Tag Archives: iceland airwaves

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Now, a Report on Icelandic Music in Seattle

A few Icelandic things of musical note: KEXP is broadcasting live from Iceland Airwaves, the music festival going on now in Reykjavik. As I type this, I’m listening to Lay Low. Tune in tomorrow for more. (We are sister cities with Reykjavik, as a side note.)

And then on Friday, October 28, there’s a free music showcase: Reykjavik Calling at Neumos. That’s another KEXP-sponsored enterprise, so thanks for donating, and thanks as well to the City of Reykjavik, Icelandair, and Iceland Naturally.

John Roderick, at the 2010 Reykjavik Calling (Photo: MvB)

Last year’s Reykjavik Calling was one of the best shows I saw all year–to emphasize the sister-city relationship, the show throws Seattle-ish and Reykjavik-ish musicians together to see what happens. It’s a short runway, just a few hours of rehearsal, but the results can be spectacular.

This year, our visiting musicians include Ólöf Arnalds, Snorri Helgason, Gudrid Hansdottir (Faroe Islands), and Nive Nielsen (Greenland). From the home team, we have Harvey Danger‘s Sean Nelson and Kyle O’Quin, The Long Winters/Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, David Bazan, and Grand Hallway‘s Tomo Nakayama.

To stay up on this, you probably want to follow @hipstericeland on Twitter (sample tweet: “I used to be in a band with the Faroe Islands, but I quit to focus on my solo career.”). Hopefully, Katla won’t erupt between now and then and spoil the event–and a lot of other things besides, most likely: “Named after an evil troll, Katla has a larger magma chamber than Eyjafjallajokul’s.”

UPDATE: But wait, there’s more! On October 29, the Neptune screens the new Sigur Rós concert film by Vincent Morisset, INNI. It’s presented by the Northwest Film Forum in a collaboration with Seattle Theatre Group, which is why it is being shown at the Neptune. It’s a heavily manipulated, mostly black-and-white experience that seeks to turn Sigur Rós songs into extreme close-up light and shadow. If you are a fan of the band, this is the next best thing to catching them live. Hopefully the Neptune will test the limits of their sound system with this one.

News, Travel

Please Take a Moment to Vote for the Icelandic Sheep

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I call him "Halldor." (Photo: MvB)

Vote today for your favorite photo in this Iceland Naturally contest, and you may, if you vote for the Icelandic sheep, help reverse a dangerous trend toward isolationism in online media coverage.

We at The SunBreak have to find non-traditional ways of bringing you foreign coverage because online magazines bring in, we discover, about 90 percent less revenue than regular print magazines, themselves worth either a box or a box-and-a-half of crackers, depending on whether they’re flavored with rosemary or cracked pepper.

Now, I have already done most of the work for you people. I got myself into the finals, riding the coattails of this magnificent Icelandic sheep. All you have to do is vote for the sheep (Let’s do call him Halldor) every single day until September 13. Then, presuming success, I’ll be off to Reykjavik, camera in hand, ready to offer you a remote-touring experience the likes of which few online magazine audiences have seen.

If possible, I will add to the start I’ve gotten documenting Icelandic sheep and (my little) ponies, but keep in mind this is a trip to Reykjavik for Iceland Airwaves, the music festival. I’ve prepared by reading a number of Icelandic sagas, and the works of Halldor Laxness, which often feature sheep and sheep farmers. Also, I have a pair of socks with a puffin on them. The rest I leave in god’s–and your–hands. Vote sheep.