The Reykajvik Grapevine | Iceland Airwaves Festival Coverage

The Beat That Went On And On

Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, “Maggi,” drums in local bands Amiina, Borko, Kippi Kaninus, Moses Hightower, Sin Fang, Tilbury, Snorri Helgason and a number of others on a rotating basis. He manages to balance domestic and international touring, recording and practicing with all of them throughout the year, but from a peripheral view, it seems like trying to date several people at the same time, and Airwaves would be that weekend when they all happen to be in town at the same time.

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Wasted At Airwaves

Your last sip of beer it not its last song...

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The Beach Boys In Space and Other Sounds You Might Have Heard At Amsterdam

In a bathroom with no locks, in the basement of the Amsterdam bar, I ran into Elín, the female wonderstorm at the front of the folk band Bellstop. It was an endearing experience where we laughed about what it meant to be an artist playing at a venue that is typically a black hole for daytime drinking and gambling while I pulled toilet paper off of my boots.

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Icelandic Soul Is Life Of Party

The decision to spend the last night of Airwaves at Gamli Gaukurinn was one of the better ones I made over this four-day music bender. Though Gamli was hot and packed and people were by now sweating beer, there was a sense of camraderie in the room – we’d all made it to the end.

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The Big Sleep At Harpa Kaldalón 

Kira Kira, an experimental noise band fronted by Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir, opened up Harpa Kaldalón with a song I imagine is similar to the sound of a dinosaur being born. 

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Gamla Bíó 

At Gamla Bíó’s seated concert hall, we show our enthusiasm for a band by gently wobbling in our chairs. Tilbury’s opening performance, however, had the crowd rollicking on their asses like buoys in a storm on Reykjavik’s Old Harbour.

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