16 years old and Iceland Airwaves is no longer seen as an obscure event in a tiny Scandinavian country. It’s the place to catch the best of the local music scene, see some of indie music’s most relevant names as well as catching a few old favourites every November.
For the past five days the capital in Reykjavik has echoed Australian, British, and American accents, along with the locals, hoping to navigate their way through a schedule that included over 200 acts.
With a lineup that featured familiar names such as The War On Drugs, The Knife, The Flaming Lips, Future Islands, Caribou, How To Dress Well and Anna Calvi we decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about.
Every good thing you’ve ever heard about Airwaves is true. We’re not sure how Reykjavik’s music scene differs on any other given day, but during the festival the city is every music fan’s haven.
There are gigs everywhere with an eclectic selection of tastes catered for. Naturally, after seeing a multitude of bands each night you come away from Airwaves feeling both overwhelmed and enlightened at what’s just taken place.
What follows is just eight of many things we learnt during the 2014 edition of Airwaves.
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Reykjavik Is Probably The Best City In The World To Host A Music Festival
Aside from helping produce those big Icelandic names we’re all used to hearing about, Reykjavik is unlike any other capital city you’ve ever been to. With a population of around 120,000 it’s more like a big town than a city.
Its small size allows for the perfect environment for a music festival that spans across the downtown area. Every venue is is within a twenty minutes walk, and it’s almost impossible to get lost. That’s not mention the local music scene is so vibrant that the fact we saw gigs in record stores, a cinema foyer, an art museum, little bars and pubs and so many other spaces in a city of this size is astounding.
The Future Of Swedish Pop Is About To Get Weird
With a bed at the back of the stage, a table adorned with lighting and bright cloth to the right and some ferns to the left, Swedish pop vocalist Zhala’s Airwaves set was a preposterous forty minutes worth of eccentric stage theatrics and experimental pop bliss.
The first ever signee to Robyn’s Konichiwa Records was joined on stage by a masked man who was resigned to the same trance like dance for the whole set and a naked woman, who for most of the performance was just chillin’ on the bed eating food. If that wasn’t bizarre enough Zhala also proceeded to spray rose water onto the crowd. Aside from a few off-putting instances of lip syncing the pop singer gave an energetic and frenzied performance.
She certainly has our attention now.
Airwaves Is All About Discovering Your Favourite New Icelandic Act
We detailed a bunch of Icelandic acts to get excited about before we headed to the Nordic country and while we didn’t catch all of those names we stumbled across a great many of other local bands worth a mention. The likes of Mr. Silla and Ylja amongst others were the surprises that we stumbled upon. Meanwhile the poet-punk ferocity of Kælan Mikla, clarinet-blended electronics of Samaris, down tempo atmospherics of Low Roar and propulsing beats of M-Band all lived up to the expectations we initially set for ourselves. With so much diverse local produce on offer we can now fully appreciate why Iceland has such a reputation when it comes to music.
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Unknown Mortal Orchestra Shredded Their Off Venue Show
While the majority of off venue shows were limited to thirty minutes the trio played an incredibly tight one-hour set to a small audience at the Bíó Paradís (the foyer of a cinema no less). Playing mostly highlights from last year’s II Unknown Mortal Orchestra played with precision and energy in one of the more intimate spaces you’re likely to see the band at this point in their career. Witnessing Ruban Nielson shred his guitar up this close was something else.
The Blue Lagoon Is The Best Off-Venue Any Festival’s Likely To See
The Blue Lagoon Chill, an off-venue Airwaves event, which pairs live music with a geothermal spa in a lava field, is a dream equation. While the party has been tamed back from what it was in years past due to safety issues the event allows punters to be music fans and tourists simultaneously with an experience you won’t get anywhere else in the world. Held on three separate days with a band performing in the function room this particular set of ears was greeted with the alt country of local act Kaleo. While a short DJ set followed on the banks of the lagoon there’s no doubt a little bit more music would have given more bang for your buck. Still, this is a unique experience that you shouldn’t pass up on if you get the opportunity.
The Flaming Lips Are Still The Most Reliable Festival Headliners
It feels like Wayne Coyne and co. headline an Aussie festival at least once every second year, but their show in Iceland was their first in 15 years. In that time they’ve mastered the headline equation of music + confetti + balloons = greatness.
Their set at Airwaves was no different. With spaghetti lightning hanging from above and blow-up mascots the punter never really has a chance to even recognise that they probably had no idea what song they were even listening too. Such is the beauty of the Lips’ live show.
Photo supplied by www.icelandairwaves.is
The Best Album Of 2014 Sounds Even Better Live
The closing show of the festival at the Vodafone Hall featured The War On Drugs and The Flaming Lips. While the latter were always going to steal the limelight with their usual confetti filled exploits The War On Drugs displayed a masterclass of musicianship when it came to performing songs from this year’s sublime Lost In The Dream. Meredith ticket holders are in for a real treat come December. Just don’t tell Mark Kozelek we said anything nice about them.
Airwaves Is The Best Value For Money You’re Likely To Get For A Music Festival
Australian festivals aren’t cheap, we know that. Heading all the way to Iceland to save money on a ticket may not make the greatest sense when you factor the costs of getting there, but the value for money at Airwaves is pretty staggering compared to what we’re used to. For about $173 you can see in excess of twenty (quality) bands across the five days of the event. There are a plethora of off venue shows which makes this possible and if you’re up for the task there’s no doubt you can do even better than us.
Iceland Airwaves festival 2014 ran from the 5-9th of November, for more info on Airwaves 2015, visit www.icelandairwaves.is.
