Conveniently positioned simply 1300km from the UK, Iceland is about as distant a location as you may get with out stumbling into folks on their technique to the North Pole.
With this geographical isolation, it’s spectacular that Iceland Airwaves, a multi-venue competition held each November in capital metropolis Reykjavik, manages to be so worldwide. This isn’t an occasion placed on to tide locals via the chilly, darkish winter months, though we are able to verify it’s each chilly and darkish (so very chilly and so very darkish). Bands from internationally play in venues and bars to audiences full of a mixture of curious locals and dedicated vacationers, and the snarling punk of Amyl & The Sniffers is as effectively obtained because the trap-influenced hip-hop of 18-year-old Faroese rapper Marius DC.
Talking of Amyl & The Sniffers, they rip via their Thursday headline slot within the metropolis’s fundamental artwork gallery like they have been born for it. Lead singer Amy Taylor stomps round stage as she belts out hit after hit, pausing between songs to go with the standard of the Icelandic faucet water and the power of the gang. Two albums in, the band have advanced from scrappy mullet-clad punk upstarts to one thing extra nuanced. ‘I Bought You’ and ‘Balaclava’ nonetheless really feel like taking a brick to the pinnacle, however it’s on new album reduce ‘Guided By Angels’ that every thing actually clicks into place.
Following sizzling on their heels are Icelandic hip-hop group Daughters of Reykjavik, a changeover seemingly made simply to hammer dwelling how eclectic the competition might be. Lyrical themes embody feminism and motherhood, finest encapsulated by the observe ‘Scorching Milf Summer time’ and the pantomimed ritual sacrifice of a person pulled up from the entrance of the gang. Highly effective and by no means not entertaining, their set is definitely the most effective throughout the entire weekend.
Venue quantity two is in an previous transformed cinema down the street, simply previous the recent canine stand Invoice Clinton as soon as visited (sure, actually). Inside, Canadian collective Crack Cloud are doing their finest to see simply how many individuals and devices can match on one stage. The harpist, specifically, should have had a hell of a time getting via customs, however the result’s greater than definitely worth the trouble.
Kicking day two off with a bang, Kóboykex are the Faroese electro-cowboys you by no means knew you wanted in your life. Lone rangers of the Faroese prairie (a spot which we assume is simply south of the salmon fishery), they’re precisely the form of sideways reserving that each competition ought to make, on the power of their matching pastel-coloured cowboy fits alone.
From the eclectic to the large, Metronomy draw by far the largest crowd of the competition, with a queue that snakes to this point again it’s a surprise folks don’t quit and go for a sizzling canine as a substitute. Inside, the gang is one leaping mass of limbs, particularly when the band dip into their again catalogue for timeless megahit ‘The Look’. It’s not all nostalgia although, with cuts from new album ‘Small World’ inflicting almost as a lot motion because the classics.
Some lo-fi alt-pop from the Deep South of America welcomes within the weary on the competition’s remaining day, with licensed on-line sensation Yot Membership masterfully translating web fame into mesmerising stay music.
The primary corridor doesn’t keep tranquil for lengthy, although, with Ukrainian almost-Eurovisioners Go_A whipping up a frenzy as quickly as they step on stage. Booked to play Eurovision in 2020 earlier than it was cancelled, their set is strictly the form of over-the-top bombast that thrives on the music contest. Fortunately this power additionally goes down effectively in Iceland, and the gang alternates between sweaty mosh-pits throughout songs and heartfelt cheers in between as Go_A deride Russia as a ‘terrorist state’. True to their message, data on the way to donate to Ukrainian humanitarian causes is prominently situated at each exit.
Mercury Prize-nominated Pals of the Journal Porridge Radio are up subsequent. Cuts from new album ‘Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky’ jostle in opposition to the well-worn favourites from their debut, however the temper all through is emotional, expressive, and at occasions extremely poignant.
In an identical vein is remaining headliner Arlo Parks’ set, particularly as she pauses to inform the gang that tonight is her remaining present of the 12 months. The sensation is extra certainly one of a melancholy farewell than a celebratory social gathering, however it’s no small feat to make a cavernous fundamental stage present really feel as superbly intimate as Arlo does all through.
As a substitute of winding down after the headliner finishes, it feels just like the entirety of Iceland stuffs themselves into Húrra, a ramshackle bar internet hosting Icelandic pop / dance act Inspector Spacetime. There’s no gentle present and barely even a stage, however all the venue dances prefer it’s 3am at Material on a Friday evening. Their observe ‘Dansa og Bánsa’ specifically is so catchy that we’re fairly positive folks have been nonetheless buzzing it on the flight again dwelling.
Iceland Airwaves takes place in a rustic with geothermal springs, lively volcanoes, and the Northern Lights. Regardless of this, it’s the music which is the true draw at a showcase competition which is as genre-defying as it’s enjoyable. Certain, the alcohol prices greater than most terraced homes, however the lineup is nice, the persons are pleasant, and the recent canines are actually, actually, actually good.
Dates for Iceland Airwaves 2023 have been introduced, with the competition returning to Reykjavik 2nd-4th November. Restricted Tremendous Early Chook tickets for 2023 are additionally obtainable here.
