airwaves 2012
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Vacationer VS. Blouse: WHICH CONTEST WINNER HAD A BETTER TIME AT AIRWAVES 2K12?
Did you know that aside from making some pretty nice vodka, those folks over at Reyka also sponsor an annual contest where US bands can win the chance to perform at Iceland Airwaves. This is pretty cool of them—if you’re a band,…
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The Wayward Wanderings Of A Confused Expat – Iceland Airwaves Edition
In accordance with the unwritten expatriate code, I have spent the last few years going on about the wonders of my native Iceland. Seeing as the majority of those years have been spent in the company of the same three men (i.e.…
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The Bear, The Wolf, And The Unveiling of Sigur Rós
Once in autumn-nighttime, a bear and a wolf strode through a forest. As they walked, bear heard music so beautiful that she said: “Sister wolf, what bird is it that sings so well?” “It’s not a bird at all; that is Sigur…
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Post-Apocalyptic Disco
There are some nights when you look at the line-up at a venue and know pretty much what to expect. I thought that was the case Saturday night at Faktorý, but I was proven wrong. And I’m glad I was. With acts…
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My House. Faktorý Downstairs.
Saturday night around 10pm, I walk into Faktorý, Sunday jazz bar, weekend electronica venue and it’s empty. Like, actually empty. Well, okay the musicians and the bartender are there. I can understand this, with a plethora of fantastic bands playing, no one…
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Oh, Boy (bands)! : Harpa Norðurljós Pt. II
It seems like everyone here for Ásgeir Trausti’s set is actually here to listen. I’m guessing as much because, for the first time at this year’s festival, I’m hearing a lot of shushing. “You’ve never seen him play before?” a girl standing…
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Kaldalón Attacked By Canadian Gay Pirates!!!
The first half of Harpa Kaldalón’s Saturday line-up felt incredibly random, as if the organizers pulled names out of a bag. I spent most of the night alternating between being deeply moved, annoyed, and confused. GUÐRIÐ HANDSDÓTTIR had a band on stage…
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I Only Do Girls I Just Barely Like: Harpa Silfurberg Pt. II
Someone find Retro Stefson a cruise ship to rock! The set by Icelandic collective – whose members included two backup dancers, a woman wearing (and playing) a keyboard, a guest percussionist, and a hype man who ended up shirtless — was one…
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Does Size Really Matter? Harpa Silfurberg Pt. I
The old proverb goes that it’s not the size that matters, but how you use it. It works for music as it does for sex. You can do just as much with a kazoo as you can with a symphony if you…
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Cult Leaders and Circus Sideshows
Stereo Hypnosis kicked off the night at Þýski Barinn for a thin crowd, and they never got worse but they never got better either. They essentially played the same song for their entire set; it was a slow and steady noise, and I…
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Dirty Projectors Whip Up A Masterpiece
Prinspóló have been going a long while now, and in that time they have perfected an Icelandic version of the lo-fi college-rock sound, a bit like the sweet-hearted early days of Yo La Tengo. They’re innately loveable, but I’ve always felt slight…
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Rocking Out At Amsterjam!
The storm that battered Reykjavik on Friday claimed its fair share of victims – the roof to a downtown building, one person’s bike this reviewer saw whipped over a sea wall – but it’s not about to claim another in gothic gloomsters…
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River Gods
Hold the phone. Iceland is over indie-rock? As the night went on at The Reykjavík Art Museum, I noticed that I could have been doing jumping jacks, the venue never filled, and the infamous queue was non-existent. The stormy weather earlier may…
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Das Flugzeug Fliegt
Lucky me and lucky us the lucky people crowding the upper floor of Faktorý on Friday because I can’t imagine that any other night had this one beat.
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Friday Night Taken By The Collar
It’s safe to say that despite it’s ever-thriving music scene, Reykjavík doesn’t exactly have a rapid thoroughfare of touring acts. In fact, if you want to hear live music in one minority genre or another, you’d be better off starting the band…
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Hypnosis And High Times: Deutsche Bar Pt. II
At Deutsche bar on Friday, the late gigs offered the kind stylistic pileup I’ve come to expect from an Airwaves lineup.
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A Tapestry Of Odd Ends. A Mosaic Of Unlikely Line-Up Mates. A Night Of Yawns And Yeahs
When looking at the line-up I could have sworn someone with a split personality put it together. One is sweet, the other bitter. One is light, the other dark. One is odd, the other pedestrian.
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Exitmusic, Ólafur Arnalds Bewitch Airwavers At Norðurljós
Before I hear Monotown for the first time tonight, someone describes them to me as sounding “like an ABBA B-side”. While that’s not an entirely accurate summary, it does at least place them in a ballpark where they’d be somewhat comfortable: it’s…
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Ending On A High
Harpa’s interiors are as grandiose as its beautiful façade would suggest. A small, bridged entrance gives way to high ceilings, epic stairwells and huge music halls but it still somehow feels very intimate, or perhaps that is just the efforts of tonight’s…
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“Good Work, Gang!”
This evening Lára Rúnars gives the sense of a pop star ‘dressed down’ with a loose fitting dress and brandishing a bottle of beer. It feels good to have a native star on this large stage in a beautiful venue and she…
