Ish’s Saturday Night Iceland Airwaves Diary: A Successful Grapewaves, A Successful Airwaves

My Airwaves day starts earlier today, taking in all the sounds of Grapewaves from start to finish.

First up is BKPM, who play post-punk while adorned in construction vests. Their raucous sound instantly draws a crowd and toddlers stand with their mouths wide open, and I’m feeling similarly; these guys are good and I hadn’t been lucky enough to see them live before. A little under the radar, they’ve just got a live album (recorded at their Upprásin in Harpa) on Bandcamp.

A bit into the set they let us know they’re missing a member – who would be playing synth – and then self-describe as “like Television, if you left them in the fridge for three months.” Their song “Fyrsti Dagurinn” includes a monologue about…showing up to your first day of work and you’re working with vampires. It completely works, it’s crazy and fascinating and intricate lyric work from the band.

BKPM’s set comes to a close and up next is Amor Vincit Omnia, who released an EP brb babe this August. The cooly-dressed duo dance about the tower, having fun to the sounds of their electronic reggae. “You have to dance the cold off!” says Erla Hlín — only some in the crowd take the advice.

Halfway through or so, they trade in playing live for premade beats that Erla Hlín sings over to make it into a dance party. Amor Vincit Omnia has had a busy Airwaves week, and it’s not over yet – they’re playing BIRD tonight if you missed them on Friday!

Next up is SiGRÚN. Long-acclaimed and always exciting to see, SiGRÚN strikes the middle-ground between enchanting and haunting (which I’d say is best described as ethereal). She sings out of a window of the tower, like a warped take on Rapunzel. “This is amazing, I’d like to do this everyday” she tells the audience, and we’d also like her to do this every day. She sings a bit from her new album Monster Milk and the rain starts to drizzle, adding a moodiness to the electronica. After she finishes, I go get another coffee refill (takk, Te og Kaffi) and I don’t know if it’s more because I’m cold or I know I have a long night ahead.

We’re setting up for the last set of the day — the finale of this year’s Grapewaves — and it’s CYBER. And they really know how to have fun with the tower. They line dance inside, realize the audience isn’t seeing all of it, move to dancing while sitting in the windows, then they move outside. “What should be our next trick?” they ask the crowd, which is the biggest I’ve seen so far. There’s air guitar, there’s splits onto the wet ground, they’re wearing homemade shredded suits with tails of ties, and there’s a group at the front singing every word by heart. A perfect end to Grapewaves.

Onwards!

After closing up shop (shop, as in, tower), I rush to 12 Tónar to catch the tail-end of Oyama. I missed their Airwaves set this year, so I wanted to see them live a bit as I’ve been enjoying their recent return to the stage: Everyone Left.

Atli Freyr Steinsson for The Reykjavík Grapevine

Recently describing themselves to the Grapevine as “an indie band with a flavour of shoegaze,” which they intermix with other genres and sounds to make for a progressive show. The set ends with one member climbing on tables, holding the guitar up to the walls and ceiling for maximum feedback effect, and then we spill out of 12 Tónar into the street.

I meet a friend and head to Fríkirkjan afterwards, just in time to catch the latter half of Lúpína’s set. Framed by two fluorescent, pulsing jellyfish lights (the title of her latest album MARGLYTTA, translates to jellyfish), Lúpína’s characteristic clear and striking voice is held perfectly within the wood-clad confines of the church. Lúpína has had an eventful Airwaves as well, as she received the festival’s Plus Award. At the end of her set, the crowd erupts into a loud — and extremely well deserved — standing ovation.

Thoughts on music in your headphones

We head upstairs in Fríkirkjan to settle in before the next set from Eyþór Arnalds, composer and founding member of Todmobile. I count 10 string musicians on stage, plus piano, percussion and a conductor. He explains to us that these pieces explore the relationship between machine and man, and what it means to be human. Invoking the beautiful comparison that the strings in instruments vibrate just like we do and imploring us to treasure that, the orchestra begins to play. I sat on the ground the entire time, peering through the railing down to the floor. They left the lights up in the house, and although I’m not sure if it was intentional or not it let me look around at my fellow listeners.

During one piece, described as a hopeful prayer for the future, Eyþór asked us to close our eyes. The last section he described as basically “Music For Airports (referencing Brian Eno’s 1978 work), but this is music for walking” which is his exploration of how common it is to listen to music in headphones while walking, and stating that is what he would like to listen to while walking about. After this piece, we headed out of Fríkirkjan, and I wondered if I had been walking alone, what music I would have flowing out of my headphones.

After stopping for a slice of pizza and a beer, I head to the Art Museum for bar italia. I’m quite excited – I’ve been a fan for years. And welcoming the band to the stage is the intro to the song “Crazy Frog” (look it up if you’re unfamiliar, it’s worth hearing so you can fully imagine this moment). Anyway, after that they immediately begin their set and their fuzzy, sexy, brooding indie rock vibe washes over the museum. The U.K.-based group derives a unique sound as they interplay their three vocalists, Nina Cristante, Sam Fenton and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, which adds a compelling richness to their sound. I will admit though, hearing Eyþór Arnalds speak about “headphones music” just an hour earlier, I have a twinge in the back of my head that I might prefer bar italia in my headphones, rather than live. But I’m still happy to see them and I sing along whenever I can.

These artists are having so much fun

Red Illuminations for The Reykjavík Grapevine

I stopped by NASA for Sycamore Tree. Country twang with bright lights, they’re having fun on stage. Singing about love and life, the crowd is excited and I see many who know every word. But I’m just here for a few songs, so I continue on my way.

I unexpectedly swing through Kolaportið to catch a little of Mandy, Indiana. They’ve definitely got a different kind of passion to Sycamore Tree, as I walk in while the lead singer is screaming into the microphone. Behind them is the old DVD Video logo (you know, the bouncing one that everyone loves to watch and see when it perfectly slots into the corner) but it says Mandy, Indiana, and I enjoy getting to dance with some more energy.

I hop into Gaukurinn for Jónfrí. After his first song, he addresses the crowd, laughing that “I broke my guitar, I’m having so much fun!” This joyful spirit permeates the performance — you can tell the band enjoys their own music and is having a great time. “This one is a bass line affair, you can start dancing now if you haven’t already” he says before starting a song. They stroll around funk, synthpop, disco and more, even a ukulele comes out at one point. I stay for the full set and then make my way back to Kolaportið.

As I’m waiting for the show to start, someone next to me leans in to ask the name of the next group. “Um, cumgirl8?” I reply, and he returns a look of shock. Maybe he was wondering if he heard me right. But he did — and then the chaotic and fierce group took the stage by a storm. They kept saying “takk!” which was fun, and at one point they played them saying it back during a track. With distorted pixel graphics and code running on the screen behind them, the group is futuristic and bold. I feel like I kept hearing musicians playing the festival say cumgirl8 was who they were most excited to see, and for good reason.

This felt like a fitting end to my Airwaves, so I caught the first night bus home.

Thanks for a great Airwaves, see you next year.

Check out The Reykjavík Grapevine’s Iceland Airwaves Diaries, publishing daily throughout the festival to bring you all the good times.

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