Set to commence this evening and go on through the weekend, the Melodica Acoustic Festival is a brilliant display of community spirit and brotherly love between musicians of all disciplines, shapes and sizes. Which is why we think it is pretty damn awesome.
Taking place over the weekend at select places in 101 Reykjavík, the festival showcases some of the excellent musicians that are currently making the rounds in Iceland’s music scene, as well as guest players from the UK and Germany. According to their statement (which can be read in full below), the festival is a traveling spectacle and has taken place in Melbourne, Sidney, Hamburg and Reykjavík.
Here is the festival’s full schedule for the weekend:
Friday:
Rósenberg
19.00 – 19.30 Svavar Knútur
19.30 – 20.00 Bob Justman
20.00 – 20.30 The Friday Night Idols
20.30 – 21.00 Jara
21.00 – 21.30 Skúli Þórðar
21.30 – 22.00 Beggi Mood
22.00 – 22.30 Kettir
Hraun plays on through the night.
Saturday:
Rósenberg
19.00 – 19.30 Þóra Björk
19.30 – 20.00 Myrra Rós
20.00 – 20.30 Ragnar Sólberg
20.30 – 21.00 Árstíðir
21.00 – 21.30 Hjörtur
21.30 – 22.00 SHISHA PM (UK)
22.00 – 22.30 Helgi Valur
Hraun plays on through the night.
Hemmi & Valdi
16.00 – 16.30 Fríða Dís
16.30 – 17.00 The Friday Night Idols
17.00 – 17.30 Binni P
17.30 – 18.00 Kid Decker (UK/GER)
18.00 – 18.30 Svavar Knútur
18.30 – 19.00 Pause -dinner
19.00 – 19.30 Bangsi Bestaskinn
19.30 – 20.00 Sebastian
Hljómalind
16.00 – 16.30 Heiða Dóra
16.30 – 17.00 Daníel Jónsson
17.00 – 17.30 Stefán Örn
17.30 – 18.00 Leynigestur
18.00 – 18.30 Pause – dinner
18.30 – 19.00 Hlynur Valsson
19.00 – 19.30 Seiðlæti
19.30 – 20.00 Mysterious Marta
Sunday:
Rósenberg
19.00 – 19.30 Haraldur Davíðsson
19.30 – 20.00 Elín Ey
20.00 – 20.30 Mysterious Marta
20.30 – 21.00 Pikk Nikk
21.00 – 21.30 Elíza
21.30 – 22.00 Heiða Dóra
22.00 – 22.30 KID DECKER (UK/GER)
22.30 – 23.00 Úlfur
Followed by a jam-session
Hemmi & Valdi
16.00 – 16.30 Geir Harðar
16.30 – 17.00 Shisha PM (UK)
17.00 – 17.30 Myrra Rós
17.30 – 18.00 Hjalti
18.00 – 18.30 Valur Gunnarsson
18.30 – 19.00 Pause – dinner
19.00 – 19.30 Leifur Jónsson
19.30 – 20.00 Hlynur Ben
Hljómalind
16.00 – 16.30 Árstíðir
16.30 – 17.00 Helgi Valur
17.00 – 17.30 Markús (of Skátar)
17.30 – 18.00 Marlon Pollock
18.00 – 18.30 Pása – matur
18.30 – 19.00 Sverrir Norland
19.00 – 19.30 Kristín Bergsdóttir
19.30 – 20.00 Böðvar Reynis & Co
And here’s the statement from “Undercover Music Lovers”
About UML
Kind of like the Couchsurfing of musicians, Undercover Music Lovers is a collective of musicians and music supporters pooling resources to facilitate events, connections and collaborations, formed when two friends from Melbourne and Sydney realised what was possible just within their own network and decided to push it further. So far, there are Undercover Music Lovers ‘hubs’ in Sydney, Melbourne, Hamburg and Reykjavik, with Brighton, UK the next city to try it out. UML’s sister organisation, The International Troubadour Conspiracy was formed by Icelandic Troubadour Svavar Knútur, Australian artist Peter Uhlenbruch and German Troubadour Torben Stock with the agenda of furthering artist relations around the world through working, playing and touring together. The ITC’s version of Melodica is The Troubadour Olympics, a cooperative tour of troubadours from different countries providing in depth working relationships and building bridges between different nations and cultures.
If you are interested in becoming involved, email undercovermusiclovers@gmail.com or umliceland@gmail.com to find out more. Alternatively, you can contact the ITC at introcon@gmail.com.
About Melodica:
Designed to celebrate the local music scene while providing an invaluable platform for emerging artists to network and develop new creative relationships, the festival currently operates in Melbourne (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Hamburg (Germany) and Reykjavik (Iceland).
Melodica was born in December 2007 by Pete Uhlenbruch (then known as la terra festival), a forward thinking Melbourne musician who wanted to create a genuinely attentive space for other artists to perform and interact in, and foster a sense of community in an increasingly challenging industry.
The debut festival was an intimate affair in a local cafe, resonant of the German coffee houses of the 60s. 18 acts played over two days, and the overwhelming response from those artists was how refreshing it was to play in a space where the appreciation of the music was paramount. Artists from all events have since commented on the profound creative inspiration from engaging and networking with other kindred performers, while on the audience’s part, the calibre of the acts and the ambience of the event were what set the event apart.
Supported by their local music scenes, Melodica is quickly developing into one of the premier acoustic performances in cities around the world.
It all seems a far cry from such humble beginnings in Collingwood just 12 months ago, but doesn’t surprise Uhlenbruch, who believes that positivity, community and exploration of mutual interest are more powerful than many musicians realise. “The point of the festival was to empower artists, to get them interacting and supporting each other, to create a sense of community, and that’s exactly what has happened,’ says Uhlenbruch. “What I didn’t expect was that it would happen so quickly, and on a global scale!”
Melodica has now been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Hamburg and Reykjavík.
Check ’em out: www.myspace.com/melodicaiceland
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