The annual competition for new bands in Iceland, Músíktilraunir, has a pretty incredible track record for unearthing excellent talent (seriously, check out hte list of winners here). So it would be fairly silly to not stick with tradition of the last 5 or 6 years and have a word with the most recent winners before they get to perform at Iceland Airwaves. This year's champs are Vök, an electronic duo with shades of The XX in their sound. Their song, "Before", is a great place to start.

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

We are
relaxing on a Monday afternoon returning phone calls and emails,
scheduling the upcoming Airwaves! 

What does your name mean? and who is in the band?

Our name is a unique Icelandic word which has no
equivalent in english, Vök describes an opening on Ice or in the clouds. We
have Margrét Rán as a lead vocalist and guitar/keyboard, Andri Már on Saxaphone
and launchpad and Ólafur Aleksander as lead guitarist and bassist.

Congratulations on winning the Músíktilraunir (new bands) competition,
how does it feel to follow bands like Maus, Mínus, Mammút, Jakobínarína and those
Of Monsters & Men (look how young they looked!) people?

Thank you very much! It’s such a surprise and a big
challenge which we love facing every day.

What are you planning for Airwaves? There will be a bunch of other bands
playing at the same time as you – so why should people choose your show?

We haven't gotten that far yet! We're still planning
our timetable for the shows, but if you get tired of all the rock and roll
Racket, come check us out!

What other bands are you excited to
see?

This upcoming Airwaves has many of our favorite
Icelandic bands playing: Emiliana Torrini, Hjaltalín, Sin Fang, Bloodgroup and
the list goes on. As for Foreign bands there are for example Aluna George and
Golden Panda.

And finally, how about a few local tips for the festival first-timers?

Patience! Number one two and three! And don't be
afraid to check out the off venue places as well!

So, appetite whetted, you can find Vök on the Wednesday of Airwaves at 8pm in Harpa Norðurljós and on the Saturday night at 10:30 in (deep breath) Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn. They also have 4 off venue shows, so no excuses not to catch them somewhere!