From Iceland — Steinunn From AmabAdamA's Airwaves Highlights Of The Day

Words by

Photo by

Daníel Starrason

13:30 @ the Laundromat caffe – off-venue gig with AmabAdamA
So, I’m in a band called AmabAdamA and we are playing an off-venue gig at Laundromat this Thursday. We played there last year and the stage was the size off a small dining room table (at least in my memories it was). There are NINE of us, so it was quite the puzzle. We’ve laughed about it since. And now we are gonna do it again.

15:00 @ Hlemmur square – off-venue gig with Teitur Magnússon
Teitur is the singer/guitarist from the legendary reggae group Ojba Rasta. He released a solo album last year called ’27’ and it’s very very nice. He is the “good vibes” mastaa. I’ve never seen him do it live, but my father has, and he said it was perfect. So I’m not gonna miss his show.

16:00 @ Bar 11 – off-venue gig with Cyber
I’m a part of an all-female rap collective called Reykjavíkurdætur. We are like twenty or something, but some are more active then others. Two members, Bleach pistol and Junior Cheese, form a band called Cyber and I’m their #1 fan! I saw them perform for the first time on a female rap night when they were like seventeen years old and it was fierce! And now they are even better. They have the sickest rhymes and they just got it. Don’t miss this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMJUCLSvhrg

17:45 @ Slippbarinn – off-venue gig with Máni Orrason
Máni has the same agent as my band, so when I saw him for the first time this summer I felt like I should say hello. Like he was part off my family. Maybe not my family, more like my music family… And that’s nice! Because he is fantastic. He’s only a teenager but he’s a mature performer and his music is full off soul.

18:00 @ Íslenski barinn – off-venue gig with Reykjavíkurdætur
We will probably blow the roof of this place like we usually do. Don’t really know who else is playing. But I know we get free food. Woohooo!

19:00 @ Sólon off-venue gig with Reykjavíkurdætur
Sólon is an interesting venue. There is like an all-female line up there. We girls have been taking up more space in the icelandic music scene. And in places we didn’t dare to go before. Hopefully it will inspire the next generations. Don’t expect us to be polite and pretty. We don’t really care for that.

20:00 @ Fríkirkjan – Ylja
Bjartey and Gígja have the most beautiful voices, and they fit perfectly together. I love listening to them sing. It’s been a while since I last heard them, so I’m looking forward to their show at Fríkirkjan.

20:30 @ Harpa Kaldalón – Arnljótur
I’m a big fan of his music and it will be nice to get to sit down in Kaldalón after a hectic day, even if it will only be for a moment.

22:00 @ Harpa Norðurljós – Samúel J Samúelsson’s Big Band
I doubt that I can go to both SJS and Ylja, due to queues and other bumps that can get in the way of a hopeful festivalgoer, but it’s worth a try. This is a show that I really don’t wanna miss. It’s gonna be full of energy that I can take in. Icelandic afrobeat. Boom.

22:30 @ Gamla bíó – dj. flugvél og geimskip
She’s one off a kind—her concerts are like an adventurous journey. Her name is Steinunn, like mine, sooo I can relate to her in a way..

Then I’m just going to finish the night at Gamla bíó. Next up is Kippi Kaninus at 23:20. I don’t really know much about his music, but my friends saw him at ATP this year and said it was crazy good, so I’m gonna take their word for it and hopefully be as impressed.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpu-_vwSRb0

Like she mentioned, Steinunn is member to both the reggae band Amabadama and the rap collective Reykjavíkurdætur. You can catch her performing at the following times at Airwaves: