Iceland Airwaves review: A truly wonderful outlier in the festival scene

Dj Flugvél og Geimskip, Iceland Airwaves 2017 (©Júnía Líf Maríuerla)

Past experiences of Iceland Airwaves - though always a treasure trove of joy - have highlighted the practicalities of hosting a festival in a wild Nordic country in Winter, with both of the previous two events shaped not by the music but by the endless, biblical levels of rain that fell.

In spite of this, there’s a magic to these surroundings, not just because it’s Reykjavik but also because there’s something thrilling about catching glimpses of the mountains across the water, while running in and out of the multitude of shape-shifting venues. To say there’s nothing quite like it would be a drastic understatement.

These past experiences with the weather take on even greater relevance this year, with most of the final day of the festival wiped out thanks to a proper storm that delivers almighty gusts of winds to most of the country, closing the airport and surrounding roads for a whole day and stranding a number of the international artists in the process. Thankfully, before the storm hits, this year’s event is illuminated by gleaming blue skies, Reykjavik coming alive with glorious clarity for its few hours of daylight, shifting the entire mood of the place and people with it.

Natural forces aside, a festival will always live or die on its music and, to some extent, it’s there that this year’s event falters somewhat, given what’s come before. Scaling back from previous years, the 2017 incarnation of Airwaves features less of the formidable international acts - flooding the programme with even more Icelandic acts and using more smaller venues rather than the many glorious rooms of the famous Harpa centre on its harbour-side - while also finding space on the bill for a huge Mumford & Sons headline set.

There seemed to be something of an imbalance before the festival took place, and those worries do come to fruition; while focusing on so many local bands will always be a noble venture there does seem to be a discrepancy between them and the occasional big names that are scattered throughout, though Icelandic highlights include Disa’s spellbinding, glacial soundscapes, Hildur’s gleaming, wide-screen pop songs, and Fever Dream’s punchy set which is something of a rare high-point in an overwhelming sea of Icelandic hip-hop.

It's not to pine for Airwaves festival once the dust has settled. Line-up issues aside it remains a truly wonderful outlier in the festival scene, a multi-venue city festival that really is geared towards unexpectedly tumbling in on something completely unexpected and new.

This year’s event might have felt a little torn between existing only as that while also trying to appeal to the overseas crowd which, one imagines, the festival relies upon. One hopes they find the answer they’re looking for either way - and we’re certainly rooting for them; frozen toes, wind-burnt cheeks and all.