I'm thrilled to be relaying the happenings of Iceland Airwaves '09 to the readers of UR Chicago! The festival, held in the capital city of Reykjavík, opened itself up to the world in 2000. For nine out of the following ten occurrences, I've had the good fortune of being there and covering it for various radio and tv stations. Technically the first edition was held in 1999 in an airplane hangar exclusively featuring Icelandic artists...with the only international attendees being a handful of invited music industry folks...so that one doesn't really count.



One might ask what keeps me going back to within miles of the Arctic Circle during a time of year that this rocky island in the North Atlantic boasts less than ideal weather conditions...and it would be a good question. But the answer is quite simple: It's not just the music and the bands and the beer (though they drink LOTS of it there). Instead, it's more about the mystifying beauty of this volcanic land mass, its welcoming people, its old world charm that is seamlessly integrated with ultra-modern Euro sensibilities and style, the geothermal pools, those breathtaking views and that undeniable sense that comes over you that you are somewhere different. A place like no other you've been to before.

Over the years, I've racked up countless memories and good times, and have seen many good shows. It would crash the UR server to list them all here, but here are some of the highlights, and they are the sort of things you could expect to encounter if you came over here for Iceland Airwaves:

2000: The Flaming Lips sharing the stage with Suede, back when the final night of the festival featured one single headlining bill in a small arena.

2006: Standing on the edge of one of the geothermal bodies of water at 7am (it's still pretty dark at that hour when you're so far north), gazing at the deep blue morning light contrasting with the even bluer water and wondering if I was still on planet Earth.

2003: Tim Burgess (of The Charlatans) inviting me to his hotel room because he wanted me to hear a rough cut of his solo album. This record would go on to be his 2005 solo debut, “I Believe”.

2006: A few mates and I off-roading in a friend's Jeep. After nearly getting stuck in a small, um, river, we made it to a remote--not to mention simply gorgeous--waterfall in the middle of nowhere.

2003: A friend and I observing the Northern Lights over beers on the porch of a small cottage with Fatboy Slim.

2007: Interviewing Siggi Baldursson (of The Sugarcubes) while riding shotgun in his car. See, he was tight on time as he needed to run an errand or two and then pick up his kids, so he said, “Hop in!”.

2000: Seeing Sigur Rós in the Fríkirkjan, which is a small, quaint church on the edge of the Tjörnin, a small lake in the center city. Mesmerizing.

Just About Every Year: Witnessing a jovial Scottish journalist (who's become a dear friend) strip down “in the scud” in both public and private locales.

Airwaves has developed a solid reputation of being at the forefront of on-the-verge music from both sides of the Atlantic, making it a focal point of the music industry in much the same way as CMJ and South By Southwest. Tapping bands early has been their calling card, and many acts have made a name for themselves here before anywhere else:

2000: Sigur Rós, Múm (a band who consistently sell out their Chicago shows), Thievery Corporation, Bang Gang

2001: Emiliana Torrini, Chicks On Speed, Citizen Cope

2002: The Rapture.

2003: The Kills, TV On The Radio, The Album Leaf

2004: Hot Chip, The Bravery, To Rococo Rot, The Stills, Four Tet, Keane

2005: The Fiery Furnaces, Ratatat, Annie, Jose Gonzalez, Junior Senior, Architecture In Helsinki 

2006: Klaxons, Brazilian Girls, Datarock, Islands, We Are Scientists, Wolf Parade, Tilly & The Wall, Mates Of State, The Cribs, Metric, Kaiser Chiefs, The Go! Team (yeah...that was a good year)

2007: Grizzly Bear, Friendly Fires, Late Of The Pier, Loney Dear, Prinzhorn Dance School, Ra Ra Riot, Of Montreal, The Duke Spirit, The Teenagers, Trentemøller, !!!, Deerhoof, Bloc Party, Cut Off Your Hands, Chromeo, Annuals...(yeah, this one wasn't too shabby either)

2008: (the ONLY year that I missed. But look it up..it was another good lineup)

So, who's playing THIS year, then?

The first thing I always do is hit up my inside folks to find out who the emerging, new, buzz acts in Iceland are, and here's what I found out:

SUDDEN WEATHER CHANGE

Layered, complex indie rock that is drawing comparisons to Pavement, Mogwai and Dinosaur Jr. 

LISTEN UP || Sudden Weather Change - The Matrix || DOWNLOAD


INGI

Ingi (real name Ingi örn Gíslason) is rather unlike just about anything that comes out of Iceland. There's a fair bit of alt-country and pop happening on several tracks (perhaps we can make up our own new genre and call it “Icelandicana”). Meanwhile other tracks like this one incorporate horns and orchestration which reminds me (at least) of a more campy Devotchka. 

LISTEN UP || Ingi - Power To The Bastards || DOWNLOAD


LJÓSVAKI

Electronic music abounds in Iceland, and I'm told this is one of the new must-see's coming out of here.

LISTEN UP || Ljosvaki - Indigo Revolution || DOWNLOAD


For the international artists..

HELLO ELEPHANT

A French male/female duo who are being labeled as “Gothic Folk”. Who knows what that really means, but I like this tune and look forward to checking them out Saturday night.

LISTEN UP || Hello Elephant - Haunted Hours || DOWNLOAD


CASIOKIDS



A Norwegian electo outfit (this is the sort of stuff you can hear in bundles at Airwaves) who are set to serve as support on an upcoming Of Montreal tour of Europe, and are also booked for SXSW 2010. This ought to be a fun show Friday night taking place in the atmosphere of the Reykjavík Art Museum.


THE GOLDEN FILTER



Uncharacteristicly, the US is somewhat under represented at this year's Airwaves. But that's fine, I can see American bands back home. However, I've been loving this tune from NY's The Golden Filter for the past handful of months, and playing it a good bit at my dj gigs in Chicago. At last, I'll see them for the first time and hear this song live. 

And that's just scratching the surface...

The show that I'm perhaps most excited for is Kings Of Convenience. They have a bit of a history here as Erland Øye (one half of K.O.C.) has performed here in 2006 with his side project The Whitest Boy Alive (that was a sweet gig, too) and also has returned to simply hang out, watch bands like the rest of us, and dj. The kicker here though, is that this show will take place at the aforementioned Fríkirkjan church. The word on the street is that locals and bearers of regular festival passes are planning on waiting in line all afternoon Friday to obtain a special wristband for this performance. (I'm relying on my media pass and connections to not spend the day waiting in the queue. We'll see what happens.)

So there you go, a long-winded but hopefully informative Iceland Airwaves '09 preview. There will be lots more coming throughout the week and weekend as events unfold. I'll have updates plus, for your listening pleasure, artist interviews and more music. Once I return home, expect a full recap next week. And although I'm not a professional photographer, I've brought my decent camera and will try to augment the content with some visual accompaniment.

As well, since I've brought my music and headphones, I've been pestering my pals from Mr. Destiny (the festival organizers) to scrounge up a DJ slot for me somewhere! I had one a couple of years ago, so we'll see if a repeat performance pans out.

Takk fyrir for reading!
Cheers, pogo 

Pogo has been covering music/entertainment in Chicago since 2003 working for Q101, "Metromix" on CLTV, and 190 North on ABC-7. This year is his ninth at Iceland Airwaves, and simply can't get enough of that quirky little island in the middle of the North Atlantic.