Seven days in the land of fire and ice: Iceland!
So this was Iceland Airwaves festival. After having indulged in a week full of music in a wonderful place, concerts back in my home country aren't the same anymore. Infact: everything isn't the same anymore. Seven days of Iceland was the most breathtaking, surreal, magical, intense experience ever!
It's been a month ago and I'm still having the post-holiday blues. I'm cranky... I miss the relaxed atmosphere, the beautiful scenery, the soft mattress of my hotel bed, the endless hours of sitting in the basement of 12 Tónar listening to obscure records, having breakfast while still feeling tipsy from the night before, eating self-made waffles on a Sunday in Kaffibarinn, running to a venue not to miss the artists I'm eager to see. But most of all: I miss the friendly, relaxed, crazy, talented, creative and inspirational people!
Finally a dream coming true. Due to a couple of events back home I decided it's time to go for it. I didn't know that this trip gave me so much more than I could ever asked for. Takk Ísland!
Here are some of my shots (more of them here). I've simply snapped way too many photos, but it was definitely worth it. Hopefully it gives you a better view of this incredible music festival:
I'll start with the Faktorý, one of the venues of the festival and my favorite one. Very dark, obscure but intimate.
Havarí; culture center, record store, art gallery in one. Home of Kimi Records
Almost everything is worth snapping. The street art is very inspiring for such a 'small' city
Skúli Mennski off-venue gig in bookstore Mál og Menning
Stereo Hypnosis: great father/son collaboration with incredible ambient electronica
Streetview
12 Tónar; the best record store in the world :)
And the place where we consumed most of our beers: Kaffibarinn
Y0da Remote @ Kaffibarinn
Love them... Their music just simply stops momentum: Amiina. This year they released their second LP: Puzzle, which is pure class (and I can't stop listening to it). I wanted to see them for a very long time and now the opportunity was mine! It was amazing; I absolutely loved their show. For their song Mambó, the band members of Efterklang joined them on stage; *sigh* such a magical moment:
It wasn't always a good time unfortunately. I was dying to see Seabear for example, but I was not the only one... For their show I had to stand outside in line for 40 minutes and as a result I only saw the last two songs. Fortunately these songs were outstanding and other artists were showing up on stage, which completed the incredible atmosphere in the beautiful Iðnó venue (hands down the most beautiful venue I've ever been to). Thankfully I'll see Seabear in a couple of weeks in Amsterdam :)
During Airwaves, every nook and cranny is filled with music. Even the hair salon! So what better entertainment than live music during your haircut! Prinspóló were doing the honours ;)
Waiting to get their hair done or audience for Prinspóló? Perhaps both :P
Hval*Mart in Kaffibarinn
And another off-venue gig and this time in cinema Bío Paradís. After having watched the great lo-fi documentary Backyard, two bands who were also in the film performed in the lobby. Reykjavík! was the first one. Funny fact: their latest music video was shot in Kaffibarinn and I've witnessed the making of a part of it: the first day when I arrived in Iceland I had a meeting with two guys (who I've met in the plane) at the Kaffibarinn and when I entered the bar they were shooting the segment from the beginning where you can see the guys running. The two guys were also asked to be part of it. The entire video is shot in the Kaffibarinn:
After Reykjavk it was time for FM Belfast. Damn what a show and energy they have!
And from the cinema off to another venue. We were heading to the Nasa where Berndsen kicked us back to the 80's with his funky new wave:
After all that partying it was time to relax. On a Saturday morning I headed to the Blue Lagoon; a geothermal spa. The best cure against a hang-over is... get drunk again and having another party!
Feeling a bit more relaxed (although swimming always makes me sleepy), I was ready for another evening with music. Eerie beautiful music to be more precisely; from the young and talented Ólafur Arnalds. Dreamy soundscapes combined with deep electronic samples
Sudden Weather Change
Another band I was looking forward to: Ghostigital. It was insane and I even ended up on stage during the last song, dancing together with crazy Icelandic people. Definitely a moment I won't forget (there is a youtube video of this, but I saw myself dancing in it so I'd better not post it here ;) )
Sykur
The beautiful city of Reykjavík, taken from the top of the Hallgrímskirkja
The day after the festival... Time for exploring the city and find interesting little gems like this coffeehouse: Kaffismiðja
Funny street art
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This is the famous 'Backyard' from the movie I saw before. Unbelievable that such a small place held home to an incredible event last year:
The movie reflected everything I experienced during this festival: great music, great artists, great atmosphere, great city, great people.
Ofcourse a week was way too short, so I'll return. No question about it
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