There'll be a link to every band (presuming they have a Myspace or similar artist place where you can stream their music) and my "if you only listen to one track listen to this one" recommendation. You don't have to agree, of course!
Mid morning, my fab friend Elly (see her blog & Twitter ) and I arrived back in Reykjavik, sweeping low over Austurvöllur Square and the posh houses alongside the Tjörnin lake on a propeller plane from Akureyri after a few days chilling on the north of the island (I've written about that on my travel blog ). We checked into our hostel, headed downtown to pick up our wristbands, then grabbed some hearty, warming Icelandic lamb soup and a Viking beer.
The next step was temporarily halted by the passing of the cutest peace protest EVER (see separate post below ) on our way up Skólavörðustígur. We were heading up the hill for a pilgrimage, not to the Hallgrímskirkja (although it is pretty and, unlike my last visit, no longer covered in scaffolding), but to 12 Tonar for records & espresso.
No records bought, though, plenty of time to be wowed by new bands and melt my bank cards into oblivion yet ;-)
After a bit of bimbling around dear old Reykjavik, it was time for GIG ONE.
Bloodgroup, playing an instore set at the record shop/art gallery Havari on Austurstræti.
Sound: synth & sample heavy electro, with a bit of a techo edge at times (a bit "further" along that I normally like, but these guys are goooood)
Track: 'My Arms' and 'Love Ain't Easy' stood out to me
From: Iceland
GIG TWO. A short stroll about 8 doors down (I get the feeling I'm going to like this) bought us to Hressingarskálinn, more commonly known as Hressó , with has a marquee in the backyard, for a set from Mammút
Sound: frenetic, dark indie rock. Oh and a little reminiscent of Sonia Aurora Madan (Echobelly) in the vocal department.
Track: 'Svefnsykt' (which means 'sleeping sickness'. Or possibly 'insomnia', if we're keeping the Echobelly thing going)
From: Iceland
GIG THREE. Staying in Hresso, Mammút were followed by another gang of so-young-it-almost-makes-me-sick kids Retro Stefson . I have no idea why the keyboard player wasn't allowed on stage (I saw it fuller, or perhaps he just came in late from chess club), but there you go.
This picture doesn't begin to show how ace these guys are. By the time I figured that out, the camera was firmly in my pocket and I was dancing like an idiot : )
Sound: They have their own cowbell player. Do I need to continue?! In truth, really struggling with this one. Going for...pop, jazz, afro, a bit of latino and, over all, a huge amount of goddamn funky-ness.
Track: 'Senseni'. Or 'Papo Paulo III'.
From: Iceland
UPDATE: The re-edit of 'Papo Paulo III' on MySpace doesn't give anywhere near enough credit to the funk & energy that utterly pervades the live version, so try this recorded on Sat 16th at NASA by the lovely Mark (aka. Iceblah ).
GIG FOUR. Quick pitstop for a snack & drink, then on to a venue called Venue to catch the last couple of songs from the still-melodic, but with a rockier edge Stafrænn Hákon
Sound: since their website geniusly describes them as 'power ambient, audible only to left-handed polar bears', who am I to argue (even if I had heard more than 3 songs)?!
Track: 'Thurr Thurr' has a lovely, drawn-out ending
From: Iceland
GIG FIVE. Looking at the line-up, it was obvious I had to stay in venue for Mr Snorri Helgason . Whilst I never came into contact with his previous band, I've been listening to his solo stuff with admiration for a while now. Obviously he's admired by aliens too, as this mid-set abduction photo clearly shows...!
Sound: soulful & folks-y indie singer-songwriter. A bit of a-stomping and a bit of a-tearing at the ole heart strings.
Track: album title-track 'I'm Gonna Put My Name On Your Door' (and the whole album!)
From: Iceland
GIG SIX. Still in Venue, the award for band-named-after-a-run-of-the-mill-chocolate-bar goes to Prinspóló , the latest band of Skakkamanage frontman & Havari shop owner Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson (oh come on, they didn't play this Airwaves so don't get a write-up elsewhere. So click on the 'Skakkamanage' link and listen to 'None Smoker'), and including friends from FM Belfast, Reykjavik! and probably others I don't recognise, not being the biggest Icelandic music expert there currently is in this town (yet! sorry!)
Sound: catchy electro (though I'm led to believe Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson changes his mind musically as much as his socks, by those who've been following him. Musically, I mean, not in a hanging-around-down-the-bottom-of-his-garden-whilst-he-sleeps kind of way!)
Track: At Hana (don't know the names of what they played cos they spoke entirely in Icelandic: this is the best one if you follow the link above!)
From: Iceland
GIGS SEVEN & EIGHT. By this time entrenched in Venue (very crowded, and hard to get to the bar, let alone back out into the drizzle), and too far back to get decent photos, I then caught most of two other Icelandic bands Benni Hemm Hemm (now dwelling in Edinburgh, but including most of Retro Stefson as his backing band. That must make band rehearsals hard, and may have been part of the reason why they were sadly nowhere near as impressive as RS) and a little of Swords of Chaos .
I'm ashamed to say I had to step outside of the stuffy venue for a bit of fresh air, and then couldn't get back inside for the incredibly popular(Seabear side project) Sin Fang , so it was beers & sleep o'clock (didn't want to overdo it on the first night, after all...)
End of day 1 running total: Bands 8 - 8 Sets
