Well I just had the most insane time in Iceland at the 2011 Iceland Airwaves festival in ReykjavÃk. The photographs are all for the 405 so please go there for day-by-day reviews of the festival itself; however here are some photos of the many acts we saw during the craziest 5 days in Iceland I have ever witnessed.
Tomorrow I shall be stepping on a plane with Tim Boddy and James Canham from The 405Â with the aim of covering as much as possible of the 2011 Iceland Airwaves festival in ReykjavÃk. This festival began as a one-night event in an aeroplane hanger in 1999 and has expanded to become one of the most popular festivals on the calendar.
This year the festival runs from 12th-16th October, with around 250 artists playing at 10 venues and numerous off-venue events, often until around 4:00 in the morning. Needless to say we are all exploding with excitement at the prospect, and will do our best to bring you reviews and photographs of some of the best new bands from Iceland and beyond, as well as special coverage of one of Björk’s Biophilia performances in the city’s brand new opera house, Harpa.
Stay tuned for sneaky peeks at some of the photographs, and keep an eye on the 405 for previews, artist interviews and live reviews throughout the festival.
The launch of Plaid’s latest album, ‘Scintilli’ at Shoreditch’s Village Underground was probably one of my more challenging shoots this year. Plaid make all their music from three Apple laptops perched on a console in front of them, and their performance was (apart from the music) all about the visuals projected onto the massive brick wall behind them. So I decided that, rather than getting as close to the stage as possible, I’d stand at the back of the room, back to the wall, and get long shots of the combinations of the projected graphics and the play of the spotlights in the centre of the ceiling. It was a mesmerising experience.
Scala is a former cinema located in the Kings Cross area of London, and is now a thriving music venue. I went along to shoot Dry the River for a Drowned in Sound ‘In Photos’ feature.
The Line Of Best Fit’s Scandinavian showpiece Ja Ja Ja returned to the London calendar last night with a temporary change of venue. At the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen were Norwegian Ska group Razika, Finnish sisters LCMDF (‘Le Corps Mince de Françoise’) and, kicking the evening off in style, Icelandic dance trio Sykur, with guest vocalist Agnes Björt Andradóttir.
