Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.02.2013, Side 24

24The Reykjavík Grapevine
The first Reykjavík edition of renowned inter-
national music festival Sónar will take place
in a couple of weeks, and boy is that an excit-
ing prospect. Sónar is of course a most well
regarded music festival, conceived and based
in Barcelona, Spain, where it’s been an an-
nual fixture since 1994. It has played host to
almost every major player in electronic music
and beyond, ever, billing itself as a ‘Festival
of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art’—the
Barcelona edition also features cinemas, art
exhibitions, technology forums, conferences,
etc. It is a Big Thing, and now it’s in Iceland,
with the intent on being a permanent fixture.
We caught up with Sónar Reykjavík manager
Björn Steinbekk, who is making his return
to the field of concert promotion after a few
years’ break, and asked him what’s up with
this whole thing.
Greetings, Björn Steinbekk, head of
the newly minted Reykjavík edition
of the prestigious Sónar music festi-
val. Firstly, what can you tell us about
yourself? Have you long been in-
volved with promoting shows in Ice-
land? And how has the act of concert
promoting in Iceland changed since
you first got involved?
I first started out as promoter when I was 16
years old in a group called Pakkhús Postulan-
na (“The Apostles’ Warehouse”). This fellow-
ship, lead by one Þorsteinn Högni Gunnarsson,
was the first to introduce rave parties to Reyk-
javík, back in 1988. I then carried it on with
my friends and we held some memorable raves
in Reykjavík from 1989 until 1992. Our venues
varied from car dealerships, garages to base-
ments on Laugavegur.
My first large arena concert was The Fugees
in Laugardalshöll in 1997. That must be the
most memorable concert I’ve promoted, due to
its nature and the long road we took to make
that happen.
Since I started doing this, the biggest
changes are that the professionalism in the
field has improved greatly, and those servicing
concerts, companies such as Exton, have built
up an inventory of knowledge and equipment.
The only downside in today’s concert business
is that the public’s ticket purchasing behaviour
has changed. Icelanders have become very late
in buying tickets.
WHY FEBRUARY, WHY?
The first edition of Sónar Reykjavík
seems a ludicrously ambitious en-
deavour, as was to be expected from
such an esteemed festival brand.
How did Sónar Reykjavík come
about—how long has this been in the
making?
I along with Grímur Atlason from Iceland
Airwaves had a meeting with Icelandair CEO
Birkir Hólm Guðnason and VP of Sales and
Marketing Helgi Már Björgvinsson. They
asked if an event during the winter could be
established, “something like a DJ festival,”
was the terminology they used. I spoke to
Daníel Atlason from LiveProject about the
idea and he mentioned Sónar. From there,
this was simply e-mails, phone calls, budget
making and selling the owners of Sónar the
idea that Reykjavík was a viable option. That
was not the tough part. The tough part was
convincing them that February was the right
date. That was probably the hardest sell I
have had to do.

Are there plans for Sónar to become
an annual event? Will it be a perma-
nent fixture on the 'annual festival
calendar'?
We have a six-year agreement with the fes-
tival, so yes, this will be an annual event in
February—but only if we believe this can be
a success and manage to break even for the
first year.
BELIEVE IN THIS
Did you encounter many obstacles in
trying to stage the festival? What are
some of the challenges of throwing
a world-class party like this in 2013
Iceland?
The main obstacle is simply getting people to be-
lieve that you are serious and that this can be done.
I thought we would attract considerable support
for the festival from the City of Reykjavík and gov-
ernment agencies, but unfortunately it seems we
have to establish the festival to gain some real sup-
port from those parties. The City of Reykjavík sup-
ports Sónar Reykjavík by the amount of 500.000
ISK, which is around 1.000 ISK per foreign guest
that will be attending the festival.
Promote Iceland has supported the festival in
the form of paying for specially chosen journal-
ists to visit. Harpa and Icelandair have been very
supportive of the project, along with our spon-
sors, but this is an uphill battle for the first year.
That is fine, but as politicians keep talking about
attracting more tourists to Iceland during the
wintertime, we expected more.
IS ÁSGEIR TRAUSTI
‘ADVANCED’ ENOUGH?
Our Facebook page saw some self-
described 'music nerds' complain-
ing about the inclusion of artists like
Mugison and Ásgeir Trausti—whose
latest work seems more in the clas-
sical guitar music camp—on the bill
of an 'advanced music festival' Is this
something you need to pay mind to
when planning the festival? Can art-
ists be 'too straight' for Sónar?
Lana Del Rey played Sónar Barcelona in 2012.
She would hardly be described as traditional
Sónar artist. Sónar is not about what is hip
and cool in the electro scene, that is a misun-
derstanding. Sónar is all about the relevance
of the artist and his or her accomplishments.
Ásgeir Trausti is a success story. He has sold
more records than many do in a lifetime. Mu-
gison has played three times at various Sónar
events and in Barcelona. They love him, and
he will be performing with his famous Mirstru-
ment. This is not going to be a traditional Mu-
gison show.
What are some of the artists you are
most looking forward to seeing per-
form at the festival?
Squarepusher, James Blake, Ryuichi Saka-
moto, Modeselektor, GusGus and the young-
er and up and coming Icelandic artists that
are performing. Reykjavík Allstars in the
parking garage stage will be my last rave,
where all the old DJs play music from 1987
to 1992.
- HAUKUR S. MAGNÚSSON
Will Sónar Reykjavík Be The Second Hippest Long-
Weekend On The Annual Music Festival Calendar?
Festival honcho Björn Steinbekk on the trials and tribulations of establishing a major event in deepest, darkest winter
Go See These People At Sónar Reykjavík By Bob Cluness
With a heady line-up that’s heavy on local talent and features some surprisingly eclectic international names, we couldn’t be more excited for the first
Reykjavík edition of the legendary Sónar festival. Grapevine’s resident music know-it-all Bob Cluness put together a list of five acts he thinks you should
definitely try to see at the festival—go to www.sonarreykjavik.com for the full schedule and elaborate artist info.
Pedro Pilatus Diamond Version LFO Oculus
Pedro Pilatus is the DJ/producer
side project of Retro Stefson bass-
ist Logi Pedro Stefánsson who
works out his electronic bass and
turntable chops across a host of
bars in 101 when he’s not otherwise
engaged. Just before 2012 closed,
he released his debut EP, 'Calia,' on
UK independent label Cool Kid Mu-
sic, which contains a blend of grub-
by bass sounds with jackin' house
and garage beats. Great things are
expected from this man as he em-
barks on his own incredible journey
(minus the dog and cat of course).
Where: Harpa Silfurberg
When: Friday 15 Feb, 19:30
The German electronic label Raster
Noton is renowned worldwide for
their vision of a machine music aes-
thetic that is hard, minimal and re-
lentless. Sónar Reykjavik is lucky to
feature label founder Carsten Nico-
lai, who will be playing with compos-
er Ryuichi Sakamoto under his Alva
Noto alias. But it is his new project
Diamond Version (along with Raster
Noton stablemate Olaf Bender, AKA
Byetone) where the real interest is.
With two EPs already under their
belt and a third lined up, their music
mixes Teutonic electro and techno
with disembodied robot slogans
and industrial precision. Vorsprung
durch Technik indeed.
Where: Harpa, Norðurljós
When Friday 15 Feb, 22:00
It's no overstatement to call LFO
one of the founding fathers of
techno and acid house, their 1991
record 'Frequencies' being one of
the classics of electronic music and
the high point in the British "bleep
and bass" sound. Although the duo
has now been reduced to the solo
efforts of Mark Bell, LFO are still
going strong, packing venues and
making music that is still forward
looking and fresh as the day is long.
Where: Harpa, Silfurberg
When: Saturday 16 Feb, 02:00
Iceland's electronic music scene
would be no more than a limp fart
in the wind if it weren't for the trail-
blazing efforts of Friðfinnur "Oculus"
Sigurðsson. In addition to being the
engine of house music group Sísý Ey,
he has released numerous singles
and EPs for a brace of European la-
bels that showcase the range and
quality of his production, from hi NRG
techno to punchy Euro house. His
travels have seen him perform all over
Europe including Berlin's legendary
Berghain club, and with a full-on live
show that's yet to put a step wrong,
he should definitely be bringing his
A-game to the proceedings.
Where: Harpa Bay View Area
When: Friday 15 Feb, 00:00
James Blake (DJ set)
Even though James Blake is well
known for his self-titled 2011 début,
his soulful, dub-heavy style is not
quite a hit with everyone (Portis-
head's Geoff Barrow famously said
of his single "Limit To Your Love,"
"Will this decade be remembered
as the dubstep meets pub singer
years?"). But when it comes to
DJing, he is a different beast al-
together. Having already played in
Iceland at Airwaves 2010, his DJ
sets at Bakkus (Now Harlem) were
a highlight of the festival. Mixing
R&B, dubstep, garage and much
more, this will be a set that will def-
initely move and surprise you.
Where: Harpa, Car Park
When: Friday 15 Feb, 02:00
Björn Steinbekk
Issue 2 — 2013