The Fat Angel Sings

Icelandic Airwaves Festival is famous not just for its big-name headliners,

Kiasmos lead the final wave of Iceland Airwaves line up additions.

They join the likes of Mercury Rev, Arca, Hot Chip, John Grant, Perfume Genius, Ariel Pink, Beach House, Battles, Hinds and hundreds more.

Iceland Airwaves 2015 takes place 4th-8th November in a varity of venues across Reykjavik.

Iceland Airwaves Music Festival bill, this November are Tuff Love They’ll be joining an amazing line-up including fellow Lost Mapper Rozi Plain, as well as Hot Chip, Ariel Pink, East India Youth, Father John Misty, Hinds, LoneLady, Mercury Rev, Meilyr Jones, and SOAK among many others.but also a chance to see the weird, wonderful and wild Icelandic bands who form a large part of the festival’s bill. Many of these local heroes don’t play regularly on overseas stages, so it’s a big part of the festival experience to see them play for their home crowd, in the many interesting venues dotted around Reykjavík’s city centre.

With a relatively sparse thoroughfare of overseas bands, Reykjavík’s many homegrown talents keep the gig circuit ticking throughout the year, giving them plenty of time to hone their craft – one reason, perhaps, for the oft-heard remark that the level of musical ability seems preturnaturally high on this little island.

Here are a few recommendations for anyone feeling dizzy from the sheer volume of Icelandic acts to check out – from cosmic art-pop to oddball disco to dreamy soundscapes to chaotic rock ‘n’ roll to a full symphony orchestra – there’s a rich musical menu on offer at Airwaves ‘. Most will play several shows – one official festival show, and at various “off-venue” daytime gigs – so there’ll be multiple chances to check them out.

Something of a young-team supergroup, the five faces of Oyama might be familiar to those keeping an eye on the Icelandic indie scene in recent years – they boast members of Útidur, Sudden Weather Change, Swords of Chaos and Grísalappalísa, amongst others. But their sound is something quite different from all of the above – a mixture of distorted noise-rock and dreamy, expansive shoegaze-inflected soundscapes, with lyrics that offer a melancholy look at life in the world’s Northernmost capital.

Since signing to One Little Indian, the secret of Samaris is out – they’ve been out touring for much of 2014 in support their debut album Silkidrangar – but they’re still a must-see at Airwaves ´14. Their mixture of ’90s-inflected beats, electronic drones and atmospheric clarinet lines is pushed to the next level by the one-off voice of singer Jófríður Ákadóttir, whose breathy vocals seem at once young and wise, humane and otherworldly.