Tag Archives: Music

Bloodgroup

Bloodgroup at Harpa during Iceland Airwaves 2013

Bloodgroup’s musical legacy is over 7 years old. Starting out in 2006 in Egilsstaðir, they now have 3 self produced albums and have performed in North America, Europe and of course Iceland. Originally consisting of Lilja Kristín Jónsdóttir (vocals), Janus Rasmussen (vocals, electronic percussion, synths), Ragnar Láki Jónsson (synths and samplers), and Hallur Kristján Jónsson (synths and samplers.) Sunna Margrét (vocals) joined in 2010 replacing Lilja.

It’s been said their name was a spur of the moment creation. Born out of quick thinking by Raggi when a radio interviewer needed their band name. And as 3 of them, Hallur, Ragnar and Lilja were siblings, the name fit.

Bloodgroup’s first album, Sticky Situations, was released in 2007. At the time it was compared to bands such as The Knife and CSS. The music is layered, with unique use of unsymmetrical breaks covered with heavy dance beats and hyper lyrics provided by Lilja Kristín Jónsdóttir . The uniqueness of the album quickly made it my first choice when running. Odd as that seems, the beat kept me going, and the unique breaks kept me interested. Here’s their epic video for “Hips again:”

Their second album, Dry land, replaced the unique breaks with unique sounds, all still multi-layered and wrapped into great dance tracks the lyrics went from hyper to haunting. There is still a strong flow to the lyrics, but they carry more weight and tend to float over the beat. It’s more complex than Sticky Situations, and a lot more mature as well. Here is one of my favorite tracks, “Moonstone:”

The new album, Tracing Echoes, was released in 2013. Much more heavy and dark, the album takes on a mature feel. Sunna’s ability to float over the dance beat now includes a substantial amount of haunting as well. Her vocals really come into their own on this album, strong but smooth, like a couple fingers of Johhny Walker blue.

Þorvaldur Þór Þorvaldsson (Doddi) drumming for Bloodgroup at Airwaves 2013

At Airwaves this year, they were joined by Þorvaldur Þór Þorvaldsson (Doddi) on drums. As stated before, I am a big fan of Doddi’s drumming, and it was awesome to see the live drum element into a dance bands set. Even the more downbeat pieces come alive during Bloodgroup gigs, and it’s rare to see any of them just standing by their instruments. Sometimes I think they rock out harder than the crowd.

That hair, making me wish I had more than a point and click with me

With flying hair, rocking synths and keys, they get the crowd into the music not only with the crazy layered beats, but lead by example.

You can keep up with their musical shenanigans on their Facebook page and keep up with tour schedules on their website. They have a pretty extensive track list on Soundcloud as well.

The band was nice enough to answer my 4 nonsensical questions:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves joint to jam at? KEX Hostel! Great place, great people, great sound

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors, what do you get? Something dark, maybe purple with a dash of green in it

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Skátar, Vax and East Coast Speed Salmon (one of my biggest regrets is not seeing Skátar live, so happy to see them make a list. –RB)

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 cats playing Elton John’s Tiny Dancer

John Grant

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John Grant and Pétur Hallgrímsson at Kvosin during Iceland Airwaves ’13

John Grant began in Colorado with the band The Czars. After the Czars ended and life was lived, Grant released his first solo album, Queen of Denmark. With the help of the Texan band Midlake, he laid down songs about his life, abuse, drugs and coming out in a not-so-comfortable environment.

The album pairs it’s music and lyrics well, truly helping the listener feel, not just hear the songs. Songs such as”Marz”, with it’s gleeful roller coaster ride through the piano scale, makes you double take when you realize the lyrics are describing someone’s ideal post-suicide location.

His second album, Pale Green Ghosts, is about heartbreak, his heartbreak. In line with Queen of Denmark, the lyrics are raw and powerful. We get a glimpse of the wild mouse roller coaster ride he went through -self-depreciation, hate, sadness and anger ooze out of the words as his baritone voice works inflection and emphasis as if they were keys on an emotional piano. There is little whining, just a lot of F-you’s and F-me’s which leave the listener not wanting to cry it out with Grant in a hugfest, but get drunk at a bar toasting all that’s rotten about love.

In the age of singles, it’s rare to hear an album this well crafted. Each song dutifully plays its part in the story while simultaneously living as its own individual piece. The piano scales are still there, and the dynamic production duo of John Grant and Birgir Þórarinsson of GusGus are able to encompass a wide range of synth. Some songs sounding like the current era, and some having more of a vintage 80’s electronic feel such as “Sensitive new age guy”, which sound like it was written on a beefed up Casio keyboard, certainly enforcing the rumor that Grant loves vintage synth.

The last track on the album, “Gravity”, is a song every person coming to terms with themselves should hear. Sincere, well crafted and to the point- the song speaks to people who are told they are bad for being themselves. It addresses just how painful the hypocritical rationalization of people still clinging to the “hate the sin, love the sinner” dogma is to someone growing up, especially when that dogma comes from people who they love and respect. Growing up in a region close to Denver, and having watched the dominant religion tear young people apart this very way, it’s a song I wish a lot of kids my age could have heard. The first time I heard the track I have to admit it brought back sombre memories of individuals I wish would have heard it.

Instead of just telling the listener it gets better, he says, “Don’t you pay them fuckers as they say no never mind.” and continues with “Don’t listen to anyone, get answers on your own
Even if it means that sometimes you feel quite alone.” It’s not just an “It gets better” speech, it’s “here’s what I did, and what you need to do” advice from someone worth looking up to.

The album more than deserves the attention it has been receiving. It made almost all of the top lists of the year from the journalistic music world, and made number 1 on Rough Trades top list. Most important of course, it remains on my most listened list in my iTunes.

I truly enjoy both of the albums, but to me, Grant really shines in his live shows. I’ve seen him perform gigs with a full band at Harpa to the basement of a Hostel with only Pétur by his side. No matter the size of venue or number of people Grant’s Baritone voice, warm personality and cracking smile draw you in and make you feel at home. He’s not afraid to banter on about this and that before a song, and in the event of instrumental mishaps or delays his quick wit and charm more than entertain the audience until go time.

The few times i have seen Grant live, Chris Pemberton, from the UK band Budapest played piano, and Pétur Hallgrímsson played guitar. Pétur is an Icelandic veteran who has not only done session work for a slew of global artists including Kylie Minogue, but was in two very popular Icelandic bands, Lhooq and E-X.

You can learn more about John Grant on his website or Facebook page. And can purchase his albums pretty much anywhere music is sold.

With the seriousness of his material and his extremely busy touring season, I was more than surprised and very grateful that he took the time to answer my 4 nonsensical questions, so thanks again and here they are:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? I suppose my favorite is KEX because it is so beautiful and the owners and the food are amazing.

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors (for you, add your band mates if you would), what do you get? Grey

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Tilbury, Prins Póló, Pikknikk

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song. I’d be an ocelot singing S.O.S.

Boogie Trouble

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Disco? In Iceland? I’ll let you all in on a dirty little secret, Icelanders once disco’d the hell out of disco. In fact, one of their own, Þórir Baldursson was rather successful in the US working with Donna Summers and others during the global disco hayday. While Disco on the small island may have been short lived, Boogie Trouble is doing a fine job of bringing it back with their ‘disco-funk-full-o-soul’ style of music.

Boogie trouble started in 2011. Myth has it the band tweaked a reggae tune to match their style and decided to keep at it. The members are all experienced musicians, with Ingibjörg Elsa Turchi formerly of Rökkurró on bass; Helga Ragnarsdóttir currently of Rökkurró on keys; Sigurður Tómas Guðmundsson formerly of Snorri Helgason’s old band Sprengjuhöllin on drums; Sindri Freyr Steinsson from Iceland’s Surf rock band Bárujárn on guitar and vocals, and lead singer Klara Arnalds, who has the ability to soothingly punch the grumpies out of any audience member within range of her energetic smile and waves of flying hair.

On my must see list at Iceland Airwaves this year, the band came highly recommended from a slew of Icelandic musicians. There is a dangerous line that can be crossed when playing funk or disco, but their strong songwriting and musical craftwork bring the energy and fun of that era while leaving behind any unintentional signs of gimmick. They were tight on the instruments and every one of them on stage appeared to be having a good time.

Most of their songs are in Icelandic, but the manner in which they are written, and the enjoyment and energy the band projects from the stage make the language barrier moot. They do have a few cover songs, including Britney Spear’s Toxic, which you can download for free at Soundcloud.

They are promising new stuff and even an album soon in the future. They are on Facebook, as well as Soundcloud. And the band was nice enough to answer my 4 very not-so-serious questions:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves, or Icelandic joint to jam at? The best place to go partying is probably Harlem because even when it sucks it is tolerable. The best place to play music used to be Faktorý but that got torn down to build hotels.

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors (for you, add your bandmates if you would), what do you get? Litographicly probably some sort of brown sludge. That or purple.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? Svartidauði, Nolo, Ojba Rasta, the list goes on. A lot of talented people happen to live on this rock.

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song. Cthulu playing Strawberry letter 23, with The Brothers Johnson. That would probably be deep.

Blue Eyed Pop, a book review

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Broadening the scope of the blog I suppose, I’m writing a book review. It’s a book on Icelandic music written by a musician who is active and has been in the Icelandic scene for over 30 years. So it’s not too far out of scope.

Blue eyed pop is a historical look at the pop music scene of Iceland. Named after The Sugarcubes song it begins in the early 1900’s and treks across the beginning of Iceland’s love affair with music up to it’s present day music madness. From the 25 wax cylinders Icelanders listened to for years to the hundreds of original bands that call the little island home, the book meanders through the short, but action packed Icelandic musical history, giving the reader plenty of photos along the way.

While there are plenty of books, interviews and summations of the globally famous Icelandic bands, this is the first I’ve encountered where that history is told with character, and from the perspective of another Icelandic musician, one who has been at his craft for over 3 decades. There are so many insider stories and funny tidbits about not only Icelandic bands, but bands such as Yes, Led Zeppelin and Donna Summers. Bands you would never associate with Iceland, but all at one point were somewhat influenced by the little island that straddles two continents.

Dr. Gunni is no stranger to writing about music. He’s been in the scene for over 30 years, playing his first gig in 1980 to now currently working on an adult-ish children’s album, Al-Heimur-inn. A pop-quiz TV host, DJ and author of multiple historical accounts of Iceland’s music scene, he’s perfectly fit to write the first English account of Iceland’s Pop musical history.

In 2012, Dr. Gunni wrote Stuð vors lands. Blue eyed pop is derived from this book, focusing more on the pop aspect. As much as I’d love to go through chapter by chapter and give the good bits. I think I’ll just stick to an overview, as I could never do Dr. Gunni’s writing justice.

Fans at a Kinks concert in Iceland

The global music scene realized well before the rest of us the potential and creative eagerness Icelanders have.

Bands such as The Kinks, Zeppelin, and The Who all beat us to Iceland to tour, listen and appreciate what Icelandic musicians had to offer. Even Disco was influenced by Icelanders who wrote for Donna Summers as well as other famous US acts of the time.

Björk gardening while writing and recording music

Trekking through the histories of bands popular not only to Iceland, but the rest of the world such as The Sugarcubes, Sigur Rós and even newer bands like Of Monsters and Men, the book gives the reader a better appreciation of these artists and their music.

From a pre-adolescent Björk, telling an interviewer she may never repeat the recording process again upon completing her first recording session, to a rather kinky magazine cover shoot of Sigur Rós in dresses and bondage gear, the reader becomes aware of the Icelandic ability to work hard and yet have fun at the same time.

This book is a must for anyone who appreciates the history of music. Even moreso, if you are a fan of Iceland and it’s people, as through the book you truly get a sense of the Icelandic culture and personality that has seen their work ethic and dedication to life help them survive over the years.

You can order the book here, Learn more about Dr. Gunni and follow his blog here. Dr. Gunni put together a set of playlists to accompany the book, sorted by decades here. And there’s a great interview between him and Hauker S. Magnusson on the Grapevine website.

Dr. Gunni was nice enough to answer my slightly modified 4 questions here:

1. In all your years of playing, what is your favorite Icelandic venue or festival? Iceland Airwaves is by far the bestest thing ever to happend on the local scene. I do not have a favorite venue, but I guess playing Harpa is quit nice, even though I haven’t played there yet!

2. Combine all your favorite colors, what do you get? Some kind of disgusting grey.

3. Name 3 little known Icelandic bands we should get to know. Taugadeildin were a more poppy Joy Division with an EP out in 1981. Ævintýri were a hard rocking unit that used to be a bubblegum band. The rock version Ævintýri only managed to get one 7″ out in 1971 but later they evolved into Svanfríður. Dj Flugvél og Geimskip is this girl Steinunn Harðardóttir doing out of this world spacy fun art music on a brand new album called Glamúr í geimnum (Glamour in Space).

4. If you could be any animal playing any song, what are you, and what song? A walrus playing Beatles’ I am the walrus, obviously.

All photos were taken from Dr. Gunni’s book.

Iceland Airwaves recap part 3- the rest

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So now that I’ve covered the new bands I was excited to see, and the bands I always look forward to seeing, I can discuss the rest of the festival. This year there was a lot of Pylsa eating, beer and vodka consumption, and Northern lights! until this last trip, I have never seen the Northern lights, so this definitely was a treat, and one I actually just enjoyed, without snapping a pic.

Really, there were only two non-Icelandic must sees for me, Anna Von Hausswolff and Zola Jesus. I went out of my way to make sure I was going to see both, and with the packed crowd I lucked out that Samaris was right before the Anna Von Hausswolff show at Gamla Bíó. Anna Von Hausswollf, put on an incredibly haunting performance. she and the band with their intense harmonization and emotional drumming was just as amazing as I expected. The venue was so packed I was surprised NOT to see people hanging from the rafters, but I may have missed them from not being able to look up for fear of stepping on someone below. It certainly was packed, and the onslaught of photographers in the beginning did not help with the crowded situation.

And this brings up one of the few issues I had with Airwaves this year, the aggressive photographers. Not all were this aggressive, but there were a few who went completely overboard to get a pretty picture. I applaud the quick and stern email Airwaves sent out after this reminding photographers that the festival is for all people attending, not just the press, and that it was absolutely not OK to use a flash directly into the face of performers, but until this email, it was common to see this happening to artists and the crowd:

This picture was the beginning of the Show, as you can see, even the artist is flinching away from the insanely close use of a flash, and the amount of people using it. And unfortunately, if you were in the first couple of rows, a line of photog-ass was your view. The lighting made for a tough show to shoot, But as this picture shows, these guys were insane with trying and they continued through almost two complete songs. Stopping only after a certain fan of Anna’s, out of awe of her music I’m sure, climbed on stage and proclaimed her love for the music by laying down right next to Anna’s keys and flashing metal signs.

Kimono at Bar 11

Alison from Kimono at Gamli Gaukurinn

Kimono, oh dear sweet Kimono. I admit, I saw them three times in total. First show was Bar 11 before Metz, second at Gamli Gaukurinn, and I saw half of their final set at Lucky Records the next day. Kimono are an old staple in Iceland, one could argue they’ve influenced a lot of music in their time, so it was great to see them live again.

Their gigs certified they still have it. Heavy instrumentation, with just ever-so-slightly aggressive vocals trudging through the the set. The band was kind enough to play my favorite song, The Wire (I’m sure it was all for me) at all three gigs, and someone paid tribute to Alison’s paying tribute at Anna Von Haussenwolffs performance at Gamli Gaukurinn by laying down center stage and flashing metal signs while soaking in Kimono’s heavy beats.

They also introduced a few new tracks that they have been working on, including a dance number, well as dance number as Kimono can get, Think a modern Les Savy Fav. It excites me that they are working on new stuff. These guys are another band that personifies the Icelandic music culture. They’ve been playing for well over a decade, and as dedicated and serious as they are about their task, they still take the time to have fun on stage, and they also display that natural ability to include the audience in that fun, cracking jokes, heckling back and just overall having a good time playing music they love. And they have no fear about working on new stuff that may differ from the old. It’s an epic work ethic they have, and I’m all the more excited about it.

And of course, Zola Jesus. She came to Iceland with a brand new band. If she hadn’t told the audience they were new, I don’t think we would have noticed as they played a wonderful set at Gamla Bíó. Zola was full of her typical energy and after jumping off stage barefoot, she spent a good time serenading audience members, jumping on chairs, and whipping her mic chord around barriers like a seasoned cowboy lassoing a bull. As I’m a bit biased when it comes to Zola concerts, it was good to read that not just I was impressed with her set. I’m glad Iceland got to see her.

Really, there is so much more one could write about, and there are so many more pics that I could share. Iceland Airwaves yet again delivered a fantastic festival and Iceland proved to be the ever amazingly Martha Stewart of sovereign hosts.

If you want to know about how a band you dug did, the Grapevine blogged about EVERY on-venue show this year on their Airwaves dedicated blog space. Their presence and that blog were an amazing thing this year and a great addition to the festival experience, maybe I’m just partial because they flattered me by publishing my blog/article on supporting the local Icelandic musicians, but no, it’s an extremely well put together blog about the festival over all, and you have to give Grapevine major props for the hard work they put into it. You can see all my photos from Iceland Airwaves here, or by clicking on one of the pictures above.

It’s weird to end a blog post without my four weird questions, so I leave you with one of them, answered while some mocking was being done about the questions I ask, by Kjartan from For a Minor Reflection:

What animal would you be, and what song would you sing? A raccoon, because raccoons are the coolest animal.. And Total eclipse of the heart, because that would be the coolest song for a raccoon to sing…..

Airwaves ’13 recap part 1-The new

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Pétur Ben at KEX

Now for the recap on Airwaves, Yes initially I was going to do a day by day, yes I was ambitious. No, after day 1, it didn’t happen. So, I am going to do a couple blog posts on stuff that was new to me, and stuff I dug.

To start off, Kudos to the Iceland Airwaves staff and crew. This was the smoothest I’ve seen it run, and I really appreciate how much help they are, even to us small potatoes that dig music and blog about it out of fun and not as our careers. So, thank you guys for another great year.

As with all 5 years that I’ve attended, there was good, and there was notsogood. The high points out numbered the rare low points and it’s easy to call this my favorite music festival of the year.

One of the highlights was the off-venue schedule being added to the app. It really made picking a band during the middle of the day a lot easier, and if the off-venue performance you wanted was too crowded, it was easy to pick something else. And this year that became more important than in the past, as it seemed the off venues were packed almost all the time, and quick changes of plans were necessary.

DJ. flugvél og geimskip

My goal was to focus on Icelandic bands that I had not heard before, I relied heavily on the suggestions other Icelandic musicians and friends, and regardless of their genre I made an attempt to see them play. I did make an exception to my rule in order to see Zola Jesus, FM Belfast, and John Grant. But all the other bands on my schedule were Icelandic, and/or bands I had seen once or twice. And with over 200 of them rarely did I have a time where I couldn’t find something to see.

Top 3 new bands I had not seen before were Boogie Trouble, Oyama, and Hudson Wayne. Oyama was on my list based on the blog I did about them, and Boogie trouble was a must see, as a lot of Icelandic friends and musicians recommended I not miss their gig.

Boogie Trouble at Hressó

Boogie trouble’s upbeat music came in second only to their lead singers energy and charisma. She was laughing, dancing around the place, and the entire band jammed away at both gigs I attended. Two entirely different crowds for those shows, and yet the band created the same party like atmosphere in both situations. They played the first day I was in town at Lucky Records, and again at Hressó near the end of the festival. Well worth the recommends they received, and their cover of Britney Spear’s Toxic is not to be missed.

While so called “shoe-gazing” music isn’t typically my jam, I was excited to see Oyama, as I like the music I’ve heard and was interested to see how their live show would turn out. I also saw Oyama twice, once in front of the 12 Tónar shop at Harpa, and once at the Amsterdam bar the last night of Airwaves.

Oyama rockin the walls of Harpa

The off-venue gig at Harpa turned scandalous, as the band was just too wild and crazy for the stone cold walls, and as their music filled the event hall, it breached the serenity of the Ólafur Arnalds Symphony experience, causing a panicked man to whisper pleas into Úlfur’s ear to stop briefly to allow the symphony to end in peace. Ok, not that dramatic, but the band did have to stop briefly, you can read more about it here.

Oyama at Amsterdam

At both sets the band played energetically and together, the smaller set at Harpa was definitely more mellow than the on-venue set at Amsterdam. And at the Amsterdam set I was really impressed with Júlía, who obviously was having issues with her voice, and yet it came out strong, non-wavering, and almost pitch perfect the entire set. the Amsterdam set was more rowdy, and there was nothing shoe-gazing about the guitar and bass trio break-down during one of their first few songs. I highly enjoyed the new tracks they premiered during their set.

Hudson Wayne at Iðnó

Hudson Wayne gets a golden star as being one of the only bands I’ve ever heard at Iðnó where I thought the sound quality was great. They were so spot on it would be hard to believe they were Icelanders and not from the Mid Western part of the U.S. They appeared to be having almost more fun than the audience. So, aside from the over-priced beer at Iðnó, I stayed the entire set and really enjoyed myself. Was very glad to finally hear them play.

Pétur Ben at KEX

I’ve seen Pétur Ben perform before, but not the newer darker catalog he has, and not with a full band. So it was great to make it to Kex and hear him play full on. Even though the new album is quite a bit darker, the music came off strong and I really dug the new live tracks.

Once again, Kex Hostel had KEXP hanging around, doing live streams of the music during the entire festival. If you want to hear the live sets they recorded, I suggest heading over here to give them a listen. They all work incredibly hard every year exposing new acts and bringing music from Iceland to the United States.

Samaris

Sadly, the one set of new artists that turned out not so well was the Samaris show at Gamli Bio. There were massive tech issues from the beginning, and the band looked really out of sorts and discombobulated in their performance. I wish I could have seen them at another gig, as I was really excited to catch their act. So until I do see them again, I am holding off judgement on their live act.

Nini Wilson at Harpa

Last but not least by any means, another great new band was Nini Wilson. Comprised of Örn Ingi Ágústsson from Seabear on guitar, Árni Vilhjálmsson of FM Belfast doing vocals and guitar, and Björn Stefánsson on drums. Their music was made public only days before the festival, and yet there still was a near full venue waiting to hear what they had to offer. After taking a moment to relax via a bottle of Lavender oil, which they passed around for the crowd to inhale, Nini Wilson began a very tight set of Folk-ish rock, moving through the set entertaining themselves and the audience with quips about being naked, not being naked and of course, a few rock guitar solos intermixed. Very entertaining and I wish the set had been longer as it was one of the more enjoyable ones of the festival. Can’t wait to hear what else they have in store.

You can click any picture above to see my entire photo set from Airwaves this year.

Day 1

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Officially day one of Iceland Airwaves. For me, it started with Vigri and ended with FM Belfast, and a lot in between. I took a fair amount of pics, and instead of flooding my blog with them, I have created a set for Airwaves on my Flickr Account.

Vigri’s off-venue set at Backpackers was a good way to start. Now a 4 piece, they played some of their old catalog, and even with sustainability issues, the endured. They mentioned a new album in the works, and played a few new tracks, most notable was the set ending “I Follow,” a longer track with a great build up and fantastic ending.

Next up was the Kimono off-venue show at Bar 11. They also had a few new songs to try out on the crowd, there is more of an electronic element now and I quite like it.

They ended the set with a remixed extended version of Black. and by remixed and extended, I mean Kjartan thundered away on drums for a very long time while Alison and Gylfi laughed about not playing.

Next up was Metz, I had gone outside for a brief minute after the Kimono show, and when I returned to see Metz the basement was so packed people were on the stairs huddled down trying to see. Sitting outside I could hear them and it was nuts. Luckily I got in to see the last track, and as people were being tossed up into the ceiling the band was sweatily bouncing around the stage.

After Metz, it was back upstairs to hear Kajak play. Very energetic duo with keys and a Korg. Trippy lyrics backed by dance and rock beats, the windows were rattling from all the energy.

This ended the off-venue part of the day for me, and it was time to quickly grab a Pylsa and head over to the YLJA gig.

I went in the wrong door and ended up at DJ Flugvél og Geimskip’s show. She was so happy and as I stayed for a few songs I couldn’t help but smile. Very high pitched voice and dance beats, with fog and a rotating light ball, very creative and entertaining.

YLJA was next door. A 5 piece consisting of 2 chanteuses surrounded by three talented guys. Very soothing folk rock, and they played well together.

Next, after a brief musical intermission with friends, we headed off to see Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir. It was a audio visual set with a large backdrop of morphing images combined with audio cues. Relaxing and surreal.

Stroff was next, these guys were on my list of bands to see. Very 90’s west coast America feel to them and with only a few technical issues they played a great set at Amsterdam.

After Stroff back to Harpa we went, it was time to see FM Belfast, we were a bit late so we had to sit in the back of the crowd, but FM Belfast was doing what they do best, throwing a party. Masses of people jumping up and down, in the photo above you can actually see the masses crouched down on their knees eagerly waiting for the band to cue them explode into dancing happiness. There were streamers, confetti and sorts of mayhem. They always seem to have a lot of fun, and they did not disappoint last night.

Airwaves pre-game

Snorri Helgason

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I’ve always talked of the hard work Icelandic musicians put into their craft. Snorri Helgason is the personification of this. He tours more than humanly possible, constantly collaborates with other Icelandic musicians, and has been been part of programs such as Taste of Iceland and Iceland Airwaves every year. He works hard, very hard, and we the listener are the benefactors.

Snorri’s career started with his band, Sprengjuhöllin. They released three great albums, all of which won awards and were well received by the Icelandic public, including one single that lasted 27 weeks in Iceland’s music charts.

Continuing to evolve, he released his first solo album I’m gonna put my name on your door which was also well received. Ironically, the title track from the album speaks of settling down, quite the opposite direction Snorri has taken, and combined with the final track When a good thing dies, the audience is left somewhat misled about the future of Snorri Helgason.

The album itself is smooth; perfect for a rainy day or relaxing road trips. Reminiscent of Nick Cave and Harry Nillson his ability to modernize that 70’s soulful folk makes for an enjoyable album trip, one of my favorite songs on the album is Don’t let her.

Next came Winter’s sun. This is my favorite of his albums to date. There are hints of 50’s rock and soul on tracks such as 99 songs, and splotches of blues on The Butcher’s Boy. Spending time in Iceland during a Christmas break, Snorri was playing music with Sindri Már Sigfússon from Sin Fang and they decided to put an album together. With Sindri producing and Snorri playing the album is a perfect of example of adding more without adding too much. Vocals are more sharp and energized, there are more instruments, and more people backing him up, such as Mr. Silla from Múm, and Sóley.

One of my favorite tracks from Winter’s sun, Mockingbird, reminds me of a Motown era jam. Very smooth, with a rock influenced beat underneath lullaby vocals backed up in a do-wappish manner.

Recently released, Snorri’s new album, Autumn skies keeps the strong instruments, but from the two tracks available to stream, the vocals have slightly shifted back towards the mellow smooth folk of the first album. I particularly like the sound of Kveðja. You can listen to both new tracks, as well as a slew of his back catalog on his Soundcloud page. You can purchase the new Autumn Skies CD from the Record Records music shop, and his previous two albums are on Gogoyoko for listening or purchase pleasure.

To learn more and keep up with him, visit his website or Facebook page. He’ll be performing at Iceland Airwaves this year and he always puts on a fantastic show, I suggest you check it out.

In the Company of Men

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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.

Ragnaar's Icelandic Music Blog

Icelandic musicians and the music they play

Tag Archives: Music

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Iceland Airwaves recap part 3- the rest

Airwaves ’13 recap part 1-The new

Day 1

Airwaves pre-game

Snorri Helgason

In the Company of Men

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