Ah, lovely Rökkurró, their first album was full of beautiful swoonful tunes and the lovely voice of cellist Hildur. Second album, Í Annan Heim, is freshly released and getting a heap of praise for its 'bigger' sound. I rather expect that I'll be picking that up during the festival. Also, Rökkurró may very well be the first band I see this year since they are due to play in the wonderful 12 Tonar store soon after I arrive in town. Here's my chat with guitarist Axel,

Hi Rokkurro, where are you right now and what are you doing?

We just released our sophomore record in Iceland in August. It's called Í Annan Heim (it means In to another world in English) and it has got great receptions. It's been around the top on the Icelandic charts for a few weeks now and It was the most sold record on gogoyogo.com for three weeks straight I think after the release. We held our release show In Iðnó Reykjavík a few days ago and it was wonderful, a big audience and some lovely additional musicians who helped us make the night a really special one. Right now we are just rehearsing and looking forward to playing Airwaves and visiting London for the first time in october. We'll be playing Jajaja in Lexington on the October 21st, and there might just be another gig lined up during that trip.

Who is in the band?

I play the guitar and sometimes I sing a little and play a bit of drums. Then we have Hildur Kristín our lovely lead singer and cello player, Árni on guitar and baritone guitar and then we have the rhythm duo; Ingibjörg who plays the bass, the accordion and sings a bit as well and Björn Pálmi who plays the drums, guitars and piano and what ever else he can get his hands on.

You've just released a new album, "Í annan heim", how does it compare to your debut?

It's quite different actually. Our first album "Það Kólnar Í Kvöld" was in every way a more simple album. It was recorded just as it was played live but our new album is just the opposite. We spent a lot of time pampering it with long recording sessions and added a lot of additional things that had not been a part of our soundscape before such as strings, brass and a whole lot of backing vocals. Our producer Alex Somers also made a huge difference for us. He attended practices with us before we headed to the studio to help us with the writing process and his touch during the mixing made a lot of wonderful moments on the album who would not be there without him.

There will be 5 or more other bands playing at the same time as you at Airwaves – so why should people choose your show?
 
If you want something really Icelandic, come see us. It's kind of weird to say but we are one of very few Icelandic bands that actually sing in Icelandic and foreign listeners seem to be really into that. And also if you were looking for a atmospheric and dynamic show of post-rock/indie/rock/classical tones with a high pitched female voice, eerie guitars, clever drums, groovy bass and a electric cello, I think we're what you're looking for! Haha!

Have you seen the festival line-up? What other bands are you excited to see?

Oh my, we are all so psyched to see Efterklang. They have to be one of our favorite bands for quite a while now. Personally I'm also really looking forward to seeing Robyn, Bombay Bicycle Club, Alex Metric and the Greek band Film which will actually have Hildur to sing on one of their songs! Then there are also all those wonderful Icelandic bands such as Agent Fresco, Mammút, For a Minor Reflection, Kimono, Sudden Weather Change, Ólafur Arnalds and a lot more that no one should miss out on.

And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?
 
First of all. Attend as many off-venue gigs as possible. They can be quite amazing. Those gigs are usually really cozy and personal and can be just as good, if not better as the official gigs.

Number two: Eat a hot dog at Bæjarins Bestu. Don't leave Iceland until you've had at least one (preferably a lot more).

Number three. Go swimming. There is no better way to start a hungover festival day than to go swimming in one of Reykjavík's pools. I recommend Vesturbæjarlaug.

Number four. Drink a beer at Kaffibarinn. I don't know why but Kaffibarinn has the tastiest beer around. Go have one or two or nine.
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Rökkurró's main show is on Thursday at 9:40pm in new venue, Tjarnarbíó – check it out.  They also play at 12 Tonar on Wednesday at 5:30pm, and on Saturday at 6pm at the Reykjavik downtown hostel.