One of the original mission statements of Iceland Airwaves was to get international eyes and ears tuned to the musical incubation station that is Iceland. It worked. The festival has seeped into international interest. These days it is not unlikely to see Airwaves coverage popping up in Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, or basically any piece of press that considers themselves culturally reliable. The smart performers take advantage of this surge of attention by timing album, EP and video releases to coincide with the festival.
So, as the festival tide starts to make its way onto the shore, what new pieces do we have to dip our toes into?
Sin Fang released a four-track EP ‘Space Echoes.’ It features three completely re-worked and re-recorded songs from former releases: “Walk With You In Space,” “Clangour In Space” and “Two Boys (yup, you guessed it) In Space.” The fourth track, “X.O.R.,” is an unreleased collaboration with singer Farao from his fresh September-release ‘Spaceland.’
Stream the EP on Spotify and catch Sin Fang’s Airwaves performance Thursday November 3 at Gamla Bíó.
This past Saturday Iceland’s parliamentary elections drew to a close. The vote itself was called (seven months ahead of schedule) in the heat of scandal and the results have generated an equally poignant frustration. Though the punk band Tófa’s latest album, “Teeth Richards,” was released five-days before elections, their message is never more relevant and raw than right now, in the hot wake of a the voting results. On October 25 Tófa released their second album, inspired by 2015’s “Fleetwood Max” but furthering and delving deeper into the original themes of the first album: frustration and pessimism combined with the hope and power to make change. Their opening song “Fightgirl” Allie Doersch rings out “The politics are shit, and no one can be trusted…”
Tófa play Gaukurinn on Saturday November 5.
Rímnaríki are hitting the Airwaves stage for the first time this year. The four-piece Breiðholt representatives lay out a new video from their home streets “Brenndar Dyr,” below.
Rímnaríki take to Húrra Friday November 4.
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