Who are you? What can we expect from your Airwaves appearance, and what can we expect of you in general?
My name is Haukur Heiðar and I’m in a band called Dikta. Dikta is a 4-piece indie poprock band from Garðabær, a suburb of Reykjavík. We‘ve been playing together since we were small children, always with the same line-up, so we‘ve been friends for a long time. People can expect a powerful and lively performance from us at Airwaves, as usual.
This year sees fewer ‘large’ international acts on the schedule. Do you believe this changes anything for the festival in general, and its spirit?
It’s hard to say. I would’ve liked to see a few more established international acts, but for me the main attraction of Airwaves has always been that almost every single band in Iceland is playing together over the course of a few days in downtown Reykjavík. That hasn’t changed this year, and I think this festival will be just as great as previous years’.
Looking back, do you have a favourite edition of Iceland Airwaves? And if so, why?
I would have to say Iceland Airwaves 2006. There was an incredible amount of great international acts such as Klaxons, We Are Scientists, Wolf Parade, The Cribs, Jens Lekman, Kaiser Chiefs, Mates Of State and more. There were some awesome performances from the locals as well. Still, the highpoint of the festival was the performance of Patrick Watson at Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn (National Theatre’s Basement). I had never heard his music before, but was swept off my feet there and then. I just wish his albums were as good as his performance there.
That festival was not just candy and roses though, as it was the first time that real queue problems arose. Huge queues formed outside the main events and you couldn’t get in if you didn’t show up a long time before the big names went on stage. This has been prevented since by having the biggest names play at the same time, so people just have to select which one they want to see more.
A lot of our readers are first time Airwaves-visitors. Do you have any tips for them? What to see, what to do, what to avoid, etc? Where to buy records? Or a good place to grab a bite or get away from it all for a while?
As all the concerts at Airwaves are held in small-to-medium sized venues, they can sometimes get packed. Sometimes queues build up. It’s a good rule of thumb to show up early if there’s something you really want to see, and not leave the venue until that act is over. Another good one is to wear warm clothes that can be easily removed and stuffed in a bag once inside. It can sometimes be extremely chilly in October in Iceland, but the venues are, understandably, often quite hot.
I recommend Sushibarinn, next to Kofi Tómasar Frænda on Laugavegur. It’s a tiny place, but they make good sushi, and you can have it brought over to Uncle Tom’s Cabin and dine there. Very cosy.
Has a lot changed in the Icelandic music scene since Airwaves 2008? How about Airwaves 2004?
I can’t say that it has changed a lot since last year, but it has definitely changed quite a bit from Airwaves 2004. Iceland’s music scene has always been vibrant and full of creative bands, but now I think the quantity of very exciting and promising indie, pop and rock bands has at least doubled. I love Björk and Sigur Rós but a few years ago, everyone was trying to be so different, so the main thing was not about making good music, but about being anything that’s not mainstream, anything that was different. Today people are not as afraid to make any kind of music, even though it might be viewed as poppish and mainstream by some. Good music is good music, no matter what category it falls into.
I don’t think the scene has ever been as active and vivacious.
- When: Friday 22:30
- Where: Sódóma
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