Tag Archives: Iceland Airwaves

In the Company of Men

Yes yes, I know I should use a more recent photo of the band, but with that shit-eating grin behind the guitar, and the oh so seriousness of holding keys vertically while a Dillinger Escape plan T-shirt gets cuddled, how could I resist. So sue me, I picked this pic.

Mostly described as Mathcore, they’ve also been described as hardcore and metal. Grapevine once described them stating, “they looked and acted more fucked up and obnoxious (in the best possible way) than before, running and jumping around like monkeys dosed on purple drank.” In the Company of Men, (ITCOM) is a five piece band that came together late 2011, consisting of Finnbogi Örn (Guitar & Vocals), Samúel Örn Böðvarsson (Bass), A.K. Andersen (Vocals), Steini Milljón (Guitar, Vocals), and Björn Rúnarsson (Drummer).

From live videos I’ve seen, they appear batshit crazy showing a complete disregard for stages, lighting or boundaries while precisely and artfully pulling off complex signatures. They hold their own with other bands of their genre such as the beautifully psychotic Dillinger Escape Plan, In fact, from the videos I’ve seen, they are reminsicint of a young DEP, and are on my top list to check out at Airwaves this year.

At only a year or so old they took second place in the Músiktilraunir, Iceland’s battle of the bands, and Luigi from the Mario Brothers handled lead vocals during the Wacken Metal Battle (perhaps it was the singer dressed up as Luigi, we may never know.)

The track in the above video is Captain Planet. This was one of the first tracks made available online and in many ways the start of my admiration of the band. Of the tracks available on their Soundcloud page, I have to say the Steini Milljón is my favorite.

As with most Icelandic musicians, the band members are up to their necks in other creative projects in and around Iceland. Finnbogi Örn also belongs to the hardcore band Icarus, who are currently touring New York throughout the month of July, Samúel Örn Böðvarsson also plays bass for the Death Metal band Aeterna, and A.K. Andersen, when not waxing philosophy around the table is working on a comic book titled “Alfjeder”.

You can visit their Facebook page or listen to them on Soundcloud. They are in the final stages of their first album and steadily working on their second, look for them this year.

And here are the 4 questions they were nice enough to answer for me:

What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves joint to jam at?

Björn Rúnarsson – Lucky Records.
A.k. Andersen – Lucky Records.
Steini Milljón – Lucky Records.
Samúel Örn Böðvarsson – Lucky Records or Dillon
Finnbogi Örn Einarsson – Lucky Records & Gaukur á Stöng.

If you combine all of your favorite colors, what do you get?

Björn Rúnarsson – Green (420 – 420 – 420 – 420)
A.k. Andersen – Pink, all da way! (420-4… wait… oh)
Steini Milljón – Lilla Blár (Purple)
Samúel Örn Böðvarsson – Black, stay KVLT
Finnbogi Örn Einarsson – Metallica

What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin?

Björn Rúnarsson – Ehh, ég veit ekki. Bjornen
A.k. Andersen – Bob, Japanese shuper shift and da future band og Kuraka
Steini Milljón – Me The Slumbering Napoleon, Ampersand og Bob Gillan & Ztrandverðirnir
Samúel Örn Böðvarsson – Aeterna & Metallica!
Finnbogi Örn Einarsson – Gruesome Glory, Trust The Lies, & World Narcosis. (Also Mýnkarnir, a hip-hop collective from Hornafjörður)

If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? What is the song?

Björn Rúnarsson – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go með Wham eða When I’m Back On My Feet Again með Michael Bolton
A.k. Andersen – Sloths playing silence by no one.
Steini Milljón – A Trumpet, Hot House
Samúel Örn Böðvarsson – I’d be a Liger playing the classic Eye of the “Liger”
Finnbogi Örn Einarsson – A Silverback Gorilla doing an acapella version of ‘Over The Years’ by 25 Ta Life.

Ojba Rasta

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Iceland is a little island straddling two continents somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. So it’s diversity in musical style always amazes me. Ojba Rasta is rooted in reggae definitely, but there are a lot of influences and alternating vibes in their music. And since the band has enough members to populate a small Icelandic village, it’s no surprise to find elements of funk, rock, dub and electro intertwined in the upbeat core of their music.

Formed around 2009 the band began as a 10 piece, but as things happen, they now have 11 members that make up their reggae stew including an organ, multiple guitars, bass, trumpets, a saxaphone, and of course, a dub-master.

Jolly good is probably their most famous track outside of Iceland. It’s one of the few tracks sung in English and shows off their ability to mix different styles into a very smooth feel good piece, though I do find it highly suspect that the lead singer is a little white girl. On their Soundcloud page you can find two more songs by the band.

Being a large band full of interesting characters, Ojba Rasta always put a good show on and have a knack for entertaining the crowd not only with music, but their attitudes and interactions as well. Once again, I’ve uncovered proof of such a statement thanks to KEXP. This is a video of their gig at last year’s Airwaves festival at the Kex Hostel.:

Ojba Rasta have released a self titled full length album, of which the three tracks on Soundcloud do indeed reside. If you are located outside of the states, you can pick up the album on Gogoyoko here. Otherwise it’s available on Amazon or iTunes. They are working on a second album slated for a 2013 release, and plan to tour in Germany after Airwaves 2013. You can check out their Facebook page here.

Very chill, and one of the best ways to relax during a hectic gig schedule at Airwaves. I highly suggest you check them out. And yup yup, the band answered my 4 questions, here they be:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? At Airwaves 2012 we only played one off-venue gig and it was at the Kex hostel. The concert was broadcasted live from KEXP Radio and the footage was sweet. The weather was crazy that day in Iceland and in the U.S. We loved the whole expierence… We also love playing at Nasa and Faktorý. (I’ve included the video above)

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors (for you, add your bandmates if you would), what do you get? Neon sea flaming blue/green.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Mmm….Tough question.. maybe: Amaba Dama, Nolo and Boogie Trouble.

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song? It would have to be a lion playing Iron Lion Zion by Bob Marley or maybe a black panther playing Rock & Roll Suicide by David Bowie.

Jónas Sen

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Jónas Sen is a musician with many hats. Along with composing, he has hosted multiple music oriented television programs, composed for, and toured with Björk, and works as a music critic for Iceland’s Frettabla∂i∂.

In the classical musician pool, it’s always cool to find the creative ones willing to use their roots in classical music to do things like make Robots play out a tune. He and Björk created the keyboard pieces on Björk’s Biophillia app specifically for the Ipad and Iphone and most recently, Jónas worked with Valdimar Jóhannsson creating music for a project called “H, an incident.” a robotic musical-theatre production by Kris Verdonck consisting of a small female choir and 10 robotic musicians.

Jónas’s Soundcloud page is filled with a great sample of what he’s composed as well as pieces he has collaborated with. My favorite track on the Soundcloud page would be Mephisto, I dig the space-walk vibe, contrasted with jungle beats and tribal nuances.

I’m curious to see what he’s going to do at Iceland Airwaves this year and am looking forward to it.

Jónas was nice enough to answer my 4 questions:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? Norræna húsið
2. If you combine all of your favorite colors what do you get? Whitish green
3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Yellow Void, Lazy Blood, Reptilicus
4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song? A zombie playing On the Hills of Manchuria

Very late notice, Airwaves adds 25 more bands

AMFJ

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Monks done got dark, that’s the first thing that came to mind on my virgin listen to AMFJ. With dark, heavy and industrial instrumentals topped with AMFJ blasting over the top with aggressive high energy rants, creating powerfully violent noise rock.

AMFJ is one man, Aðalsteinn Jörundsson, and his project began in 2008. Just him, some loops and a lot of feedback smothered with powerful and aggressive vocals that bounce and shock the beats, akin to a defibrillator being applied one’s heart. He has an ability to take the mundane and turn it into something darkly evocative.

For me, AMFJ’s newest album, Bæn, really encompasses his back catalog well. There are definitely different and new sounds involved, but you get an overall feel for where he’s going and what he’s doing with the tracks. It’s heavy, and the industrial/rock feel reminds me of post 80’s Ministry. One of my favorite tracks is Klasar:

Other tracks such as Eg er Guð, to me, sounds akin to benedictine monks waking up on the wrong side of the wooden floor.

Gigs with AMFJ contain a lot of strobes, with a man front and center usually in a tank top blasting into a mic while twisting and toggling nobs and widgets creating dark loops and echoes. From what I’ve read, sets tend to be intense and just under and hour.

Another great thing about AMFJ, he’s a fair play artist at Gogoyoko. Meaning he’s allowed Gogoyoko to donate 10% or more of his album sales to the 5 charities Gogoyoko supports. So I highly suggest listening and purchasing his stuff from them.

AMFJ will be playing Iceland Airwaves and I highly suggest you check him out. You can find him on Gogoyoko and Facebook, he was kind enough to answer my 4 questions and here are his answers:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? 1. My favorite off venue to play at would be Mjódd. It’s a bus station way up in Breiðholt. I played there last year and it was so refreshing to play for people who would have otherwise never heard of you. Everyday normal commuters on their way home. Bleakly standing around, exhausted after a long week at the grind. Seemingly not caring for the music very much but stayed inside the station anyway, probably because of the storm outside. Then one guy came up to me after the set, said he loved it and bought my cd and gave me beer can from the bag of multible sixpacks he was bringing home to drown his sorrows in. Said he was going to give it a good listen when he’d get home. I’m was very glad to provide the soundtrack for his miserable evening.

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors (for you, add your bandmates if you would), what do you get? I like primary colours. Colours that make other colours, but can also just stand on their own and be them selves. I don’t have any idea how to blend them and I don’t understand how people can come up with weird colour names such as razzmatazz. I think that’s just people desperately trying to make their lives more interesting but are looking in the wrong places. I like red. if I mix other colors into it, it would probably be a different kind of red. But still red.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Jóhann Eiríksson an electronic musician who’s been around experimenting with noises and field recordings since the late 80’s. He’s behind acts such as Reptilicus and Gjöll and is probably the most underrated artist of our country. I have never met anyone who has such deep understanding of how sound works and what can be done with it.

Norn a black-metal crust band that have been kicking ass lately. They bring a healthy
joyful attitude to a genre that isn’t known for having much sense of humor about them selves. They are working on an album these days and Krakkkbot, another great electronic musician you should know about – is dubbing over it some bone crushing noises to crust things up even further.

Logn Young guys who play fast and furious. Extremely refreshing fury in the midst of all the market friendly cuteness that plagues the scene these days.

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song. A Sloth, playing Last Dream of Jesus by Haus Arafna

Oyama

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Oyama was everywhere at Airwaves 2012, I believe they gigged every day. Very hard workers especially when you consider the band members are from a lot of other Icelandic bands. Úlfur Alexander from Fist Fokkers, Swords of Chaos, and Útidúr. Kári Einarsson from Fist Fokkers. Rúnar Örn Marinósson from Me, the Slumbering Napoleon. Júlia Hermannsdóttir from We Painted the Walls, and Berger Anderson from Just another Snake Cult and Sudden Weather Change. (You can go here for my post on Sudden Weather Change.) For as calm and soothing as Oyama’s music is, the members themselves are a tornado of musical activity.

I’ve never gotten used to the term shoe-gaze pop. As this type of music makes me feel more like watching a kaleidoscope projector on my ceiling nestled in my over-sized beanbag than staring at my shoes. Either way Oyama’s album, “I wanna” makes you just want to kick back and float away while gazing at ceilings, shoes, or just into space. Great beats that keep your attention from straying while vocals float over the top grabbing you and bringing you up there with them. One of my favorite tracks on the album is Sometimes:

A lot of the album reminds me of a very young Spaceman 3/Spiritualized, especially the track Sometimes. Oyama is excellent at producing harmonized vocals that drift over a very spacey set of instruments without sounding too washed out. They have a great way of crossing over and mixing their male and female vocal set to create not so much a duet, but a singular stream of interchangeable notes, most noticed on Wasted (Dinosaur).

Oyama will be at Airwaves again in 2013. I suggest you check them out. To keep up to date with the band, their tumblr is here, their Facebook here, and of course you can find them on Gogoyoko. Júlía and Berger were extremely kind and went to great detail in their answers to my four questions, and here they are:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at?

Júlía: Kex hostel and Stúdentakjallarinn fed us good food, plus they are out-of-control trendy places that make anyone who enters (= me) seem hip just by existing within that context (Stúdentakjallarinn has an entire wall of live vegetation).

Bergur: The whole atmosphere surrounding the off-venue program of Iceland Airwaves is fascinating. I love how unformal they all are, really nice plug and play concerts, preferably at venues like Bíó Paradís, Bar 11 or Kex Hostel. Stúdentakjallarinn is also very good, a new venue that actually feeds bands that perform there!

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors what do you get?

Júlía: I keep a running list of all my favorite colors with me (on my phone) at all times. I wish I were making this up. The list goes: eggplant, egg yolk, duck egg, neon green, hunter green, salmon, light pink, lilac, peridot, pale blue, royal blue, navy, mauve, cream, oatmeal, light grey, bright yellow, true red, red orange, burgundy, gold, silver

Bergur: I like most colors that relate to autumn; brown, mustard-brown, moss-green, and then some black and white… They all look good together in layers, but super-mundane if you’d mix them together.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin?

Júlía: I’m gonna say The Heavy Experience, Nolo and Samaris. Samaris are pretty well known already but fuck it, I just wanna namedrop all my biggest favesies.

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song?

Júlía: I’m a lemur playing Krawtwerk’s Computer Love
Bergur: A Koalabear playing bass on Darondo´s “Didnt I”

So, give them a listen and some attention. They are another example of great Icelandic musicians coming together to create their own type of music. Also, You can also see my other posts on Icelandic bands that will be at Airwaves ’13 here.

Momentum

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Momentum’s roots are in black/death heavy metal and consists of Kristján on Drums, Sigurður for Guitar/Vocals, Hörður with Vocals/Bass, and Ingvar on Guitar/Vocals. They are one of my favorite metal bands from Iceland, and I am looking forward to catching them at Airwaves 2013.

When describing metal everyone has a word for this and that. Call it what you will, I find them to be akin to metal such as Envy and Isis. Their songs are well produced, and progressively send you through epic journeys of heavy, soft and complex arrangements. Instead of one song, I would highly suggest you take 15 minutes and listen to my favorite E.P. of theirs. The Requiem. It’s one of 2 E.Ps they have available. There is also their full length, Fixation, at rest. Check out As the skies break, one of my favorite tracks on the album. Enjoy the delightful music montage of As the skies break being performed live.

They have a new album soon to be released, titled “The freak is alive” and you can hear the title track here. The band was kind enough to answer my four questions, so here they be:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? Our favorite icelandic joint is probably the one in our fans pocket.

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors (for you, add your bandmates if you would), what do you get? A sausage wearing a bandana.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Difficult choice since there are so many but Plastic Gods, Two Tickets to Japan, Muck

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song. We would definitely be a Manbear Pig playing Brown Shoes Don’t Make it.

So yes, there is going to be metal at Airwaves, and very good metal such as these guys. You can find them on Facebook, and of course Gogoyoko. So give ’em a listen and look for them at Airwaves.

Iceland Airwaves 2013

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I plan on reviewing and aggregating information on all the Icelandic bands that will be playing Airwaves 2013. Just click one of the bands below and you will go to the post. If I have not completed a post on the band, clicking on the link will lead you to their Gogoyoko profile, their webpage, a soundcloud page, or their Facebook page. You can also click here and listen to my playlist, which will have all artists on Gogoyoko.com that are playing the festival.
Membership to Gogoyoko is free, and you can stream all the music absolutely free. Also, if you do choose to buy, the artist gets 90% of the sale, that is why I love to use them.

To find an up-to-date list of all the bands playing Airwaves 2013 click here.

1860	AMFJ	Amiina	Angist	Apparat Organ Quartet	Aragrúi
Árstíðir	Auxpan	Björk Viggósdóttir La la Alaska	Blood fued	Bloodgroup	Borko
Captain Fufanu	Dimma	Emiliana Torrini	Emmsjé Gauti	Endless Dark	FM Belfast
Grísalappalísa	Hermigervill	Hjaltalín	Hymnalaya	Icelandic Symphony Orchestra	In the Company of Men
Jónas Sen	Kiriyama Family	Kjurr	Kontinuum	Leaves	Legend
Lord Pusswhip	Low Roar	Magnoose	MAMMÚT	Momentum	Moses Hightower
Muck	múm	Nini Wilson	Nolo	Nóra	Ojba Rasta
Ólafur Arnalds	Ólöf Arnalds	Ophidian 1	Oyama	Pascal Pinon	Pedro Pilatus
Prins Polo	Reptilicus	Retro Stefson	Retrobot	Runar Magnusson	Samaris
Sign	Sin Fang	Skuli Sverrison	Sólstafir	Stafrænn Hákon	Tilbury
UMTBS	Valdimar	Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir AKA Trouble	Þórir Georg	The Vintage Caravan	Vok

Iceland Airwaves has become my favorite music festival. 4 days of music on a small Island straddling two continents. It began in 1999 at an airport hangar, and has now become a web of pubs, concert halls, discotheques and coffee shops sprawled out over the city of Reykjavik. Unlike most festivals, where you have stages competing for sound. Airwaves utilizes multiple venues, granting you the ability to actually see the band you’re listening to in person, not just on a massive screen. During the day you get to see acts play smaller gigs around town in Hostels, coffee bars, bookstores. And last year there was even a small little shack in the town center for a cozy kind of experience. After the festival there are plenty of after parties where bands continue until 6-7 in the morning. It truly is, 4 days of non-stop music.

You can always check the website for more information, and book all-inclusive festival packages here. They also have a playlist on Soundcloud of all the artists, not just the Icelandic ones.

,
and here is their Spotify playlist:

Take a coupla shots of Reyka and go here. I’ll see you there, I’ll be the one with the triple vodka tonic listening away.

Kraftwerk to close Iceland Airwaves 2013

2nd Iceland Airwaves Roster update

Ragnaar's Icelandic Music Blog

Icelandic musicians and the music they play

Tag Archives: Iceland Airwaves

In the Company of Men

Ojba Rasta

Jónas Sen

Very late notice, Airwaves adds 25 more bands

AMFJ

Oyama

Momentum

Iceland Airwaves 2013

Kraftwerk to close Iceland Airwaves 2013

2nd Iceland Airwaves Roster update

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