Iceland: What A Tiny Nation On The Verge Of Bankruptcy Can Teach Us All About Community and Great Art. A Report From AIRWAVES & “You Are In Control”

I’m writing this while flying over the ocean on my way back from an extraordinary week in Reykjavik, Iceland. The land of fire and ice has long been on my list of dream places to visit since I fell in love with The Sugarcubes’ “Birthday.” As a freshman in college, I used to put that song on repeat and imagine a far away land where the sounds were coming from.

I went because I was invited to participate in a music conference called “You Are In Control,” a two-day conference produced by the Icelandic Music Export. Fabulously, it coincided with Iceland Airwaves, one of Europe’s most celebrated music festivals. I arrived in Iceland the very week the world had all eyes on them and it was being reported that the country is going bankrupt. Their tiny population of only 300,000 people are no doubt headed for some very rough times. Many people, if not all, will be affected in some way.

Here is what stood out most for me: The creative community. My guide-book pointed out that Icelanders have a rich cultural heritage, and a “impossibly high literacy rate.” It claimed that most young Icelanders play in a band, write poetry, or create some form of visual art. From what I could see, this seems true. Such a small population forces deep community.

Throughout my visit on streets and in clubs, I spotted one of Iceland’s most well know musicians, Jónsi Birgisson’ the lead singer of Sigur Rós, who goes everywhere unmolested. I met many of Iceland’s most popular artists including members from the band Jeff Who, and had a great hang with them. One of them pointed out that even their prime minister works out at the local gym.

Another thing I noticed is all the artists and musicians played together in multiple projects. This level of co-collaboration breeds an incredibly rich community, and a serious flow of musical ideas. As I was heading for the airport, Terry McBride of Netwerk Management commented to Anna Hildur, the organizer of “You Are In Control,” that the level of talent that he witnessed in Iceland was very high, I couldn’t agree more.

I had the pleasure of speaking on panel with one Mugison an artist who newspaper Fréttabladid claims has released best album in Iceland this year. He is a hard working musician who told an amazing story of how he recently toured 13 dates through Canada and personally sold 2,500 CDs just by meeting his audiences and selling his CD directly to them.  I was floored.  Even though he was not officially playing Airwaves Festival I saw him repeatedly at other musician’s showcases and around town.

No one seemed to be in a panic or freaked out about the state of the financial situation in Iceland.  One taxi driver said to me when I asked if the crisis would affect him, “those who don’t anything in the beginning have nothing to lose in the end.” I met with a social media expert who I met through Twitter and he told me that he had lost all of his savings in less than one week, and then in the next breath he informed that he was going to be taking his entire family on a three week vacation to Disney World next month.  The boys from Jeff Who told me that their new album is supposed to be out by Airwaves but because of the credit crisis the masters were not released to the CD manufacturer on time and so the album was not ready.  Judging by how packed the music venues were and by the happy and appreciative audiences were behaving it felt to me that young Icelanders are takig it all in stride. Maybe they have more faith in their government than we do in the USA.  Definitely they are a hardy lot.

I know during times of crisis the only thing to look forward is the great art that comes out of it because of great suffering comes great art.  Mugison said on our panel and he’s got a point.  Here’s hoping that Iceland can quickly come through this crisis and I’m betting that there will be much more great art coming from them.

My Photos: http://tinyurl.com/IcelandAriel

Some of my new Icelandic favorites:

LayLow
http://www.myspace.com/baralovisa
Icelandís bluesiest chanteuse Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir ñ a.k.a. LayLow - is ready with a new album. After setting worlds ablaze and topping the Icelandic charts with her 2006 debut ìPlease Donít Hate Me,î the unassuming starlet is back with a new record that continues her forays into traditional blues and country sounds.

Mugison
http://www.myspace.com/mugison
“If you dumped blues, power pop, psych rock and heavy metal into a transmogrifying machine, the machine would rumble mysteriously, then spit out a brightly colored block of a hitherto unimagined polymer known as Mugison.”
-    Paste Magazine

For a Minor Reflection
http://www.foraminorreflection.com/
The band For a Minor Reflection has been active for over two years now. It started as a hard rock duet in a small garage in Vesturbærinn, Reykjavík, then got into an indie rock trio which lasted for about a week or so, after that a blues quartet and then finally the type of band they are today, an instrumental post-rock quartet.

FM Belfast
http://www.myspace.com/fmbelfast
FM Belfast started out as a duo at Christmas 2005 when Arni R Hlodversson and Loa H Hjalmtysdottir made a song as a present for their friends. What was initially thought of as a studio concern became a live band in the summer of 2006 when Arni and Loa performed an art opening in a cave in the Faeroe Islands. Later that year Arni Vilhjalmsson and Orvar Th. Smarason joined the band. In October 2006 they played their first full concert at the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik
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Borko
http://www.myspace.com/borkoborko
Borko brings together melancholy and rhythm-machines in a unique way, playing on his passion for the repetitive and altogether explosive enthusiasm. It is a scintillating blend. Borko has been profilic in writing music for both theatre and modern dance as well as honing the art of “lifskunstner” to a frolicky science

Ólafur Arnalds
http://www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds
Ólafur Arnalds brings his unique classically inspired music to the clubs, warehouses, and festival stages. At only 21 years of age, Ólafur Arnalds is Iceland’s latest export. Having already sold out The Barbican Hall in London, toured major European festivals and having opened for Sigur Rós on their most recent European tour, the future seems bright for this young, extraordinary talent.

Klassart
http://www.myspace.com/fridaklassart
If you like the sound of Cowboy junkies or early Tom Waits you should not miss Klassart. Smári and Fríða Dís, brother and sister, are Klassart. Their 2007 debut CD, released by Geimsteinn, hit the stores and it is getting good reviews all over. Örlagablús, their Icelandic version of the Tom Waits song Invitation to the Blues, was one of the most popular tunes on local radio stations in the spring of 2007.