In honor of the currently ongoing Iceland Airwaves I've been listening to Valgeir Sigurðsson's Ekvílibríum quite a bit; his deliberate, music-box compositions aren't everyones cup of tea, but I enjoy them in two different ways- either as a stimulating background or, more intensely, as a challenging ear-puzzle. What is puzzling to me, as it also was on Björk's tracks with 'Anthony' on the CD Volta, is the intrusion of wavering, uncertain vocals. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham) and a 'J. Walker' perform the aural graffiti on this occasion. I have heard that this style of singing is called 'Emo', and has gained some traction in recent months. The track Kin, which was a high point of last year's Airwaves, is nearly sabotaged by Oldham's strangled vocalizations, in spite of a strong lyric.
Art is the keyword for the day. I thought I would try a more highbrow approach to my music venues. After a morning of delightful conversation with a completely charming Icelandic blogger, and yet another glorious afternoon at the pool, I was ready for anything...
1900 hrs - The Reykjavik Art Museum. This venue is in the canvas domed courtyard of an old industrial building. A full stage with all the rock show features, light shows, massive subwoofers etc., the band Ske hit the stage, an experienced outfit, with everything you could want from an arena rock band. Good arrangements, a confident lead singer with some evocative lyrics:
...she doesn't drink wine, but if she's asked she'll take a glass... now she is wasted...
A good start:
2000 hrs - Over to Iðno, the old Craftsmen hall. A beautifully restored auditorium, the Bedroom Community (group of artists) presented Egill Sæbjörnsson who started things off with some clever performance/video pieces including a most amusing animation. Very arty:
2100 hrs - Sam Amidon, from the US, who did an old folk-music type act, supplmented with odd dance interludes. He began with a strange, dirge-like version of O Death. His voice could be described as fragile, or, perhaps more accurately, weak. He was joined by some Icelandic performers that filled out the sound nicely:
2200 hrs - Nico Muhly from New York- came on with his original piano compositions. He shared the stage with an Icelandic violinist for one tune. Stunning.
2300 hrs - Valgeir Sigurðsson performed with a guitar, Echoplex and computer. He was joined by six other musicians, and with them (and his samplers) he created a wall of sound. If Sigur Rós didn't already exist, he would be quite the deal. Still, most impressive:
0015 hrs - and over to the National Theatre's basement. A little gem of a room (think 50's nightclub) the Icelandic rockabilly group Langi Seli Og Skuggarnir held forth with a great take on the rockabilly style. The dancing was fervered and the mood was more roadhouse than art house. They were a lot of fun:
Best music of the day…Nico Muhly, Sonata for piano, violin and computer, no contest.
Last night found the Weaver and me at a most unusual concert featuring some fairly obscure musicians: the Icelandic musical collective Bedroom Community. I have seen versions of them perform in Iceland a couple of times but this was a rare opportunity to see these performers in the Midwest, fresh from their triumphant residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Not every artist could make it: The U.S. Immigration Services denied the visa application for Swedish vocalist Mariam Wallentin, I fear that this may be a harbinger of things to come. Set in the gorgeous courtyard of The American Swedish Institute, it was an evening of musical highs and plateaus. It has been over ten years since I’ve last seen the melancholy Valgeir Sigurðsson perform. He’s since been busy, as a composer and as an all-around audio producer and engineer for Björk, Sigur Rós and numerous other acts. He was in Minneapolis last night, although oddly subdued, seeming content to stay in the background while violinist Pekka Kuusisto led a string quartet from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra:
The Bedroom Community is a loosely-knit group of musicians, it includes Jodie Landau, a singer and multi-instrumentalist out of Los Angeles who was effective with his art songs:
The neo-folkie Sam Amidon is a bit of the odd man out here, he is not a very dynamic performer and his musical sensibilities re: American Folk Music is about 60 years out of sync with the times. He would have been great in the pre-Bob Dylan folk era, I couldn’t fathom why he was on stage with this group of musicians:
Daníel Bjarnason was also low-key tonight, his piano was lost in the mix at times:
The wild card in this deck was Kuusisto, a virtuoso violinist from Finland who performed an excellent cover of Prince’s Something in the Water with Poliça's Channy Leaneagh:
There was more than just music: delicious small plates from Fika, the ASI restaurant, were available, along with a choice of beverages and a yummy strawberry custard dessert cup.
The ticket also included an admission to the institute’s current show, featuring Scandinavian textile designers.
One hazard of an outdoor show in South Minneapolis is the nearly constant sound of jets leaving the nearby MSP airport. Sometimes the roar of the engines was in tune with the composition, not what was intended, but making for memorable performances.
“Can you tell me what music is? It's completely intangible. It's something you can't grasp. You see art, watch people dancing, but you have to give part of your life to hear music. It grips you, gets into your soul, the most sublime of all the arts... There's no logic to it at all.” - George Martin
Last week I finally got some time to listen to my recordings from the Airwaves festival and the best of them sounded every bit as good as I had remembered. I’m eagerly awaiting new releases from Ölóf Arnalds, Valgeir Sigurðsson and, of course, Björk (love the hair, btw). I’ve commented on Amiina’s Kurr and have also purchased Jóhann Jóhannsson's User’s Manual. I recently read with pleasant surprise an article in the New Yorker by Alex Ross, who name-checked several of the acts I’ve “discovered” recently. Mr. Ross is a great champion of new music, in all its guises, I find it most gratifying that I am not alone in my enthusiasms.
Augh! Lonely indeed is the voice of the prophet! A solitary figure trudging through a spiritual wilderness preaching salvation to the heathen and receiving only blank stares in recompense.
