Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 30

forgettable. They still manage to set a decent pace with their
song list, starting fast then toning it down and bringing things
back up at the end. They’ve fared well with the crowd.
The room has filled and people are getting steadily
liquored up as Kimono hit the stage and the lights go low.
Things get off to an exciting start with one suspenseful, dark
chord washing over rolling toms and suddenly kicks into
hypnotic, dark, grunge punk. Their lyrics are weird and their
time signatures give a nice big fuck-you to 4/4. The Canadian
singer incites sheep impersonations from the crowd in honour
of the event’s name. By the end, everyone in the front row has
their eyes shut and are gently head banging. Beautiful.
People begin chanting the next act’s name before they’ve
even hit the stage and the smokers start crowding back into
the room. When Ensími finally stops teasing the crowd and
starts to play, everyone loses their shit. This is the second part
of a long awaited reunion it seems. These guys were huge
around 1996 I am told, and from the sounds of it, I can see
why. It’s powerful stadium Brit-come-Iceland rock. The entire
audience is in a nostalgic frenzy. Hands are in the air, people
are making out and a full-on mosh pit forms. The band is in
their element, playing their hearts out effortlessly. Definitely
makes me miss my first summer rock festivals.
The room fucking clears out right afterwards, leaving
a scant handful of people to enjoy Swords of Chaos’
absolutely nutso set. They are left with only thirty minutes
to tear shit up, so they waste no time screaming, thrashing
and diving into the small but insane crowd. An attempt
at removing the stage-grates to allow for stage diving is
promptly stopped by furious security, but the pack of drunk,
shirtless, long-haired men seem perfectly content just flailing
about the room to the super hardcore closers. Too bad it
ended so soon. - Rebecca Louder
Réttir Music Reviews
Saturday 26.09.09
Batteríið
The night began well, if a little quietly, easing festivalgoers
into the spirit. Þórður Hermannsson enhanced the mellow
atmosphere with his own brand of experimental folk, a very
chilled and easy way to start the night. The small audience
just relaxed in the friendly atmosphere and took it all in over
a few quiet beers,
Adda continued the laid-back trend, keeping things on
the quiet side with an original acoustic set, entertaining
with her witty lyrics and delicate voice, while the crowd
stayed pretty pacified, but appreciative nonetheless. She
accompanied the cosy, candle-lit mood exceptionally.
If anything Lydía Grétars cranked things up a notch,
although it would be an exaggeration to say that her
music was energetic. It did pick up the pace, though, and
kept things from coming to a complete standstill. Using a
keyboard, a laptop and a pretty sweet singing voice, she
accompanied her original lyrics with some experimental
sampling and simple melodic piano.
This curiously paved the way for the next act, reggae/dub
group Ojba Rasta who, despite a big difference in sound,
didn’t stand out performing right after the acoustic trio. They
picked up the pace somewhat, playing a set of good old-
fashioned reggae and filling the dance floor almost instantly.
Ojba Rasta are a new-ish band to the Reykjavík scene, which
is rather uncrowded in terms of reggae and dub bands, but
they stand themselves well, both as musicians in general and
as a live act, giving a strong performance of easily danceable
reggae.
Króna changed the tone suitably, with their own take
on pure Icelandic rock. They kept the dance floor occupied
and the crowd entertained, although many chose to enjoy
themselves from a seated position. There was still a good
bit of headnodding and seat dancing going on to their good,
honest rock. Their performance was solid although there was
something a little bit standardised about the sound of Króna.
The music will probably enjoy a lot of radio play but on stage
it lacks the personality of a band such as the previous Ojba
Rasta. They did play their unpretentious rock music well and
tight, though, and were enjoyable to watch.
The crowd suitably warmed up for the ever-popular
Agent Fresco who, in their short lifespan, have made a deep
mark and garnered a loyal following in the Reykjavík music
scene. Their popularity is well deserved and this show proved
them entertaining as usual, building in intensity, with the
crowd quickly graduating from enthusiastic head nodding to
enthusiastic jumping and heaving in response to the explosive
live performance. No one walked away disappointed, and the
band ended with the always-popular Eyes of a Cloud Catcher,
leaving the stage to the sound of cries for more.
After a fairly long pause, Kleerup provided a change in
atmosphere with some very danceable disco/house, packing
the dance floor and keeping it that way for the whole duration
of his one and half hour set. His bright music stood in stark
contrast to the artful, heavy sound of Agent Fresco, but was
certainly not a step back in terms of quality. Good times all
round. He wasn’t there to entertain and was fairly focused
on his music, not bothering with any onstage theatrics while
playing. This gave it more the feeling of a DJ set than a live
show. The music stood for itself, though, and any antics would
have just been an addition to a strong live show.
The night ended with Sykur who kept the beats flowing
with a solid set of their own electro-pop. Sykur were joined
onstage by various collaborators, including Arnór from Agent
Fresco. They took the evening out in good style and submitted
to demands for an encore, the presence of which was
testament to their good live performance. - Bergrún Anna
Hallsteinsdóttir
12
Casiokids! Give us a short introduction
of yourself! Why should the uninitiated
check out your show?
You sound excited. I will suggest you
start more cautiously by first checking
out our music and videos on Spotify or
Myspace. Then, if you’re still positive
and thrilled, come to our show and we
will try our best.
Next week, you will board a flight to
RVK. We assume you’ll be making an
iPod playlist. Give us ten tracks you
would put on it (and if you want to in-
clude a sentence on why for each one,
then by all means do).
I must say first that I am very much look-
ing forward to coming! My first time in
Reykjavik and Iceland and I am very ex-
cited. Sorry that this playlist turned out
so melancholy and sad, I promise to put
my dancing shoes on in the evenings
during the Airwaves festival.
Burt Bacharach
– Ill never fall in love again
Jens Lekman
– I Don’t Know if She’s worth 900 kr
Bob Hund – Den Ensamme
Sjömannens Födelsedag
Jonathan Johansson
– En hand i Himlen
Cat Stevens – Don’t be shy
Wetete Mare – Muluqen Mellesse
Lloyd Chambers & The Soul Stirrers –
Come See About Me
Teeny Grownups – I Was a Teacher
Bjørn Torske – Møljekalas
Familjen – Kom Säger dom
Do you plan on catching any shows at
Airwaves? Who are you interested in see-
ing and why?
I want to see Micachu & The Shapes. I
have some of their tracks in my collec-
tion, like my favourites, Turn Me Well
and Guts, so I’m curious to catch them
live. I’ve had so many chances to see
them this summer on various festivals
in the UK, but I’m always eating or get-
ting there too late or perhaps even play-
ing myself when they are on. This time
I believe we even play the same stage on
the same evening, so I promise to finally
go see them, I’ll even bring my food to
the concert if I have to.
What was the idea with the kindergarten
gigs? Were the kids into it?
We did a gig at Gyldenpris Kindergarten
in Bergen for our Norwegian release of
the album “Fück MIDI!” in 2006 and
did not know what to expect, and we
were relieved and happy to see the kids
so excited. Playing for kids, and especial-
ly in kindergartens when their parents
are not around and they are just around
their friends, is as crazy as any chaotic,
teenage home alone party.
They let themselves go completely,
not caring what anyone thinks, and just
roam around us in excitement, climb-
ing us and joining in on percussion and
instruments we lay around the room.
We respect them as much as any other
audience, and since Casiokids started in
2004 we’ve done shows from everyone
from 0 – 90. We don’t have a target audi-
ence, and I think that no music has got
that.
Does the band have any sort of MO and
if so, what is it?
Our overall mission, even from the early
years when we made edits of our favou-
rite tracks of New Kids on the Block,
Queen and Beck to bring to our friend’s
parties, is to have a good time.
How should Airwaves guests prepare for
your show?
We would prefer if everyone came in
animal costumes. We like to believe
we connect well with animals, and this
summer we did a show in a farm out-
side of Oslo where we played an acous-
tic show for a sow, a goat and a handful
of cows (a gang of chickens were also
nearby, though I suspect they were not
paying attention judging by their loud
clucking). (Answers by Ketil)
Kasper Björke! Give us a short introduc-
tion of yourself! Why should the uniniti-
ated check out your show?
I’ve been DJ-ing and making music for
the past ten years – Icelanders might
know me from one of my numerous DJ
sets in Reykjavik for the past five years,
or my collaboration with FM Belfast,
Back & Spine, on my last album.
Its really important to come to my
DJ sets this year, ‘cause there’ll be a fire-
show and a juggler, and a snow-moun-
tain builder! A sort of Balearic meets the
North Pole kinda vibe. Fire and ice... No,
but do come on down to Kaffibarinn Fri-
day night or Nasa on Saturday for a heavy
dose of techno and disco. No stunts, just
great parties.
Next week, you will board a flight from
CPH to RVK. We assume you’ll be mak-
ing an iPod playlist. Give us ten tracks
you would put on it and why.
The Drums - I Wanna Go Surfin’ - For
my last album in 2007, I was in NYC
working on tracks, and I actually tried
to get Jonathan Pierce (the singer from
The Drums) in the studio to record on a
song, but it never happened.
Mathew Jonson - When Love Feels Like
Crying (Kasper Björke edit) – Yeah, I
made my own edit with a 4/4 beat, to
play in my sets.
The XX – Shelter – One of many amaz-
ing songs from an amazing album.
Kasper Björke - Young Again – The new
single from my next album, feat. Jacob
Bellens from I Got You On Tape on
vocals. Album’s out in February 2010.
Wareika - Burnin - Wareika is great
and Burnin is an ANTHEM from their
forthcoming album on the Danish
Tartelet label.
Jarvis Cocker - Discosong (Pilooski edit)
– Pilooski makes super edits!
The Antlers – Kettering - So depressing,
so good!
Bibio - Abrasion – Another great addi-
tion to the Warp catalogue.
Matthew Dear & Seth Troxler - Hurt –
Brilliant song from Ghostly International.
Do you plan on catching any shows at
Airwaves? Who are you interested in see-
ing and why?
The Drums – I gotta check out their
show. The hype is so big around this
band, and I’ve heard so much good stuff
about their live show!
Oh Land – My good Danish friend, who
I actually discovered back in the day
on MySpace, then signed her to Fake
Diamond Records (where I do A&R)
and since then I’ve been trying to get
Airwaves to book her! So now finally she
is here and her live performance is stun-
ning! Her next album will be HUGE!
FM Belfast - Always a great experience
to catch my Icelandic friends live, and
the only chance to see one of my own
songs performed live (Back & Spine),
where they sing and which they usually
include in their sets. Margeir at the Blue
Lagoon; usually I’m too hung-over to go,
but THIS YEAR I’m going to!
And, oh, GusGus on Sunday evening!
You’ve been to Airwaves a bunch of
times. Any favourite memories you wish
to share?
Playing Kaffibarinn and stage div-
ing from the bar with Sexy Lazer (Jón
Atli, the Hairdoctor), Prinzhorn Dance
School’s live performance, being drunk
in the outdoor hot tubs at one of the lo-
cal swimming pools, following Margeir
around on his marathon through Reykja-
vík, playing between 20 and 75 DJ sets in
four days... and a lot of other memories
that are x rated, muah!
Your track with FM Belfast was pretty
great. Any plans on further collabora-
tion?
Who knows... maybe for a future single
or remix? We are all busy people, but it
could be fun! I’m just finishing a remix
for múm these days, actually... and re-
cently did one for GusGus, but The Presi-
dent never got back to me on that one!
Interviews | By Haukur S Magnússon
Casiokids Kasper Björke
Friday 21:50
Reykjavík Art Museum
Saturday 03:30
NASA
Grapevine Airwaves Mini 2009 Go to www.grapevine.is/airwaves to read exclusive interviews with Kidcrash, Moto Boy, Crystal Antlers and Cancer Bats