Iceland Airwaves Day Five (11/9): Ghostigital

Nothing feels better after a long week of work than soaking in hot tub, so it was a great surprise to learn that we were spending the morning at the Blue Lagoon. It’s strange to think that even when it’s forty degrees outside, the naturally heated water at the lagoon is steaming and warm enough for people to actually sit outside in the water. But in the water, the air temperature isn’t even noticed. Although walking back and forth from the locker room was unpleasantly cold.

Since Sunday night was the last day of Airwaves, we decided to check some shows at Húrra and Gaukurinn. Of the four shows we caught last night, only one really stuck out to me. So far, most of the bands I’ve seen have been soft rock or singer-songwriters who play in small and more intimate shows. I never would have thought I’d like an electric band like Ghostigital but they were a pleasant surprise. Unlike a lot of electronic bands I’ve heard in the past, there was enough creativity in the songs to make them distinguishable from each other. The visual aspect of the show was great too with the light shows and dancing.

The week has come to an end and our time in Iceland is wrapping up. Monday will be spent putting together our final radio documentary. We have all been working hard on getting our individual pieces together and I am looking forward to seeing everything we’ve done this semester come together.

Iceland Airwaves Day Five (11/09): VAR, ghostigital, Rökkurró (review)

Catching the last two thirds of VAR on the final night of Airwaves, the newly formed Icelandic rockers paced their way through some of their self titled material. Myrra’s lead vocals seemingly expanded the intimate Gaukurinn. Each song expanded slowly from soft ambient tones into rolling vocals mixed in with cascading percussion. 

Iceland Airwaves Day Five (11/9): Just Another Snake Cult

Saturday morning started off with a soak in what could be considered an eighth wonder of the world: the Blue Lagoon, a geothermic pool full of misty blue mineral water, heated from the inner earth. Icelanders say the water has healing powers: It was clear that the rumors were true as my head and body aches from the previous long night dissipated. The pools were surrounded by volcanic rock and Iceland’s rugged stone scenery accompanied by nearly blistering winds, but we found shelter in the natural hot tubs.

Just Another Snake Cult played three shows at Iceland Airwaves 2014, and after catching their last show at Kaffibarrin at 5 o’clock p.m. on Saturday night, the audience was bummed out to see them go after almost four days of performing. The instrumentation was both seen and unseen: Helga rested with a cello, or an acoustic guitar, which she also switched off to Thor, who sat in front of a keyboard. The indie-pop was experimental and lucidly psychedelic with layers of sound from a  marimba melody to a symphonic synthesizer.