Music I Liked – Iceland 2012

When I moved my blog, all of the internal links got broken. As I have time, I’m going back through old posts and updating links. Right now I’m working through a lot of material from my first trip to Iceland (for Airwaves in 2012) and it’s bringing back a lot of memories of Icelandic bands that I loved in the past that are no longer with us.

Apparat Organ Quartet

Last week I wrote about Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, whose music I discovered only after his death earlier this year. But a few days later I discovered that was not true. I discovered Jóhann Jóhannsson’s music years ago. He was a founding member of Apparat Organ Quartet, a band I have seen perform twice. Apparat Organ Quartet was on the bill at the first concert I went to alone – Reykjavik Calling at Neumo’s in 2012. I didn’t blog about it, but it was a watershed moment in my life. That was the night I proved to myself that being a mom didn’t have to mean never seeing live bands or traveling or doing other things I loved. At the time, I had never heard anything else like Apparat Organ Quartet. KEXP DJ Kevin Cole was there, and I remember seeing him standing in the crowd with a giant, goofy grin, as delighted by their music as I was. I “saw” them again at Airwaves.

Sudden Weather Change

Well, that discovery, plus the time spent wading through my own archives, reminded me of other bands I’ll probably never get another chance to see again. Sudden Weather Change was at that same Reykjavik Calling show. They didn’t explode my expectations of music the way Apparat Organ Quartet did. Instead they were right where I wanted indie music to be. I meant to see them again at Airwaves, but I missed my chance. Soon after that, some of the members of Sudden Weather Change went off to form Oyama, which became very successful. Sudden Weather Change was never heard from again.

Reykjavik!

A band I did see at Airwaves was Reykjavik!, whose show was one of the strangest and most joyful musical experiences of my life. Their album Locust Sounds was my soundtrack for 2013. I listened to their earlier album Glacial Landscapes, Religion, Oppression and Alcohol almost as much. But I haven’t heard a thing from or about them since.

Since this first video shows how much KEXP has improved its videography skills as much as it shows one of my favorite Reykjavik! songs, here’s another:

And finally, here’s the awesome video they did with film maker Bowen Staines:

Reykjavík! “Hellbound Heart” from Bowen Staines on Vimeo.

HAM

The music I discovered in 2012 isn’t all gone, though. There is one project that I believe will never die. Their songs about friendship, and love, … and hate capture the Icelandic spirit so well, as long as there is Iceland, this band will continue. No national anthem has ever inspired such loyalty. I’ve seen them maybe four or five times, almost as much to watch the audience as the band. Because when they say, “Viđ erum HAM,” they don’t mean only the people on stage. Jóhann Jóhannsson was also in HAM.