? You can pre-order their CD (or vinyl!) from Amazon, shipping December 7th. If listening to it doesn't bring a smile to your face, you might just have a lump of coal where your heart should be. Don't take my word for it: this is a great album and in the last couple of weeks it has been getting a lot of buzz from music sites all around the world:

The All Music Blog (UK)

Fast Forward (Germany)

Indie Shuffle (US)

Limewire Music Blog (UK)

Modern Mystery (US)

Rawkzilla (US)

Deathrockstar (Indonesia)

Eardrums Music (Norway)

I (heart) Icelandic Music (Belgium)

The Lakewood Times (US)

Track4 (Germany)

[Martha Looks Around] (Spain)

Life in Tokyo (Japan)

Caiyu Chen (China)

Musical Coma (Brazil)

ICELANDia (Japan)

Music Sailor (China)

And, of course, there is this review from ten months(!) ago:

Flippism Is The Key (Outer Space)

I suppose one could order this music as mp3's, but what would be the fun in opening that kind of present?

Collectively Speaking...Icelandic Style

Hildur Gudnadóttir with Evil Madness

The musical explosion which was the recent Iceland Airwaves Music Festival is only now starting to settle in my impressionable brain.

What keeps floating to the surface is the work of two musical/art collectives, Kitchen Motors and Bedroom Community. Each had memorable individual performers, and each had equally worthwhile collaborative efforts. The solo artists; Egill Sæbjörnsson, Ólöf Arnalds, and Siggi Ármann, each projected a very personal musical impression, refreshing in this era of "wanna-bes". Siggi, in particular, created an intense emotional field, captivating in its purity and simplicity. Ólöf and her armadillo-shell lute brought out some kind of primal response in me, her music was new and a thousand years old at the same time. Egill, with his persona (video Elvis?) was quite unlike anything else I've experienced.

The larger ensembles, Kira Kira, Stórsveit Nix Noltes, the formidable Jóhann Jóhannsson and the exquisite Valgeir Sigurðursson all fronted large groups with unique, experimental or newly imagined music, all at a very high levels of musicianship and composition. Two of the "odd men out" in these organizations are actually American, old-time folkie Sam Amidon and the Julliard grad Nico Muhly. In some respects, theirs' is the more traditional music, but still tempered by their Icelandic cohorts' contributions. Muhly is a serious composer, already with an impressive cv.

All of this music is fully realized, incredible and enjoyable. You may have noticed that I haven't yet mentioned the two 500-pound gorillas of the Icelandic music scene, Björk and Sigur Rós. Something great has been emerging from that rock in the North Atlantic, a cultural magma whose effects have yet to be fully measured.

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

Seattle Connections

A weekend in Seattle is just the thing for breaking out of a rut. A big difference in Seattle that I've noticed from other destinations is that people in public places will talk to you- a lot. The least trigger- a book, a shared observation, standing in a line, and someone will start a conversational river; everyone seems to be searching for something. I was standing in line for the Reykjavík Calling concert and started talking to the woman in line. She was there to meet a friend who had been instrumental in creating the Nordic Fashion Biennale! During the concert Kevin Cole came up to me and started talking about his Iceland connections. An older woman also began talking to me, she was there to see Ólöf Arnalds; both of her great grandparents immigrated from Iceland. Later, after the concert, I ran into a guy I had met in Iceland in 2009.

Random images and impressions:

  
Leifur Ericksson Statue, former Icelandic Unitarian Church, both in Ballard

The older parts of the city have narrow streets and small lots, giving Seattle an almost European feel at times. The districts- Capitol Hill, Fremont, University, Green Lake, Ballard and others, retain a small town feel. The explosion of good coffee-houses (Starbucks #1!), restaurants, bakeries and other "social" businesses reflect this:

  
"Pie" is everywhere- both fruit and meat, English Pub serving books and ale

Rather than demolish it, Seattle turned its old coal gasification plant into an art installation. The hilly terrain makes for meandering roads, picturesque to be sure, but not for the faint-of-heart driver. Lush parks invite hikers, and the various waterfront areas can turn anyone into a flânuer. I think even Lenin would succumb to the city's charms.

  
Gasworks parks, Authentic Soviet Lenin statue in Fremont

Pike Place Market has been a tourist draw for many years, it was on the verge of being destroyed in the late '60s. Yes, it is a tourist trap, but a vital one. The market's salvation spurred similar efforts throughout the city. There is enough turnover that a visit every three or four years finds dozens of new places of interest:



I mentioned Kevin Cole, the senior program director of KEXP. He came to Seattle from Minneapolis, where he had been part of the REV 105 experiment. When that station changed ownership he made his way west and oversaw the growth of what once had been a small university station into a national (and even international) media powerhouse. It is unstinting in its support of local music; its Iceland Airwaves endeavors are important not just for the festival itself but is also part of a conscious effort to make Seattle more of a world city. Seattle already had very strong ties with Japan and the Orient, the relatively short flight to Iceland opens it to all of Europe.

  
A "big leaf maple" leaf in Carkeek park, yours truly at KEXP

Iceland Airwaves 2019 …

… or, “I’m Not There.”

I wish I was.

The good news is that there are now over twenty off-venues. More good news is that Harpa is not a venue. The not-so-good news is that Þjóðleikhúsið (The National Theater) is not a venue this year—they are staging a musical version of Shakespeare in Love Wednesday the 6th and Sunday the 10th and Halldór Laxness’ Atómstöðin the 7th and 8th (both highly recommended!)

That won’t help you get your Airwaves fix, however. This post might.

 Wednesday is usually a good day to find undiscovered acts. With the exceptions of Gróa at the KEX hostel (16:30), Between Mountains (below) and JFDR at Slippbarinn (17:30, 18:30) and Svavar Knútur (everywhere!) I’m not familiar with them but here is a good guide for the new Icelandic acts (with videos.)


Between Mountains, The Current

Thursday’s off-venue schedule is good again at Slippbarinn  with Sóley (above) at 16:30. A revamped Between Mountains is at Fríkirkjan (19:50) and Hjaltalín commands the stage at the  Reykjavík Art Museum (21:50). If Páll Óskar shows up for a cameo in their set there will be complete pandemonium.



The ever-evolving JFDR will perform in Gamla Bio (22:20):



Friday’s best bets are the line-up at Fríkirkjan in the early evening and Iðno later.



On Saturday afternoon you can catch Ateria (above) at Lóa Bar-Bistro (16:00), not the best venue for three moody teenagers, but they are well worth it (you can also see them at Hard Rock Café at 20:10 followed by Between Mountains at 22:00).  Fríkirkjan’s Saturday night has another solid line-up. The big show is at Vashöllin, a stadium about a kilometer from the city center, where you can catch Of Monsters and Men (23:45), both of whom do great shows. Sólstafir at Iðno (00:00) may be the best metal show of the festival (bring earplugs!):



Notes:

One off-venue that is listed but not yet scheduled is the senior home Grund. They have had a 10 a.m. show on Wednesday the last couple of years; last year Sóley gave a heroic performance with her dad (and had an introduction by the President of Iceland!) It was the emotional highlight of the festival:



The Minnesota radio station The Current will have live video from Hresso on Friday and Saturday starting at 12:30 GMT (06:30 CST).

Dillon has music for seven days, starting tonight (Monday) and going through Sunday.
Most shows are open but some (Wednesday—Saturday evenings) need a wristband/or admission.

If you have a hankering for Icelandic rockabilly, you can’t do any better than Langi og Skuggarnír, Lucky Records, Thursday, 17:00

KEX Hostel has radio broadcasts by Seattle station KEXP—they are consistently great (and crowded) and start in the afternoon on Tuesday. This year you will need a wristband to attend (come early!)

The Nordic House (south of the pond, across Ringbraut) also has consistently exceptional performances in what is arguably the most intimate venue (Notables: Bláskjár, Thursday, 18:15, Nising, Friday, 15:00.)

Ólöf Arnalds is at Iðno Saturday, 21:00, I saw her there in 2004(!) and in Seattle in 2011. She is a knockout—a triple threat of singing, playing and songwriting. Perhaps she’ll be one of the “special guests” at KEXP, Friday, 21:30?
 
Full Airwaves schedule is HERE.


(all images from 2018 Iceland Airwaves)