Back in November 2018, KEXP took our annual trip to Reykjavik for the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. Over the span of four days, we broadcasted live from the renowned KEX Hostel, streaming live video of performances from Icelandic artists and other acts from the festival lineup. We’ll be rolling out these videos over the weeks to follow. Today’s feature is of Icelandic electro-pop outfit aYia. Writer Dusty Henry reported:
Glittered adorned their faces, glistening under the red lights and the fluorescence beaming from the ground. Vocalist Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir would wander across the stage, often looking down as she sang wistful melodies against the harsh and booming beats. Still, she was commanding. Her power came from looking inward – as if the audience wasn't just feet in front of her. The band pulled from the obliqueness of trip-hop while producing decadent beats that measured up against the expansiveness of the Iceland terrain. It was hard not to be hypnotized by the performance, the band bewitching the audience with every near crashing drum sample and electronic wizardry they conjured in front of us.
Read the full report here.
Recorded November 9, 2018
Songs:
Sparkle
Crystal
Slow
New Moon
Ruins
Hosts: Kevin Cole & Cheryl Waters
Audio Engineers: Kevin Suggs & Eyvindur Þorsteinsson
Cameras: Jim Beckmann, Alaia D'Alessandro, Scott Holpainen & Matt Ogaz
Director: Justin Wilmore
Editor: Alaia D'Alessandro
