The Iceland Airwaves Festival 2008
Published 29 months ago
Not everything in this country is collapsing like a punctured bouncy castle.
- Text by Johanna Lacey
This year’s Iceland Airwaves
festival came at a good time – with the economy in meltdown and
confused Icelanders adjusting to hard financial times, the proud
country of ice and fire needed to let its long hair down, which it did
in true spectacular Icelandic style. Reykjavic, with its steely grey
sky and a tiny town centre, is like a mini Seattle in mid-winter, and
this year the capital, which is home to two thirds of Iceland's
population of just 300,000, was overrun with a bevy of Iceland's very
beautiful and an international crowd of music lovers, who all sought
refuge from the cold in the warm and hazy venues and bars hosting an
inconceivably huge array of music.
Dr. Spock kicked off a
four-day programme of gigs from a deluge of Icelandic bands to
international no-introduction-necessary stars like CSS and Crystal
Castles. As seemed to be the (anti-)fashion of many Icelandic bands,
Dr.Spock donned yellow marigolds, bared their big chests and screamed
their way through an ear blasting set of pure metal, leading the way
for an army of emo metal sets from many Icelandic bands such as Our
Lives. The much-talked-about and disappointingly mainstream Biffy Clyro
headlined, complete with more tattoed flesh and skinny white jeans, a
look one can only, tragically, associate with the Jonny Borrell. As
more and more revellers flocked to the city, the atmosphere bubbled
with anticipation and excitement. Popular local hip hop band XXX
Rottweiler ripped up a storm, with an impassioned crowd shouting back
lyrics to their song, "fuck Gordon Brown" whilst video footage of Brown
and Bush played in the background, giving them animated red eyes, fangs
and horns. But, despite representing a very real anger about Gordon
Brown's recent hardline take on the Icelandic banks,
it also encapsulated the tremendous spirit of camaraderie and defiance
amongst the Icelanders, along with a sense of humour about their
situation.
The Faroe Islands’ Boys in a Band were out in force,
playing numerous shows. More men than boys, the guys pumped out a
rocking set complete with one Jonny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean
lookalike. The most excellent punk band Skatar
impressed both Dazed and the crowd with gold lame budgie-smuggling
leggings and a set of riotous riffs. Hyped Brooklyn Band and "friends
of MGMT" Boy Crisis
played a self-conscious set, seeming like they couldn't quite believe
they'd wrangled a set on stage. Billing themselves as a "sexual boy
band" the NKOTB style pastiches worked but when it came to any real
songs (and only three songs were played), it seems like the blog action
has gotten to them before they've actually had time to practise.
Highlights of the festival were the very adorable and poppy FM Belfast,
with self-deprecating lyrics and a supreme sense of fun (the best
Icelandic band ever according to most of the crowd) and indie rockers Sudden Weather Change,
with an early 90s MBV/Nirvana aesthetic, some well-timed head banging
and a crowd of moshing sweaty naked teenage boys. Ozzies Pnau got a
massive crowd response at Tuunglid, cRanking up the sound system to
create an electrifying electro wall of music. Crystal Castles followed
with a slightly hit and miss set, with Alice’s vocals at times barely
audible and the majority of Iceland waiting in a queue to see CSS and
Lovefoxxx's batwinged catsuit at a venue across the road. With a
"hangover party" at the awesome Blue Lagoon, the minimal techno didn't
do much to alleviate a raging headache, but meant that everyone could
top up with a beer in the thermal pool. A little bit "MTV pool party"
but, pretty fun nonetheless.
Such a fun and extraordinarily
beautiful country is very hard to leave, but leaving to find work
abroad is a very real temptation to the new generation of Iceland.
Still, even if the kids have to leave Iceland to find work, there's
still a positive outlook and the faith that they will return enriched
with experience and giving the rest of the world a taste of a highly
intelligent, creative and exciting culture. Maja, an air hostess from
Iceland Air, had just been made redundant and was notably dented and
upset at the thought of having to leave her country. The government has
given funded places at the University for those who have lost their
jobs - just one aspect of how Iceland is coping with its future in a
positive way. Anna Hilda, the festival's organiser, said it will be
painful but like a necessary "spring clean", shifting emphasis away
from the banks and back to Iceland's abundant geographical wealth,
beauty and new creative talent, who will be nurtured and given more
support than ever before.
A podcast of the best bits of Icelandic music will be going up soon at lofi.tv. To visit Iceland, find out more from the Icelandic Tourist Board and Iceland Air.
