Some of the standout acts tonight at Iceland Airwaves

Two bands who I really liked tonight both have a lot in common: they mix "indie rock" (e.g. guitars and emotion-laden vocals) with electronics.

This is a direction in music that I'm very interested in, there is some really creative stuff being done, and did I mention that Elise and I are working on a new SomaFM channel for just this kind of music? (Coming January 2008 under the current plans.)

Icelandic bands do this really well. Björk is an obvious one to point out. Múm is another. Emily Torrini. You get the idea. They're really into this fusion of rock and electronica over here, and tonight I heard a couple of bands that I really liked and we'll be featuring on the new channel.

Soundspell

Their guitar player also plays synths, often at the same time. They have another keyboard player who mostly plays piano and a few synths. A simplistic description of them would be Jeff Buckley meets Radiohead, but it's more than that.

And they can rock when they need to.

Listen to some of their music here

Shadow Parade

I'm not sure how to describe these guys except that they are a little less electronic than Soundspell, but I'm sure they all grew up listening to progressive rock. Their songs are catchy yet complex, backed by rock-style beats that make you want to dance like a good house track. Some people call this "post rock".

Listen to some of their music here

That's the 2 bands that impressed me tonight.

NASA is a good space; the sound quality was excellent - not too loud but just about right.

Not all pre-parties are created equal

I was a little nervous because we went to a pre-party at Organ on the "second floor", a sort of loft space with just a bunch of bright florescent lights and a "bar" that only had 2 bottles of vodka that ran out before we arrived. Not only was their nothing to drink, but there was no vibe, and while I stuck around to hear a couple songs by Skakkamanage I felt sorry for them having to play in what felt more like rehearsal space than a performance venue. Luckily, this turned out to be a fluke and didn't set the tone for the rest of the evening.

(Note to self: if Finlandia ever sponsors a party of ours, they better bring a lot more than 2 bottles of Vodka!)

The music I've heard so far has been very good. The Reykjavik music scene is very good; I'm looking forward to what we'll hear in the next few days.

The weather has taken a slight turn for the worse. It's started raining, and the wind is now blowing hard. Let's hope that changes before tomorrow night. Reykjavik is a walking town, and the city center is small but still, walking 4 blocks in 30 degree weather with 25 mile an hour winds is pretty harsh.