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
-   
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.

Several months ago I wrote an article on my 6 favorite Facebook apps. Since then Facebook has relaunched with a new design and now as a musician you can create a band / musician page.

Here is an updated version that explain how to set up a page from scratch and my favorite apps for you!

Getting Started & Ariel’s Top 6 Facebook Apps For Musicians

Facebook is here to stay. I know a lot of artists who are already overwhelmed with MySpace tend to feel daunted by the whole concept of introducing yet another social network into their lives. On September 4, 2008 Facebook launched “new” Facebook and the new interface is easier to use than before.

You won’t believe how many people who you never saw around MySpace are on Facebook. All of a sudden you will be back in touch with your babysitter from grade school, a ton of old friends, and even the drummer from your first band. And, if you have been resisting because you think Facebook is just for kids in college, you are mistaken. The largest demographic on Facebook is over 25. It’s the 4th most-trafficked website in the world and it’s the number one photo sharing application. Read the full stats here: http://www.new.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

With over 110 million active users it’s here to stay so my advice is DIVE in (if you haven’t already).

Here is a quick rundown for newbies on how to create a page as a band / musician and my favorite apps for Musicians when pimping out your Facebook profile!

FACEBOOK FOR NEWBIES – HOW TO SET UP A PROFILE

STEP ONE: Create a Band / Artist Profile
Go Here: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/create.php

STEP TWO: click on the third button down, it will say: Artist, Band, or Public Figure

STEP THREE: Select Band or Musician After you select it, a pull down menu will pop up. Select band it if you are a band, or musician if you play solo or want to create a solo-page (you can create as many as you want so you can create one for you and one for your band).

STEP FOUR: Enter Your Name Name your page and select create page. You are now off to the races!

The rest is pretty self-explanatory – you will upload your photo for your main user icon, your bio, band members and photos and details.

STEP FIVE: Click Create Page Now you are live and ready to add Apps! What is an App? It’s short for application and it is simply a cool additional tool that you can add to your page so that you can display features such as music, photos, and videos.

Facebook has a great page that explains how to help you with apps. FAQ’s are here: http://www.new.facebook.com/help.php?page=25

And the whole list of available apps is here: http://www.facebook.com/apps/

Here are my top picks for musicians and links to where you can download the apps for your own profile.

1. Music By Reverb Nation
Play Your Tunes
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6452028673&b= &ref=pd_r_c

Musicians and bands can post unlimited songs for streaming or download, add bios and band photos, sell your music and have your friends add your music and share with their friends (viral marketing for you!). This app also includes links to your homepage and you can add up to 30 of your songs (full-length) to your Facebook Musician Page. And the best part: great stats track song-play activity.

2. Vod:Pod
Display Your Videos
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2398125241&b&ref=pd

I am a big advocate in creating small casual videos to share with your fans. Videos are an excellent viral marketing tool. This app is the easiest way to show your videos and your favorite videos. This is a good place to display backstage moments, live shows and of course your music videos

3. zuPort
Show your Flickr photos
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2893465429&b&ref=pd

If you are a Flickr user zuPort automatically imports your public Flickr photostream so you can show off even more photos to your friends. zuPort: Flickr keeps your sets, collections, tags, comments and everything else linked so you only have to update only once.

4. Twitter
Tweet Away and Have It Synched! http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2231777543&b&ref=pd

This app allows you to update your status on Facebook straight from your mobile phone. So you can be on the road but your facebook page can be updated from your van! Pretty cool eh?

5. Facebook Mobile
Bring Facebook on the go
http://www.facebook.com/apps/#/mobile/

This app allows you to use Facebook on the go. With it, you can quickly to upload photos and notes from your camera phone straight to Facebook. You can also receive and reply to Facebook messages, pokes and Wall posts using text messages, or use your phone’s mobile browser.

6. iCast By iLike
Tell your fans your news
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6917629807&b=&ref=pd_r_c

Send bulletins to fans with iCast, the best bulletins system on Facebook. You can send multimedia or mobile bulletins, or just plain blogs. Your bulletins will show not only to Facebook fans, but also via iLike across 10 different networks. They are the go to app for communicating your music to your fans.

7. iLike this Artist
Show off to your fans
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6627984866&b=&ref=pd_r_c

Musicians, you can show off your fans on iLike on your artist page. This will add an “iLike this artist” button on your page, and will show your (larger) fan count across the entire iLike network.

Happy facebooking and please find me and join our group which features loads of free tips for musicians:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ariel_Hyatt/571390595