Sound

Iceland Airwaves 2012: Highlights

John Rogers | Friday 16 November, 2012 11:02

Snipe’s music editor John Rogers packed his bags and headed to Iceland earlier this month to help cover the annual Airwaves Festival for local freesheet newspaper The Reykjavík Grapevine. Below are some festival photos, highlights and memories from members of the assembled Grapevine team (including the international journos drafted in to help the paper with the task of covering every act on the festival lineup, and some other friendly notables at the festival).

Rebecca Louder (Reykjavík Grapevine)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Nova Heart blew my mind. Singer Helen Feng’s performance was totally off the tits, and she is my new role model.

Who were the best new band you saw?
Sindri Eldon & the Ways. Hands down the breakout local act of the festival. He packed the room with A-listers and rocked the fuck out.

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Having a trúno (drunkeness-induced super-honest conversation – ed) with Sigga-Sirkus in the bathrooms at Amsterdam, during the aforementioned set. She also mentioned that she changed Sindri’s diapers when he was a baby (not now, I believe he is fully potty trained). Also, the Sigur Rós love-in, where a whole bunch of the audience were reclining and just fully laying down, cuddling with their friends and lovers and looking really sweet.

Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
Here are three – Catharine Fulton & AMFJ’s Airwaves logo made entirely of desserts (above); the Unicorn gambling machine at Amsterdam; Halli of Æla at his drunken apex (below).

Sébastien Dehesdin (The Line Of Best Fit photographer)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Siinai.

Who were the best new band you saw?
Hmm, I’m not sure… I didn’t get to see more than one or 2 songs for each band. I’d say Pascal Pinon?

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
When I was by myself walking around the harbour listening to Siinai on my headphones.

Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
My favorite is this one, because the lighting was so good, and it reminds me of that violin solo that the guy did. I thought it was awesome as he’s not Olafur Arnalds, so he could be considered as just ‘supporting’, but he had his moment, and that moment was magic.

Amy Liptrot (Clash/Grapevine)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Ghostigital – Reykjavik’s minister for culture and tourism’s bonkers electro punk act, featuring his teenage son on trumpet.

Who were the best new band you saw?
Hollow Vein – A duo of confusingly introverted artists, playing autistic drum and bass with guitar and steel drum.

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Being in a outdoor hottub (at Sundhollin) during a hurricane (Sandy).

Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
This is P-C Rae putting out a little red hazard triangle when we broke down in the rain outside Reykjavík. Also, the bayside statue.

Haukur S. Magnusson (The Reykjavík Grapevine, editor)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
I sort of had two moments of that festival. Running around trying to make sure everything was going the way it was supposed to be going and everyone had their beer tickets and whatnot ensured that I did not manage to take in a lot of full sets at the festival, but there are always moments to be treasured. Firstly I must say that Nico Muhly’s Iðnó performance of his ‘The Only Tune’ (performed alongside his ensemble and the incomparable Mr. Sam Amidon) was very special to me in many many ways. The song has long been a favourite of mine, and I had never seen it performed live. And then Nico ups the ante by debuting an entirely new and effing mind-blowing arrangement of it… I don’t know, everything came together at that point. It was a glorious chaos, followed by sweet respite and, ultimately, redemption. I remember thinking: I hope it sounds like this when I die. And meaning it. And I don’t like to think about dying.

Probably my other moment was witnessing Dirty Projectors on stage. I had seen them at Jay Z’s festival over in Philly and was rather unimpressed – it was OK but nothing spectacular. With an indoor setting and a decent soundsystem, all the power and talent shone through and shook me to my core.

Who were the best new band you saw?
I wish I could say something here. I didn’t see a lot of ‘new’ bands. I saw the band Friends, who I hear are new. I thought they sucked. But then I saw Pascal Pinon, who are not new, but still young, and they blew me away.

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Playing shows with my band. We rule. (The band is REYKJAVÍK!, and they do – ed)

Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
I didn’t get a lot of nice photos on my phone this time around. Maybe this series I’ve attached (my phone doesn’t have a flash so one has to improvise).

John Rogers (The Quietus/Amazing Radio/Grapevine)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Sam Amidon for his entire deranged, beautiful solo set, but also for “The Only Tune”, his collaboration with Nico Muhly. I’ve been listening to this for years, but never seen it performed live before, and had a goosebumps/adrenaline/Beatles-fan-esque freakout reaction to the opening cacophony as I realised they were gonna play it. It’s a deconstructed folk song in three movements, the first two of which stretch the song to the breaking point before seguing back into a heart-rending and perfect rendition of the original work.

Who were the best new band you saw?
Oyama. A shoegaze “supergroup” from the younger end of the Reykjavík scene. I watched them twice, and afterwards I had not one but two of their songs stuck in my head, which seems like a really big indicator of the quality of their songwriting, as my memory is generally completely shit.

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Being literally stopped in my tracks by a “wall of wind” as the hurricane hit the city and having to hide in a doorway as it became impossible to walk outside; being in the outdoor Sundhollin hot-tub at night and listening to the friendly Icelandic old folks, parents and young children chattering away; being stranded in the mossy landscape outside RVK for half an hour in freezing rain during a car breakdown; the “radar ping” as Sigur Rós started my favourite song of theirs, “Svefn-g-Englar”.

Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
Three in particular: Pascal Pinon playing a house show for Japanese fans, and Apparat Organ Quartet at Harpa – I like how the light has gone blurry and psychedelic but the outlines of the band members are still sharp and clear; a much needed hangover breakfast at Prikið, in the new food-pix Instagram tradition.

Hildur Maral Hamiðsdottír (Bedroom Community/Projekta)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Other than our BedCom shows, a highlight for me was probably Daughter in Fríkirkjan church – listening to their cozy vibes with my eyes closed on a church bench was exactly what I needed after having been running around for the past few days.
Who were the best new band you saw?
Weirdly enough I didnt see any new Icelandic bands. Valdimar’s new stuff sounded good at Iðnó though!
Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Ben Frost cramming two drum sets and all the amps in the world into tiny Kaffibarinn was memorable for sure. And loud. And mindblowing.
Would you share the best/funniest Airwaves pic from your phone/camera?
There has to be a better system for this…

Angela Rawlings (Reykjavík Grapevine)

Favourite performance.
“The Only Tune” by Nico Muhly.

Musician whose work was new to me, and who thoroughly impressed me.
Paul Corley.

Band whose work excited me.
The Heavy Experience

A memorable festival moment.
Hanging out with the Grapevine writers. Really lovely, supportive bunch.

When the pushy Irish photog I saw last year in Fríkirkjan appeared there again this year, making the asshole decision to thrust his elbow and then camera within 10 centimetres of my face in order to angle that perfect shot of Daughter from the rafters. Friend, please don’t return next year.

Solo paparazzi (paparazzo?) attack while ascending Laugarhöllin stairs to Sigur Rós aftershow. He took a photo of each person walking up. Unflattering light, downright uninspiring location. And each person who rounded the corner likely had a look of surprise and/or confusion on her
face.

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Lauren Down (The Line Of Best Fit/Grapevine)

What was your favourite performance of the festival?
Daughter

Who were the best new band you saw?
Samaris

Tell us a memorable festival moment (music-related or not).
Emerging from Doldrums pitch black set at like half one in the morning to have the northern lights staring down at us.

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