The music Americans know from Iceland mirrors the notions we have of the country itself.
Most of us see the island as a preserve of freaky fairies (embodied by that ultimate outlier, Bjork), frozen tundras (echoed in the clean and open soundtracks of Sigur Ros) and bare tree landscapes (reflected in the spare, woodsy folk songs of Olof Arnalds).
Naturally, there’s more to the country than that. And a showcase on Saturday aims to prove it. The “Reykjavik Calling” concert, to take place at Poisson Rouge, will present three non-stereotypic stars who embody everything from Anglo-sounding pop (Lara Runars) to international dance music (Sykur).
The show will also let several local performers collaborate with their Icelandic counterparts, including Petter Stakee, of the rootsy Brooklyn-based band Alberta Cross, and DJ Caveman.
Event coordinator Liney Arnorsdottir says the curators “chose the acts that have the best chance of making it in the States. They’re popular at home, they have strong management teams and they’re ready to make the next step.”
The fest has a good track record on that score. Last year’s “Reykjavik Calling” concert featured the band Of Monsters and Men. They went on to sell nearly 1 million copies of their debut by riding the coattails of Mumford and Son’s nu-folk-rock movement. Then again, given their sound, and that they don’t have a high press profile, few know they actually hail from Iceland.
“They come from a very small town called Gardur,” Arnorsdottir says. “They’re very down to earth and don’t talk about their roots a lot.”
It didn’t help that last year’s event never came to New York. The year 2013 marks the series’ first showcase here, after previous stops in Boston, Seattle, Denver and Toronto. “New York is always difficult,” Arnorsdottir says. “It’s so saturated with events.”
On the other hand, our city has a special proximity to the event’s homeland. It lies five hours away by plane. “People have this misconception that it’s far,” Arnorsdottir says, “but it’s closer than L.A.”
More and more people seem to be figuring that out, as evidenced by a huge boost in tourism from the States. It helps that Icelandic Air, a co-sponsor of the concert, has done heavy promotion in the city. Also, Arnorsdottir says, the economic crash of 2008 “devalued our currency. So more people can afford to come. Tourism has increased 25% since 2010.”
The dramatic upswing has another likely factor. Iceland suffered a massive setback in April 2010 with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, disrupting air traffic around the world for weeks. After that event, there would almost have to have been a big uptick in travel.
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