I'll be honest, and I don't want to diminish the art or the brilliance of a lot of Icelandic music, but I've always been a sucker for a funny band name. It is true that I heard the name "Krakk & Spaghettí" before I heard their music – but I was very ready and willing to like them. Luckily, I did. They are young and very engaging and charming. I feel that their releases get better each time, which makes a lot of sense for a band that started as a joke.

Right. So I hear that Krakk & Spaghettí started as a joke, in fact in a competition to write the worst song! What's the story?

Margrét and Þorgerður were both in a school called Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð and the student council had the idea to have a competition who could write and perform the worst song. We thought this would be a fun way to present the rap group we had already formed but thought of it more as a joke, mostly to be funny on twitter. The idea was to make a rap group because we thought of a funny name and didn't know how to rap! So we wrote a song about how we wish we would have not chosen this particular school to go to and made a beat from children toys and it sounded awful. We also forgot most of the lyrics on stage.

 

And who had the idea to have your photo taken covered in spaghetti? Fun, or not fun?

 

Spaghetti has a lot of starch and gets reaaaaally sticky. It is also very cold and wet when it touches bare skin! This was an idea from the photographer Magnús Elvar and we think he had a lot of fun, we laughed a lot as well but it was definitely really disgusting.

 

You are playing in Valshöllin. It's going to be interesting to see how Airwaves is changed by having bands playing a little further from the centre of town. How do you think it will go?

Valshöllin is a little bit far away from the other venues and therefor less people might drop by there but that also means that the crowd there will stay there more and it is also a little bit less of a bar and more of a concert hall and that will be in our benefit we think.

 

Who else are you excited to see on the Airwaves schedule?

 

Kött Grá Pje is our idol and it is always fun to see him. Múm is also a band we really like and we have high hopes for Santigold. Apart from Kött Grá Pje our favorite rap groups performing are Reykjarvíkurdætur, Shades of Reykjavík and GKR. They also have crazy shows.

Finally, what advice can you give to people coming to Airwaves and Iceland for the first time?

 

Don't buy bottled water, make sure you buy alcohol at the liquor-store (or bars) and be aware of their opening hours. Dress in layers and make sure you go to the restaurant Mandi it has the best falafels!

 

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Those photos, by the way, are all thanks to the excellent Magnús Elvar.

 

You have four whole chances to experience Krakk & Spaghettí at Iceland Airwaves 2016, here goes…

 

Thursday Nov 3rd, 7pm at Icewear Þingholtsstræti

 

Saturday Nov 5th, 4:45pm at Bar Ananas

 

Saturday Nov 5th, 8:20pm, upstairs at Valshöllin

 

Sunday Nov 6th, 12pm at Quest