Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.10.2007, Blaðsíða 17

As you may have noticed, this issue is rather heavy
on the Airwaves. That’s for a good reason. The festi-
val is just over a week away, is already selling out
and anyone who’s even glanced at the line-up
for the 2007 edition can tell you why. Featuring
a – frankly – ludicrously grandiose assortment of
basically everyone who’s written, recorded or per-
formed decent-to-great tunes in the general vicinity
of Iceland lately, the latest count of performing acts
stood at 217. That’s 217 laboured over, thought out,
over-practiced 30-to-90 minute sets of music to be
sought out, experienced, fawned over or appalled
by in the space of five days.
So, now’s your cue to plan ahead. The sched-
ule is available at icelandairwaves.com, as are mp3s
by a majority of the artists – pictures and overly in-
formative bios, too. If you plan on attending, spend
some time getting acquainted with what lies ahead,
and map out what you want to see and when. Be-
low are some tips. If not, then go read some other
article for a while.
Sprengjuhöllin (IS) – Lídó, Thur. 23:00
Many wrote Sprengjuhöllin off as some sort of bour-
geoisie intellectualist joke when they first started
playing their partied out concerts a couple of years
back, but they have since consistently proved to be
one of the best (and certainly the most relevant)
acts to surface in Iceland for a while now.
Their out-next-week album, Tímarnir Okkar,
is a surefire hit, and for a good reason too. Valgeir
Sigurðsson’s organic production work gives their
well crafted pop the pivotal boost it needs to stand
out like it was meant to. Sprengjuhöllin’s genius lies
not the least in the fact of how well they manage
to convey the life, times and discourse of modern
Iceland. This means they might get lost on the non-
Icelandic speaking crowd, but their presence and
charm will certainly counter that.
I Adapt (IS) – Gaukurinn, Fri. 01:00
Another relevant Icelandic band with a killer new
album out, I Adapt are the kings of Icelandic live
music as much as they are the kings of its not-so-
burgeoning HxC scene. Whilst this Airwaves count-
down has sought to spotlight only Airwaves’ new-
comers, the sheer, inspiring awesomeness of their
third LP, Chainlike Burden, merits them a mention. If
they are even half as energetic and powerful at Air-
waves as they were when I saw them a week ago, I
Adapt will reign supreme over the rest of the heavy
set – and along with Gavin Portland, the hardcore
show to see if you’re not into Hardcore.
Buck 65 (CA) – Iðnó, Fri. 00:00
Much like Deerhoof, Buck 65 is in a league of his
own, one practically handcrafted by himself. Hav-
ing repeatedly proved himself to be one of the
most noteworthy and innovative voices in modern
Hip Hop (especially its experimental branch), the
young Canadian continues to astonish. This is con-
fidently (possibly arrogantly, definitely effortlessly)
demonstrated on his new LP Situation – likely Hip
Hop’s first and only concept album about the fifties.
While Snow turns in a pretty good performance on
Informer, Buck 65 is most definitely Canada’s awe-
somest rapper, ever.
The Diversion Sessions (IS) – Organ, Wed. 19:30
Diversion Sessions is a solo side-project of blush-
ingly talented Skátar frontperson Markús Bjarna-
son. It is his venue for acoustic, laid-back stylings
sprinkled with higher (or more audible) doses of
the lyrical insights that greatly contribute to Ská-
tar’s greatness. Judging by the hypnotic impromptu
acoustic set I saw him perform at a shady Aldrei
Fór Ég Suður afterparty in 2005, you’re in for some
magical stuff at his Airwaves appearance.
Múgsefjun (IS) – Organ, Wed. 21:45
No matter how long they’ve been putting off re-
cording their waited-for début, Múgsefjun is still an
extremely hard working bunch, and their finely or-
chestrated take on folksy pop rock provides ample
evidence of that. Intricate melodies, subtly Buckley-
ist vocals and a playful spirit serve to make their
stage act memorable and entrenching. Their lack
of recorded output has hindered this group from
being as noted as they perhaps should be, but that
all stands to change soon.
Deerhoof (US) – Gaukurinn, Fri. 23:00
Recommending Deerhoof is really only a formality.
They are veterans, they are the kings of their very
own patented brand of indie, indie rock, and (in
some circles) command more respect than almost
all of the bands at Iceland Airwaves 2007 put to-
gether. There’s really no excuse to miss ‘em.
“We’re putting emphasis on time-based art in un-
conventional places,” says Andrea Maack, project
manager for the Sequences “real-time art festival”
taking place between October 12–21 in downtown
Reykjavík.
“We’re encouraging artists to think outside the
box and outside the gallery, and have art be visible
and just all over the place, within this period of
time,” she adds.
The festival, held for the second year in a row,
will feature more than 150 artists in more than thir-
ty locations around town, including all of the city’s
major art museums and galleries as well as unusual
locations such as bars, clothing shops, movie rent-
als, hair salons, coffee shops, hotels, banks as well
as on the street.
The festival’s opening day will commence at
the foot of the new music house by the east har-
bour with a performance by Haraldur Jónsson and
Ólöf Björnsdóttir, followed by a stop at the Living
Arts Museum and a tour around the various hap-
penings and performances around town.
The distinction of time-sensitive and time-
based art is an important focus within the Se-
quences Festival, as the name “sequences,” an order
in which related events or movements follow, im-
plies.
“The essence is that the viewer needs to give
himself time to enjoy the work,” says Maack. “You
see a screening somewhere and you need to give
yourself a little bit of time. This is the frame that the
festival exists within, but we’ve also encouraged the
artists to play and work within it.”
The issue of time is something that all the art-
ists, directly or indirectly, deal with in their work, es-
pecially since many of the projects are video and
performance installations. Þóra Gunnarsdóttir and
Elín Þórisdóttir are two young artists responsible
for “Sally and Mo, gone with the wind”, a video and
photographic project which will be on display at
the Aðalvideóleigan on Klapparstígur.
“We find tourists very sexy, especially when
they wear yellow rain ponchos,” says Þórisdóttir of
the piece. “These are photographs and videos that
we take of ourselves when we are dressing up. Most
often we wear these yellow ponchos and red clown
noses. We’re playing with clichés and boundaries,
exploring where the line lies.
“Our project was an experiment with the artis-
tic form, in which we set out to know as little as pos-
sible about what we were planning to do before we
entered into it. But we always had a certain frame
to work within, which was and is Icelandic nature,
and playing with the ideas and images people have
with it.”
The work on display throughout the weeklong
festival will be spread out in space and subject mat-
ter, featuring films, photographs, videos and perfor-
mance art.
Lars Laumann’s sixteen-minute film, “Morris-
sey Foretelling The Death of Diana,” will be shown
at Kubburinn at the Arts Academy between Octo-
ber 16-21, and sets out to prove that Morrissey, the
former lead singer of melancholy pop group The
Smiths, predicted the 1997 death of Princess Diana
of Wales through hints embedded in his lyrics and
Smith’s record sleeves and music videos. Through a
montage of found film, song and video fragments
collected and meticulously detailed from the
Smith’s 1986 album “The Queen Is Dead,” the film
apparently proves Morrissey’s clairvoyance… or
perhaps just that with the right amount of work, all
conspiracies can be proven true.
Live performances will also take place during
the festival at various locations around town, in-
cluding outside at Austurvöllur, and on Laugavegur,
as well as in Dwarf Gallery, Laugardalshöllin, the
National Gallery of Iceland, National Museum of
Iceland, The Optical Studio, Reykjavik Art Museum,
the Living Art Museum, the Reykjavik City Theatre,
the Tourist Information Center and 101 gallery.
For a few nights, one lucky tree in downtown
Reykjavík will change from a tree giving shadow
during the day to a tree giving light in the darkness.
The light will invite people to create a private space
within the public space, and hopes to illustrate how
one influences one’s surroundings, leaving traces
of oneself that slowly fade. The project, titled “Fly-
vsk, In the light of the tree,” by Julie Linke Bank and
Tatiana Lyng, is just one of many live artistic exhibi-
tions that will grace the city throughout the week.
On the weekend close to the festival there will
be three Tjarnarbíó-Nights at the old movie theatre
on Tjarnargata, with musical performances in the
evening and a concluding final celebration to end
the festival on Saturday night.
For more information on the Sequences festival visit
www.sequences.is
For full listings see Grapevine info pages.
Text by Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir
Iceland Airwaves Countdown: 2 Weeks The Sequences Art Festival
A proven Airwaves tactic is picking 3–5 must-sees
and a wide variety of maybes, to be decided upon
by your feet and the amount of alcohol in your
head at show time. In the immortal words of Glenn
Frey: “The heat is on.” Photo by Sakri
Þóra Gunnarsdóttir and Elín Þórisdóttir exhibit
“Sally and Mo, gone with the wind.”
B14 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 16 2007 | Previews Article | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 14 2007 | B15
“We find tourists very
sexy, especially when
they wear yellow rain
ponchos.”
That’s 217 laboured
over, thought out, over-
practiced 30-to-90 minute
sets of music to be sought
out, experienced, fawned
over or appalled by in the
space of five days.
What´s on? www.getrvk.com
Búðu til eilífðarvél með
Glitnispunktum
Þegar þú kaupir hamborgara með Glitniskorti
færðu punkta sem þú getur breytt í peninga
til að kaupa annan hamborgara sem þú síðan
breytir í peninga til að kaupa annan hamborgara
o.s.frv. o.s.frv. Þú þarft bara fyrst að skrá þig
í Vildarklúbb Glitnis. Þetta og fl eiri snjallræði á:
www.verturikuralltaf.is