And here it is, the complete list of Icelandic musicians performing at the 20th anniversary of Iceland Airwaves 2018. It’s under new management so there are probably a few more surprises coming our way, But here is the list of everything we know. So get digging in and learn about all the new stuff you haven’t heard before.
I’ll be doing a few blog posts with tips, recommendations etc… And this year I’ve started a series on the first time Icelandic musicians, you can see the first post here.
You can see my past Airwaves photos here, and my tips for a pleasant Airwaves as well.
Once again I’ve created a loosely sorted, by genre, cheat sheet for the Icelandic bands. Out of the 225 bands set to perform, 139 are Icelandic. This year the Airwaves team massively improved their line up page, you can search and sort by genre and country, but the genre sections is rather precise, so I’ve kept the categories rather broad here. To See the official Airwaves line-up page, click here.
With Icelandic bands it can always be hard to categorize their music styles as one of the greatest things about them is their ability to snag and grab their favorite things from all over the musical spectrum and make it work for them. So these lists are just general nods in the direction you may be looking for, for example, the Dance table, they sit right on the edge of electronic and dance pop/rock and beats. But I tried to focus on the prominence of a lead singer and the beats of the bulk of their songs in deciding which side to place them.
At the bottom you will also find the Spotify playlist for the entire festival.
Categorizing some bands can be extremely difficult as they run borders are freely through genres, so if you feel a band needs to be moved into a different category let me know and I’ll change it.
In 2017 Sóley, Sin Fang, & Örvar Smárason got together and decided to release one song a month for the entire year. They ended the year with the vinyl, “Team Dreams,” which you can listen to here, and a performance at Sigur Rós’s Norður og Niður festival in Reykjavik. Us that were not able attend were treated with a great New Year’s gift, as they announced they would be touring around Europe. I was lucky enough to photograph the concert at Bush Hall in Shepard’s Bush London.
Combining three brilliant musicians can go all sorts of ways, but in typical Iceland fashion their uniqueness blended well, with obvious positive chemistry between all three. They were slightly nervous as this was the first concert of the tour and only the second time they had played together, and while they kept mentioning this nervousness, it really didn’t show.
I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite characteristics of Iceland musicians are their ability to remove the 4th wall. And these three lived up to and surpassed that theory from the absolute beginning charming the audience with jokes, ambitions, and conversation.
They supported themselves, each artists doing a 20 minute solo set before all joining on stage for the main event. I had not seen Smárason’s solo material so I was pleased with this surprise. After briefly chatting with the crowd as he set up apologized as he wasn’t going to chat through his set of ecclectic beats, and creative use of microphones. He then performed 20 minutes of his new material giving us a preview of his first solo album, “light is liquid” which will be released via Morr Music on May 18th, check out his Facebook page for more details.
Sin Fang was next, starting off with piano and eventually moving over to guitar a broad span of his catalog. I’ve been watching Sin Fang since the days of duct taped microphone nests, and he never disappoints. He even covered “teenage Spaceship” by Smog, which while the audience didn’t seem to know who Smog is, made me really happy.
After a brief intermission, Sóley came to the stage and proceeded to sing a good amount of material. She told us stories of chocolate spoons being used to stir things, and mentioned that she would be the queen of the Theremin by next year, I’m holding her to that.
When the trio came on stage they were accompanied by Gylfi Sigurðsson of Retro Stefson fame. I unfortunately didn’t get a good shot of him, but you can kind of see him in the photo below:
There is still time to catch them on tour with 5 shows remaining, and I suggest you do, I certainly wasn’t disappointed and doubt you will be either. You can find out more about the tour dates, by following them on their individual Facebook pages and Instagram.
Unlike past years, Iceland Airwaves will be in two cities this year, Reykjavik and Akureyri giving festival goers a chance to see more of the island, and from the looks of it, bringing more Icelandic bands from all over together to play. You can now look at the schedule here. And here are my tips to make the festival more enjoyable.
I will be photographing the festival this year and if you follow my Facebook page you view at your leisure. You can see photos from Airwaves past here.
218 bands have been announced so far of which 162 are Icelandic. I make this page as a quick reference and it’s a good thing to bookmark while you’re at the festival. There will be times where your plans may not come to fruition and you can look at the app, find a band you’ve never heard of for plan B, and use the quick reference here to see if you dig it.
With Icelandic bands it can always be hard to categorize their music styles as one of the greatest things about them is their ability to snag and grab their favorite things from all over the musical spectrum and make it work for them. So these lists are just general nods in the direction you may be looking for, for example, the Dance table, they sit right on the edge of electronic and dance pop/rock and beats. But I tried to focus on the prominence of a lead singer and the beats of the bulk of their songs in deciding which side to place them.
I’ve also made a table of just Möller Records and Thule Records artists as they have quite the strong presence this year. Both of these record labels have continually brought amazing electronic acts out of the Icelandic woodwork for years and I’m really stoked to visit their stage and get my fill of their collective music.
Categorizing some bands can be extremely difficult as they run borders are freely through genres, so if you feel a band needs to be moved into a different category let me know and I’ll change it.
Well, it’s over. Another year another massive amount of music, art, and sight seeing crammed into 5 days. It began with an art show, a toilet museum opening with a Q&A from John Lydon, and continued with a ton of new music. On top of that I managed to go beyond my comfort zone and took part in conducting live interviews with bands, and created a few podcasts.
Jason from Zombie Popcorn convinced me to get behind a mic and conduct interviews and podcasts with him. There were a few hilarious moments, a few cringe worthy moments, but a lot of good dialog with bands and musicians such as Dr. Gunni, Tófa, Milkywhale, and Sóley. It’s all been compiled nice and neat like over at Zombie Popcorn on an Airwaves page.
I took all the photos in the blog post and you can see all the Airwaves photos here.
It all started the night before Iceland Airwaves officially began at Mokka-kaffi. Dr. Gunni of Bless, S.H. Draumur, Unum, and his own band had an art exhibit opening at the cafe. It’s his new album, ATVIK, of which he’s only made 18 copies all with acrylic paintings of historic moments in his musical life on the album covers. The bottom middle photo above is of Dr. Gunni giving the legendary Bubbi Morthens an empty Coke bottle… because that’s what you do apparently.
A new punk museum opened in Iceland. Housed in an old public toilet the museum gives you the history of punk stall by stall, with memorabilia and pull down headphones so you can sample the goods. John Lydon, accompanied by Rambo showed up for the opening and participated in a Q&A where he talked about underwear, and questioned if punk was still alive.
One of the great things about Iceland Airwaves is there is always something new, and there is always something for everybody. In the event you can’t cram it all in at the official shows there will always be extra off-venue gigs throughout the city during the day. This blog post would turn into a book if I commented on everything I saw so I will stick to highlights for me of new bands and veterans.
First, the new:
Tófa @ 12 Tónar
One of the freshest highlights was Tófa. The word Tófa is Icelandic for a female blue fox. An animal that looks sweet and innocent but actually can be vicious and cunning. And much like their namesake the began with innocent banter about who they are right before blowing out our eardrums and manufacturing mosh pits with their heavy high-spirited sets both off-venue and on. Even a power outage at Gaukurinn was no match for drum solos and banter.
Milkywhale is what you get when you cross an upbeat choreographer with a musician from one of the most party-est bands in Iceland. He was bouncing and smiling behind the decks, she was all over the stage, belting out while the audience danced away. Both shows I saw this Airwaves were full of interactions with the crowd breaking down that wall between performers and festival goers.
Hórmónar is another new band that I was really impressed with. I actually left PJ Harvey early so that I could catch their gig at Gaukurinn and they ended up being a great way to end the festival. they were all over the tiny stage and guard rails, with the drummer using a wheel rim and a saxaphone player stuffed in the corner. It all added to the rough and angry set. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for next year.
Last but not least is Cyber. Comprised of some of the Reykjavíkurdætur crew, Cyber did aerobics with the crowd, rapped about Daddy issues and Aspen Barbie-world problems, and there was some hugging it out while pretending to pretend they were at prom. Icelandic hip hop has become rather large over the last few years, and Cyber definitely was my top pick this year for the genre.
Now for the highlights from the veterans:
This year was FM Belfast’s 10th anniversary playing Airwaves. I first saw them in 2009-10?? when they closed the festival at NASA. The festival ended with hordes of people dancing and running past us in their underwear. I have seen this band play small bars in Boston and stadium sized venues in Iceland and every time they leave you sweaty, out of breath, and wanting more of the party.
Now, 10 years later, they’ve upped their game with confetti-cannons, rolls and rolls of streamers, and costumes galore. The band revved up the crowd to the point the floors felt as if they were going to give in from the insane crowd jumping up and down.
In an interesting twist of things, two veteran bands I see whenever they play swapped up their stages. Prins Póló dropped his band and Berndsen added one. Things are always changing and even established bands like to completely swap things out for the fun of it.
Prins Póló was joined by Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson from FM Belfast/Milkywhale/Plúseinn. Perhaps having less folks on stage led to the heightened party atmosphere and more aggressive vocals and powerful beats. Svavar was flying all over the stage interacting with the crowd as he sang songs we’ve all come to love.
Berndsen on the other hand, showed up with a full band. He played a lot of the classics, and a few of the new songs from his upcoming album, “Alter Ego.” The new material still has that 80’s feel, but there’s more of a rock element now. I’ve dug what I’ve heard so far and can’t wait to get my grubby mits on the full album. The set ended with a stripped down Berndsen, and the drummer standing on his kit.
Part of the fun of going to Airwaves a lot is you get to watch bands evolve. Fufanu is one such band, I’ve been watching them for a few years now and this year was the best I’ve ever seen them. Their music was tight and on point, the visuals complimented the set, and they filled the Harpa hall with rock quite nicely. They’ve released a great new video for Sports, and their show superseded my expectations.
Vök packed the Reykjavik art museum and their high-octane performance with saxophones, synths, guitars and simulated drums was had the crowd excitedly dancing and singing along. They seem a lot more at ease on stage and worked as a full rock unit playing a lot of material I actually hadn’t heard yet.
And then there was Pink street boys. I fully admit to having a musical crush on this band. Their dirty, garage punk rock style is just my type of music and they killed it at Gaukurinn. The place was packed, and the sweaty horde of festival goers were rocking Their album is a go-to staple for me at home and in commute and I only wish I could see them play live more often.
And then there was PJ Harvey.She filled the enormous hall at Valshöllin. I was not only excited for the chance to see her live, but damned near ecstatic I was given the opportunity to photograph. The band entered the stage in marching band style with PJ in the middle playing the saxophone.
She lined up in formation and once everyone was set moved front and center to begin the show. While she played a few of her classics, her focus was on the new material. With band members moving from brass instruments to strings, and her holding on dearly to her saxophone she filled the hall with her quirky style of music.
So, yet again another fantastic year at Iceland Airwaves. All of the photos are mine though the featured image contains the Iceland Airwaves logo as well. Early bird tickets will be on sale soon so make sure to follow Iceland Airwaves on Facebook and check their website frequently. If you want a head start on learning about more of the Icelandic bands that may be playing next year, or just want a reminiscent feel for what you saw I suggest you check out Straumur on Facebook and their website. They compile fantastic playlists mixed with international acts, but a lot of the new Icelandic bands coming out. Also, follow Iceland Music Export on Facebook as they deliver speedy news on new bands, bands that are touring, and new information about the bands you already love.
It’s time again for another Iceland Affair. This charming Icelandic festival celebrates it’s sixth year on Saturday October 17th. Nestled in the picturesque towns of Winchester and Norfolk CT, Iceland affair will take over the Winchester center and Infinity Hall for cultural presentations, unique items for sale, food, and a night of music.
During the day Winchester center will play host to multiple presentations, Icelandic horses, food and merchandise. there will be a silent auction table as well as a slew of products from Lopapeysas (Icelandic sweaters), cakes, soaps and other Icelandic items for sale throughout the event. There will be Pylsur (Icelandic Hot-dogs) on site, and their free! They are the best hot dogs you will ever have, in my opinion.
The presenters will lecture on topics such as the science and beauty of the Aurora Borealis, geology of Iceland, Viking lore, ICESAR (Iceland’s search and rescue teams,) Arctic foxes, and there will be a Gyrfalcon, Iceland’s national bird giving a show. The day festivities are free, and you can learn more about the schedule here
Nighttime will bring the Fire and Ice concert. A cozy evening with 5 fantastic Icelandic artists at the Infinity hall in Norfolk, CT. The artists tend to play together and interact with the crowd making it a rather unique and intimate night of great music, laughter and fun for both the artists and audience.
Kristjana Stefánsdóttir, Svavar Knútur, Sóley, Björn Thoroddsen and Myrra Rós will be gracing the stage this year, all of them veterans of the festival. Most everyone playing has new material or albums that have been released recently, so I’m envisioning a lot of fresh material will be performed.
The festival typically sells out, and with less than half tickets left I would suggest getting them sooner than later. Along with the the bands, there are always surprises that pop up during the concert.
I’ve put a very brief description and sample of the artists music below:
Kristjana Stefánsdóttir has been a vocal coach to many Icelandic singers over the years. her command of Jazz is rivaled only by her smooth and strong voice. No matter what or how she’s singing it’s rare not to be completely sucked in to her songs.
Svavar Knútur is a riot, he not only entertains with great music, but his personality and ability to naturally engage the audience makes for a good time for everyone. He has a new album out, and so there will be plenty of new material to enjoy.
Sóley has been touring all over, but this will be only one of the few times we on the East coast get to see her this year. Her new album was so impressive I actually attempted a review on it. And I can’t wait to hear the new stuff live.
Björn Thoroddsen is a magic man with a guitar, and always puts on a good show with original or highly improvised versions of classic tracks. Not only does he command complete attention when he’s center stage, but he has this amazing ability to play back up for anyone at any time and not miss a beat. He never disappoints.
And Myrra Rós, with her haunting vocals and up-beat melodies are just right for an autumn concert. her new album, “One amongst others” was just released and I really enjoy it. I can’t wait to hear some of the new material live.
So come get a hot dog, learn about Icelandic culture, and spend the night being entertained by an extremely engaging group of musicians.
And, the final announcement is out. Almost 230 bands will be at Iceland Airwaves 2015, and while we’ll definitely miss Björk and Mammút, The Airwaves staff have outdone themselves with the roster this year. This is the most bands I have seen yet, 155 of the 230 bands are Icelandic, and they span the spectrum of every genre. Here is the new announcement, Directed, edited and created by the wonderful Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, Sin Fang once again is credited with the music, and… Now we all know who Gangly is.
Also announced for this year is a festival within a festival. On Sunday, the final night of the festival,the mini-festival called Extreme Chill will happen at the Vodafone Hall. One last hurrah and “laid back” night of music, featuring Hot Chip, Introbeats, dj. flugvél og geimskip, Agent Fresco, Emmsjé Gauti, Sleaford Mods, Úlfur Úlfur and FM Belfast. You can learn more about it here. It’s a fantastic idea, because if you have done Airwaves right, nothing will sound better than only having to go to one place to finish off in musical bliss.
As I did for 2014 and 2013, I’ve listed all of the Icelandic bands playing into loosely divided into genres on this page. Clicking on their name will open a new tab with the Iceland Airwaves info page for that artist, which includes Soundcloud, Social media links, and a short bio.
This list is just the Icelandic bands playing, if you want to see the full line-up go to the Iceland Airwaves Line-up page.
You can listen to all the bands playing this year via Iceland Airwaves Spotify playlist here:
And here are the previous video announcements:
Video four was Directed, produced, and shot by Máni M Sigfússon, starring Kælan Mikla, with music by Sin Fang:
Video three was produced by Les Frères Stefson, directed and written by, Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson And the banker was Haraldur Ari Stefánsson:
Video two with Hrafnkell Örn Guðjónsson drumming away as band names float across the screen:
First announcement with Dj. Flugvél og Geimski:
I would suggest getting your tickets sooner than later, especially if you are planning on doing a package you’ll have more hotel options in the beginning now than you will in a month. Typically the festival sells out, but with the line up looking as good as it does this year, I would imagine it will sell out sooner than later. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of “you snooze, you lose”
If you want to see what the past has been like, here is a link to all my Iceland Airwaves related posts. And here is the link to the Iceland Airwaves Flickr page if you want to see just how fun this festival really is.
It’s been 4 years since Sóley’s last full-length album, and as they say good things come to those who wait. Sóley Stefánsdóttir, of Seabear and her own fame has delivered one hell of a finely crafted piece of art with the new album Ask the Deep.
While We sink‘ was dark, Ask the Deep goes further down the rabbit hole. An internal argument of staying with or leaving devils. Multiple layers of tribal-like percussion, floating synth, and cascading keys weave a sophisticated and emotional dance creating the perfect background to Sóley’s haunting and rhythmic vocals. I honestly feel you’d be hard pressed to find such sweet serenades about devils, darkness, and despair anywhere else.
Each listen I give this album brings out a new emphasis in both the instrumental and wording in the songs. I’ve given it enough listens to safely say it’s far from getting old, this is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year.
The album starts off with the track, ‘Devil’ where Sóley asks if she’s danced with devil, and does he still love her? A person realizing a personal struggle, or perhaps someone they care about, may be harming them but they’re afraid to live without them. As the album progresses, it becomes less about how the devil feels and more how the chanteuse realizes her own power and self-worth.
By ‘I will never’ we realize she’s made it through the muck and mire and has come out stronger and standing tall leading into an almost euphoric, cloud clearing/sun shining ‘dreamers’, the most upbeat song on the album. The album ends with ‘Lost ship’, a final contemplation and realization that letting go will make her responsible for her own life, and is she willing to let the devil go to do so.
The first music video from the album, ‘Halloween’ is surreal and beautiflly done, you can see here:
You can follow Sóley on Facebook, and on her website. She is touring, see her schedule here. And she will be in the United States in October for Iceland Affair up in Connecticut.
There are a lot of “top 10 Icelandic bands you should know” floating around these days. They all seem to list the same bands, half of which we already know.
By now, any person who even knows the minimal of Icelandic music knows bands and musicians such as the Sugarcubes, Björk, Sigur Rós, Ásgeir, Amiina, Mum, Seabear, Of Monsters and Men and Sin Fang. They are killing it on a global scope and are getting air play and reviews in almost every music mag out there, so I’m leaving them out of my list, they’re wonderful and loverly but we already know that.
There is a book on the history of pop and rock in Iceland called Blue Eyed pop. It’s an extremely entertaining read, all your favorite bands will be in there with their histories, and it’s shocking to see just how connected even the most distant genre types really are. It’s become one of my favorite books to loan to people, and the hardest book to get back when they’re done.
So here it is, my top 15 bands you should know, split into three categories, Veterans, Been around the blockers, and Freshies. Aside from that, there is no rhyme or reason to their order. Clicking on the band heading will take you to either a blog post I’ve written about them, or their respective interwebby pages:
I have been in love with this band since I first heard them almost a decade go. I love all three of their albums, and the sneak peaks we’re getting of the new album, such as the video above, make me happy indeed. They’ve been playing for over a decade and a half, and if you’re fans of that minimal yet heavy sound, you’ll go nuts for them. Click here for more info, including Soundcloud links. Perfect for twilight drives through the desert or pre-night shenanigans.
One of the best dance party bands out of Iceland, their live concerts typically end with hysteric crowds jamming around in nothing but their underwear. If they ever come near your town, they are a must see, you won’t be disappointed, well unless you don’t like to smile and dance. It’s hard to listen to their albums without jumping a little while smiling. I reviewed the new album here, and that post also has links to more of their goodiness. Perfect for party times and getting large crowds of people partially nekkid.
Imagine that, the crazy guy from the Sugarcubes has his own crazy band. By far my favorite band to see every year Iceland Airwaves, his break-neck rant-ish style backed up by the almost genius mixing of Curver Thoroddson make the perfect album for walking around a busy city. Another act that should be witnessed live for full effect. The video above also has Sóley, which I’ll get to later. Perfect for going crazy.
As My Summer as a Salvation Soldier, Þórir made one of my favorite songs, TheRiver. It’s been quite a journey with his singer songwriter style, as it’s not all kumbyah’s and strumming around a campfire. There are pop ditties, and an album of split personalities harshly contrasting each other in thrash and calmness. It’s creative weirdness, and well worth getting into. Depending on the album, it’s perfect for most situations.
Part of the Icelandic supergroup Seabear, Sóley has quite the solo catalog under her belt. She took time off to raise a family after “We Sink” but I just saw her at ATP Iceland, and she’s definitely back in the thick of it. Her charming voice, and well orchestrated band make for a perfect evening/road trip record.
I’ve called her the offspring of Nancy Sinatra and June Carter. Her voice is full with the slightest hint of a smokey, well rounded accent. Her back catalog has quite the folk/country feel. And the new album, “Talking about the weather” has a more full, larger band approach. It’s one of my favorite road trip albums, and was on my top list of albums to come out last year. The video above is from the new album. For me, pretty much perfect anytime.
A stage completely filled with tubes, wires and organs. These guys are amazing live as nothing is typically preset. They are a fun, high energy band synthesizing the hell out of their organs for the audience and listeners enjoyment. In 2010 I saw them by accident at Airwaves, and I’ve been an uber-fan since. Perfect for all musically inclined nerds, for rocking out on the weekend, and for when you need a climatic build up before taking on the world.
They’ve been called shoegazers, and I s’pose it fits. They won me over last year at Airwaves with both their interruptive irreverence at Harpa and their actual full gig. Heavy instruments and floating lyrics, excellent music for afternoon BBQ’s and video gaming sessions. Perfect for getting your jam on, I’ve yet to gaze at my shoes when seeing them.
Imagine if you will, walking right after twilight in the desert or across a foggy field of snow. Nothing but the wilderness casting strange shadows all around you as you trek forward towards your final destination. That’s how the very poetic sound of Samaris hits me. Their new album not available in the US yet, Silkidranga, is less atmospheric and more dance-like. But the trio’s ability to captivate my ADHD addled brain is quite impressive. Perfect for druidian chants in the countryside.
This 5 piece could almost be considered veterans as well, they’ve been at it for over 9 years. Their lead singer with her Grace slick style singing, over heavy instrumentation makes for great albums and great gigs. Perfect rock out music, the above video is their new, first official music video.
What started out as a high school songwriting project has turned into quite the band. They’ve had local success for years, but the new album has projected them into the global realm. Fantastic band live and on record, I highly suggest checking out their new album, Enter 4. Perfect for get togethers with friends, as well as swooning sessions over that damned sexy long blond head of hair.
Simple, yet energetic, I love this new band out of Iceland. It completely reminds me what we’d listen to on our way to the big city for gigs during the summers of my youth. There’s a sunny, west coast type Violent Femmes era feel to the music, and I haven’t come close to being sick of their album, “I need you to go to Hell.” Which I highly suggest you give a listen to. If this sucker gets heard, I really think it has potential to make a lot of folks happy this summer. Video above is their new video for my favorite song off their album.
Ohhh, sweet funky disco. This band won my favorite new act of 2013, incredibly fun to watch and the locals go crazy for them. Right this moment they have a crowd funding effort to put out their new album, so go help them out. And try to listen to their music without wiggling your butt…ain’t gonna happen. I was going to put an original track as the video, but I think this cover is pretty awesome.
Nooo shit, there’s a garage punk band that has emerged on the rock. A little Ramones, a little Deadbolt; A lot of Trans Am and Camero mullets. They are trashy, thrashy, and a completely new guilty pleasure of mine. Sometimes it’s the slimy little things in life that make one smile.
Recap and final band:
It’s difficult to limit my list with 10 or 15 bands,, as the scene is constantly changing, and there are always bands coming up that you should know. The best way to keep up on it is to check out The Icelandic Music Export website, blogs such as mine, or rok musik. There are still an epic amount of bands left, such as Grísalappalísa (punk), Snorri Helgason (folk), Sudden Weather Change (harder rock), For a Minor Reflection (Post-rock), Mr. Silla, Fufanu (electro-rock), and the old greats such as HAM, SH Draumur and etc…..
There is one band, of which I will never get to see live regrettably so. They were a great noisy punk experiment, and their music get played regularly at my house. Great for rocking out, and shaking your head when there really is no other way, I present Skátar playing Mahatma Gandhi with Gylfi of Kimono:
Update: Due to the overwhelming response this got, I have made a second list based on the readers suggested additions to this original ist.
Wow, just wow. Shellac and Portishead have killed it for me, excellent doesn’t begin to describe how much I enjoyed their performances.
The night started out rainy, and grew to even rainier as we continued. But the bands were going at it with a vengeance, Low put on one of the highest energy sets I’ve seen from them, and Shellac just upped the anti. Kurt Vile & the Violators was mellow and matched the outside rain well, and Mogwai is Mogwai. They’ve become more docile in years and I miss them completely going nuts on stage, but the wall of sound was forceful, and I actually put in the ole earplugs.Spiritualized did an acoustic set with the gals from Amiina backing them up. It was in a theater setting and sounded quite nice.
The clouds opened up and Friday night was quite pleasant. I may have been the only guy in shorts, but it’s summer so that’s how it goes. The night started off with Sóley’s return, some great new stuff and of course the classics. Liars instantly notched up the high energy, and Slowdive’s performace was fantastic.
Portishead was amazing, so perfect, the sound, the video, everything about it was fantastic. It still looked like twilight outside, and there was a giant moon hovering in the sky as we left the show adding to the surreal ambiance they created.
Why go all the way to a continent straddling island for a music fest? Perhaps because it’s at the old NATO base Ásbrú, perhaps because Iceland is really beautiful in the summer, and/or perhaps the fact that Portishead, Slowdive, Shellac, Interpol and Fuck Buttons, and all the other goody bands listed in the graphic above will be there.
This is the second ATP Iceland and combine it’s newness with their already selective process for music and you get a festival made just for music lovers. Neil Young and Ólafur Arnalds will be doing ATP Takeover events near the city on days leading up to the festival, and the long weekend of the festival looks to be chocked full of music and mayhem.
There are movies, DJ sets, as well as the concerts, so if you get bored that’s your own fault. The Icelandic music blog Rok Musik has a great post on the festival, and the folks over at Grapevine did a little Q&A with some of the artists coming up. Get yer tix and we’ll see you there.
I have to put in a special plug, as not only is Pharmakon from Sacred Bones Records playing, but the guru of Sacred Bones himself, Caleb is DJ’ing a set in the DJ tent. They are not Icelanders, but one of my favorite labels out of NY.
**All pics pilfered via google image search
As this is an Icelandic music blog, or at least tries to be, I’ll forego my crushes and gushes for some of the non-Icelandic acts (Shell-Fukkin-Ac) and focus my admirations and infatuations on the Icelanders involved.
I put together a playlist on Soundcloud of the Icelandic bands playing, and I put videos down below for bands not really represented on Soundcloud.
HAM:
Singapore Sling:
It’s a mix of metal and electronics, all somewhat enjoyably on the heavy side. Epic metal veterans HAM will be there, as well as Icelandic music 101 staples, For a Minor Reflection, MAMMÚT, Singapore Sling. and self described “dynamite rockers” Náttfari are performing.
Sóley is back from the time she took off for her family, and it wouldn’t be an Icelandic gig without Sin Fang doing something for the crowd. The sweethearts of Pascal Pinon and Samaris are also doing a set, and one of the founders of the Bedroom community, Ben Frost, will be performing. Captain Fufanu has nixed the Captain, so Fufanu will be entertaining the masses, and adding another artist to the list of musicians I haven’t seen previously, Kría Brekkan (formerly, like 8 years and a musical lifetime ago formerly, of múm) will also be there.
So yes, you should be in Iceland mid July for this awesome festival, I will be. Learn more about it here.
This is the Playlist for all the bands, foreign and native alike:
Ragnaar's Icelandic Music Blog 