2023 Iceland Trip – Sabbatical II – AirWaves

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The great thing of the IA Festival is that it takes place in various clubs and venues in downtown Reykjavík. The magic happens at locations all around downtown within walking distance. Consequently, you have the luxury of being spoiled for choice. You can research the artists beforehand and make a selection. For the more well-known headliners, timely arrival is also necessary (or opt to purchase the plus upgrade for shorter queue). However, on the flip side, you miss out on the spontaneity, which, for me, is one of the main attractions of IA, especially because it’s not really the type of music I typically listen to. Also – and I particularly noticed this with Daði Freyr – videos (YT link) are so ‘meh,’ but live performances are ‘wow.’ The age-old (early MTV times) adage holds true: There is always a remarkable difference between live and studio performances. I attended now the 2nd time (see also 1st time in 2018).

Panels

I attended two panels that focused on financing and talent search in Iceland, specifically addressing whether the Icelandic music scene can still maintain its ‘outsider’ status.

There was consensus that they were once outsiders, but those days are, at the latest, over since the period just before Covid. In the beginning, Sugarcubes / Björk were certainly a singular  ‘Unicorn” example of how Icelandic pop music emerged into the global spotlight. However, this is a worldwide trend of the last two to three decades where ‘indigenous’ music is increasingly making its way into the mainstream, especially in the US and UK. Because the gatekeeper function of major labels was severely restricted for some time by the rise of the Internet and MP3, weakening their position and allowing new players to enter. Additionally, popular streaming platforms no longer indicate the country of origin of the act at first glance, and practically everyone in the ‘relevant target group’ now owns a smartphone with immediate access and, of course social media.

The Icelandic governments have been also aware of the importance of soft power since gaining independence from Denmark, aiming to promote Iceland and, above all, boost tourism (now the most crucial economic sector. This is reflected in governmental support for the music scene, particularly concerning the underlying infrastructure of recording studios, event organizers, and, of course, musicians. For example, currently, musicians or bands receive a 25% tax rebate when utilizing an Icelandic studio.

My IA 2023 Playlist

Hint: the date link goes to the Wayback machine, you also need to select the specific date from the archived website

BC = Bandcamp
YT = YouTube
Sp = Spotify
IMDb = Internet Movie Database
WP = Wikipedia

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