Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.10.2014, Qupperneq 60

We specialize in trips
to the Blue Lagoon
(3-hour stop)
on the way from
or to the airport.
Cars for 4-8 passengers
To book in advance: tel:+354 588 5522
or on www.hreyfill.is E-mail: tour@hreyfill.is
This month Hreyfill Taxi company
is supporting breast cancer awareness as
well as fund-raising breast cancer
screening by The Icelandic Cancer Society
T H E R E Y K J A V Í K G R A P E V I N E I C E L A N D A I R W A V E S S P E C I A L8
There are 219 bands playing Iceland
Airwaves this year. That’s a lot of
bands to keep track of. And some of
their names aren’t exactly doing us
any favours…
Okay, So You Basically Have
The Same Name
• East India Youth
• East Of My Youth
Note: East India Youth are the band
from the UK. East Of My Youth is the
Icelandic one.
• Una Stef
• Uni Stefson
They’re both from Iceland. They’re
both in their early twenties. The for-
mer is apparently sometimes referred
to as the “Icelandic Alicia Keys.” The
latter you might recognize from a band
called Retro Stefson.
• Kaleo
• Kelela
The former band is from Iceland, and
we hear they might become one of
Iceland’s breakout bands of year. So
perhaps you’ll see them in the States,
where the latter musician lives.
• Sykur
• Gervisykur
By the way, Sykur means sugar. Gervi-
sykur means “fake sugar” like Sweet’n
Low or other artificial sweeteners.
Christ, Your Name Is Long!
• T.V. Thoranna Björnsdóttir
& Valtyr Björn Thors
Maybe it’s easier to remember
TVTB&VBT? Maybe not.
If We Didn’t Know Better
We Would Think You Were
Icelandic
• Lindy Vopnfjörð
He’s from Canada. But he’s sort of Ice-
landic. He’s what we call a “Western
Icelander.”
And You Pronounce That
How?
• Nguzunguzu
Tip: We hear it’s like En-goo-zoo en-
goo-zoo.
We Speak Icelandic, But We
Still Trip Over Your Name
• AmabAdamA
Why is this so hard?? It’s like “Imagine
an imaginary menagerie manager
imagining managing an imaginary
menagerie.” If it helps, AmabAdamA
means Amoeba Lady.
You All Have Three-Letter
Names That Start With V
• VAR
• Vio
• Vök
Interestingly enough, Vio won this
year’s annual Icelandic battle of the
bands (Músíktilraunir) and Vök won it
the year before. Coincidence? I think
so.
So Your Name Is A Little Bit
Misleading
• Adult Jazz
• Ballet School
Yeah, nope, not what you think.
But You’re Actually A Boy
Band?
• Girl Band
Yeah, so this is that noise rock band
from Ireland. It’s four dudes.
Oh, You Aren’t A Singer
Songwriter?
• Elín Helena
This band from Selfoss is made up of
six guys. They claim to play “punk
punk,” or “two times as much punk as
regular punk.” Fooled you too?
Moses Who?
• Moses Hightower
• Moses Sumney
The former is a four-piece band from
Iceland. The Grapevine voted their
track “Háa C” best song of the year in
2013. The latter Moses is a singer-
songwriter from the States.
An Orchestra?
• Iceland Symphony Orches-
tra
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• Orchestra of Spheres
The first one on the list is the only real
orchestra here.
Your Band Is Called
What Now?
WORDS BY ANNA ANDERSEN
Time was that there was not much going
in downtown Reykjavík, not much at all;
no bars (no beer), no cafés, no live music,
no DJs (actually there was a seedy strip
club where you could get a drink during
the day, and then, for a few years, there
were several seedy strip clubs. They are
all gone now). The current explosion of
bars and coffeehouses and dingy restau-
rants—many of them with live music—is
to a large extent caused by the concurrent
explosion in tourism.
Being a musician in Iceland used to
be more of an avocation than a job—the
market for music, live or recorded, was
so small that aspiring musicians never
even thought about being able to support
themselves by writing or performing mu-
sic (this is probably one of the factors that
contributed to the variety and originality
of the local music scene). Most of the mu-
sicians started bands because they loved
music, some because they loved the music
scene, but few because they entertained
notions of being able to support them-
selves by writing or playing music.
The relatively recent influx of tourists
changed this—thousands upon thousands
of travellers looking for a slice of Icelandic
culture and a good time, preferably at the
same time do make a difference. Thus,
the centre of Reykjavík is now brimming
with tourists (intrepid travellers to you,
dear reader) every evening and also full
of artists catering to those tourists as DJs
or musicians. It is now possible for an Ice-
landic band to make a living by travelling
around Europe throughout the winter,
performing in miniscule venues and sell-
ing a modest amount of records, and it is
also possible, for the frugal, to make a liv-
ing by performing for tourists in Reykja-
vík.
Obviously, it is a plus that people can
make a living doing what they love, and
the tourists seem to love it as well. The
flipside is bit more nuanced. In the past,
a band that wasn't passionate enough or
original enough would soon disappear.
However, all of the sudden, you can now
be mediocre and (relatively) successful at
the same time. Don't get me wrong, the
mediocre can be entertaining, and the bad
can be great fun, so this is not a negative
development in itself. But, the next time
you stagger around downtown Reykja-
vík soaking up the culture, consider that
maybe you are attending a performance
set up just for you—and do enjoy it, even if
it sometimes isn't all that authentic.
Árni Matthíasson worked as a trawler sail-
or for several years, the last few years as a
boatswain. He started writing about music
in early 1986, with an emphasis on Icelandic
music.
No, I'm never a tourist, and neither are you, dear reader. In fact
you are just like me, when we travel around the world, looking
for new sensations—we are travellers, intrepid travellers, even.
Perhaps you flew to Iceland to enjoy the island’s indigenous
sounds; its original vibrant authentic culture (a journey I might
undertake, were I not already here). But, here's the rub: is it re-
ally original? Is it really indigenous? How authentic is it? Are
the musicians just applying face paint and donning grass skirts
to entertain us?
Entertaining
Indigenes
WORDS BY ÁRNI MAT THÍASSON
13
Official venues
219
Artists performing
650
Approximate number
6.7
Average number of nights international
guests stay, according to a Úton survey
from 2012
85%
Percent of guests who stay in hotels,
according to the same survey
60
number of drum kits used
120
number of guitar amps at both office
and off-venues.
25,627
Estimated number of total nights spent
at hotels by Airwaves attendees
100%
PA system in the country are being used
during the festival.
Iceland Airwaves in Numbers