iceland airwaves ‘11 day four @ reykjavik, iceland (10/15/11)
being the last full day of the festival with a jam-packed schedule, i’m happy to say i made the most of it. god bless my hostel for hosting such amazing acts. i got to catch the soft, iron and wine-esque snorri helgason here and samaris (who i posted about earlier in the week). knowing it was gonna be a crazy night, we got in line at NASA early and got in just in time to see glasser. what an amazing voice that woman has.
however, second to bjork, i was most excited to see SBTRKT live. his album was easily my favorite of the year and i just knew it would translate live amazingly. i’m stoked to say he didn’t disappoint. shrouded in mystery, the lighting was set up so we rarely saw his face, but it didn’t matter—the music spoke for itself. his live drummer is NUTS and it made the music feel so much more tangible and present. no surprise appearances but he did play a crazy, chopped up rendition of “heatwave” which made up for the fact that little dragon’s yukimi nagano wasn’t there. this set was one of my favorites for the whole festival.
overall, iceland airwaves was an amazing experience. hosted in a cute, chilly city, i learned a shitload about scandinavian and icelandic music. i discovered more music here than i have at any other festival i’ve attended (yes, even SXSW). but more importantly, i’m just happy to know there’s a festival like this that exists and serves as a forum to showcase such amazing talent who often don’t get as much exposure in the states as they should. iceland’s weather sucks, and it’s cold as fuck but i think it lends itself to influence its people to embrace the elements transform and it into auditory art. i’m leaving this festival with nothing but warmth.
