Hey there and welcome to the first File Under-report ever in the beautiful language that is English! Yes, enjoy it lovely readers! I’m in Iceland and it is bloody cold. The Weather App is saying some pretty nasty things…but it’s all good. I love Iceland, but I freely admit I love it just a little bit more when it’s time for a certain special festival!
mij=Door: Andrew. Foto’s: Dennis
Since flying in on the one day the weather report had alarms all across Holland, predicting certain death (flight was fine by the way), I’ve been chilling out in Reykjavík for a few days now. For some reason, you know…bands!…I turned up to visit the ghost of Airwaves past: Camp Keighley and Boogie Trouble. I’ve never been to the Lucky Records-store before: it’s good to see that vinyl is certainly not dead in Reykjavík!
Another thing not dead – of course – is the music scene. I arrived at the store inbetween bands, walking around, checking out the records and feeling the atmosphere. That was until the two bands I mentioned began playing, starting with Camp Keighley. Both are somewhat similar (as far as Icelandic bands go): very enthusiastic, injecting a lot of funkiness into their music – things I very much enjoy in artists at whatever level of professionalism. Unfortunately, the Campers didn’t really do it for me – as I find falsetto singing mind-blowingly annoying. Even more unfortunate for the band: right when they were really getting their groove on (and blessedly not singing) their bass player lost a string, much to his dismay. Luckily though, this was right up at the end of the set when the next band had already arrived.
One of my favourite things when it’s Airwaves time: you can’t really do anything without stumbling upon artists and related people: they’ll be walking around, performing or just chilling out with a cup of coffee. Working their butts off too, usually. The Icelandic bands even more so than others, in my opinion: seeing a gang of kids trekking in and out of some venue while lugging a vast array of instruments is quite customary. Regardless of the cold weather or other difficulties (last year I saw a bunch of dudes carry a piano up three flights of stairs…when it comes to portability not really the most practical instrument!).
Like I mentioned above, I have seen Boogie Trouble before and I’m fairly confident they are my favourite funky party band (on their level). They really know how to bring the party and make new fans wherever they go as well. Not to mention bringing some of their own: a couple of girls immediately start dancing when the band kicks off their set. Boogie Trouble is blessed with a strong rhythm section and a pretty kick-ass guitar player. But me personally…I’m a fan of their bass player, who is simply cuteness overload when doing happy dances with her guitar. By the way, she happens to be a member of another band: Rökkurró – the relationships between Icelandic bands are quite complex and interwoven!
The amount of people in Lucky Records has suddenly quadrupled and there’s a good vibe going on. I reflect on how fortunate I am to be visiting Iceland and Airwaves once again, that there is just so much cool stuff to be done here even before the festival properly starts. As Boogie Trouble winds down with a funked-up cover of Ms. Spears’ “Toxic”, I step out into the cold: Airwaves starts tomorrow.
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