Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.06.2014, Blaðsíða 39

“I think a lot of Iceland-
ers don’t realise quite
what we’re doing, or
what a large scale
outdoor music festival
is like. It’ll be fun to see
how people react.”
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After wondering if the interview will hap-
pen at all, a short while later I’m en route
to Prikið for a late afternoon chat. Then the
phone rings again, and I’m greeted by the
disorientating combination of an Icelandic
number, and a Southern English accent.
“'Ello mate,” says the voice on the
other end, “it’s Fred. Wanna come over the
road and sit in the sun?”
Fred is taking a call when I arrive at
Sólon, and his phone rings throughout
our chat. But he’s cordial and unhurried,
apologising each time he ducks into a call,
and taking each matter in his stride as it
arrives. I ask what his days look like, with
the first Secret Solstice just three weeks
away.
“I’m probably getting 100 emails a
day,” he says, putting his phone back on
the table, "and I’m not on any of the gen-
eral enquiry emails. A lot of the production
is being done at the moment, and we’re
advancing the bigger artists—locking in
flights, hotels, ground transport, riders,
both technical and hospitality, making
sure they have a point of contact when
they get here. Making sure that everything
runs smoothly from the airport to the ho-
tel. Having the artists leave very happy is
key in running a successful festival—and
the punters, of course.”
An Anglo-Icelandic Influence
Fred flips effortlessly between perfect
Icelandic and English, bar the odd “og
herna,” which is the
Icelandic equivalent
of slipping in an “uh”
or “like” for thinking
space. His roots are
Icelandic—his father
is apparently behind
several large Icelan-
dic businesses—but
Fred spent some of
his formative years
in England.
“We moved to
London when I was
12,” he explains.
“I was enrolled in
boarding school.
It was a culture
shock after Icelandic
schools, where you can do what you want
really. In Iceland you call your teacher by
their first name, but in boarding school
you call them ‘sir’ or ‘mister.' There was a
uniform and a lot of rules. I got myself in
trouble a few times. Honestly, I absolutely
hated it for the first year, I just wanted to
go back to Iceland—it’s a difficult age to
move, you know. But a couple of years
later, I got into it."
Since then, Fred has been quite the
globetrotter, running clubs, gigs and par-
ties everywhere from Reykjavík and Lon-
don to Los Angeles and Denmark. He ran
dubstep shows at Faktorý and NASA, and
bitterly laments their closure. But things
have moved on since then, with Secret
Solstice staging an ambitious lineup on
a large scale, especially for a debutante
event.
“The area we’re using can probably
hold 16,000 people," he says. "We’re aim-
ing for 10,000. We’ve got 1,500 foreigners
that we know are coming. They’re 85%
from England—all the flights from London
are completely jammed. We know of peo-
ple who are driving to Manchester or Bris-
tol to fly with Easyjet—or even flying from
England to Germany just to get to Iceland.
It’s quite incredible. We’ve 180 volunteers
coming from abroad, they’re doing the
most amazing flight routes to get here.”
The Biggest Festival In Iceland?
All of which begs the question: does all
this make Secret Solstice the biggest fes-
tival in Iceland?
“For the number of artists, Airwaves
is the biggest,” Fred
says. "For the number
of stages, Sónar has
five, and we have five.
But for the number of
hours we’re running
the stages, we’re the
biggest. Our outdoor
stages run from noon
till midnight, with an
afterhours venue until
4 AM. Then there’s a
pool party from 8 AM
at Laugardalslaug,
open to the general
public. We’re lucky
to have an amazing
swimming pool right
on site."
Fred went full-time last October, af-
ter putting together an organisation that
draws on various festival experts and
organisations. His business partner Jack
runs two successful festivals in Croatia
that receive 20,000 guests each year, and
Secret Solstice has the added backing of
England’s Warehouse Project.
"There was interest from Ministry of
Sound," he explains, "and some other big
brands were knocking on the door. But
the Warehouse Project felt like the right
fit. They run a festival called Parklife that’s
130,000 capacity. I met up with them in
London, and they flew over here and got
on board. Then we also have a couple of
investors here."
A Summer Blockbuster
In contrast to the 2013 Keflavík festival
debacle, Secret Solstice sounds extremely
well-organised. Fred is currently working
in an office of 18 people, with over 400 es-
timated to be working on each festival day.
“It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve a re-
ally good team around me," he says. “The
production manager, the art crew—there’s
some serious production and logistics
behind the festival. We’re spending seri-
ous money just on decorating the place,
using the same set companies that did
‘Noah’ and ‘Walter Mitty.’ A lot of the fes-
tivals that are done here in the country-
side are basically one stage and a techno
tent, but we’ve put a lot of thought into the
whole experience—the look of the place,
the food, stuff for sale, and five different
stages to wander around."
Word has spread fast, via aggressive
marketing, with Secret Solstice running
promotional campaigns and club events
in various countries over the last few
months. Fred’s enthusiasm is contagious.
"We figured that getting a few thou-
sand people to fly out to Iceland at this
time of year, with a nice lineup, shouldn’t
be too hard,” he says. “Summer, 24 hour
sun, Massive Attack, and the rest of lineup
we’ve put together—it really hits the mark I
think.”
And it’s certainly a different offer-
ing from anything else on Iceland’s fes-
tival calendar. "I think a lot of Icelanders
don’t realise quite what we’re doing yet,”
he smiles, "or what a large scale outdoor
music festival is like. It’ll be fun to see how
people react."
And so, the scene is set. Let’s just
hope the weather gods are kind, and Fred
doesn’t have to call the production com-
pany and ask to loan the ark.
39The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 08 — 2014 MUSIC
With three days, five stages, and over 120
acts, there will be plenty of options when it
comes to seeing great music, from interna-
tional and Icelandic artists alike. Here’s a taste
of a few acts we are excited about seeing, and
songs in particular that we can’t wait to hear
them play. And then find our complete Secret
Solstice 2014 playlist at: https://sound-
cloud.com/rvkgrapevine.
Banks: “Drowning”
With hints of Lana Del Rey’s sultry
voice and a bit of The Weeknd’s
R&B shadowiness, Banks has shown that she
could potentially be more highly-acclaimed
than both of them—her upcoming debut al-
bum, coming out September 9th, should be
one of the year’s best. Keep an eye out for
“Drowning,” as well as her show-stopping
cover of Aaliyah’s classic “Are You That
Somebody?”
Cell 7: “To Tha Rim”
Icelandic-Filipino rapper Ragna
Kjartansdótir gives off dancehall
vibes in “To Tha Rim,” a joyful exercise in
braggadocio. Equipped with a natural, con-
cise flow, she is easily one of the most tal-
ented rappers in Iceland.
DISA: “Stones”
“Stones,” the latest track from
Copenhagen-based Disa, sounds
more like an army than the work of just one
person. Her voice--airy, ephemeral yet in-
tensely passionate--soars above brooding
synthesisers and a powerful drum beat, fo-
menting the song’s crescendo. DISA’s music
is cold, compelling, tense and exciting, com-
plimenting and representing the Secret Sol-
stice surroundings and making her a must-
see act in the process.
Disclosure: “Help Me Lose My
Mind ft. London Grammar”
UK garage/house duo Disclosure
have taken the world by storm in the past year
and a half, ever since they started teasing
tracks from their debut album, ‘Settle’. As one
of the most critically acclaimed EDM acts in
the world, their set will surely prove to be one
not to miss. While “Latch” and “White Noise”
have proven to be more popular, we are per-
haps most excited to see them play ethereal
stunner “Help Me Lose My Mind ft. London
Grammar.”
Gorgon City: “Here For You ft.
Laura Welsh”
For fans of Duke Dumont and Ru-
dimental, British DJ duo Gorgon City pumps
out light, danceable fare that’s sure to please
the crowd. “Here for You ft. Laura Welsh” is
their brand-new single, and showcases their
ear for creating catchy hooks.
Mammút: “Salt”
Creators of beautifully bruised
melodies, Mammút and their vast
and sombre sound are responsible for uplift-
ing emotions you didn’t even know existed
within you. “Salt,” a droning elegy, has singer
Kata’s potent vocal chops exploding into life
from quiet purgatory in its powerful conclu-
sion.
Múm: “Whistle ft. Kylie Mi-
nogue”
Few, if any, would have expected
Múm to collaborate with Australian superstar
Kylie Minogue, let alone for a song this gor-
geous. Múm’s signature glitchy electronic
beats are all over “Whistle”, but they never
overpower Minogue’s elegant singing and the
gorgeous instrumentation that Múm always
supply.
ScHoolboy Q: “Man of the
Year”
German-born, California-bred
rapper ScHoolboy Q comes to Iceland for the
first time, fresh off an extensive world tour.
Be sure to check out the speaker-thumping
“Man of the Year”—Complete with a Chro-
matics sample, it’s easily one of his most
festival-ready tunes.
Heard It Through The Grapevine
Our Secret Solstice 2014 Playlist
Words by Tyler Clevenger and Liam Harrison