Nordic culture has been manoeuvring its art, music and film under our noses cunningly for the last few years, and it is therefore not surprising that presently in 2014 we now have a music festival in London dedicated entirely to that, showcasing some of their finest music over here, whilst simultaneously making their those that up and left these Scandinavian countries feel very much at home for the weekend, within a tightknit community of Nordics. Extremely young, manipulating its form in 2013 after what seemed like an increase in Ja Ja Ja club nights, the Ja Ja Ja Festival now spreads itself across several venues, and profiled some of Iceland and Sweden’s finest; namely Sumie Nagano and Fufanu (who had in fact never played outside of Iceland previously).
First up, on the Thursday night at London N1 gig venue, The Lexington, was Bella Union’s Sumie, who suffocated her crowd with the profundity of her voice, stripped-down guitar and simple, yet poetic lyrics. Nagano, Little Dragon’s sister, modestly apologises on stage for her melancholic lo-fi performance; however it is clear from the audience that this apology did not have the backing of foresight, and was prematurely and humbly delivered. For someone who masters in the haunting trickles of pathos seeping down my (and I am sure others amidst this room) spine, no apology need be required.
Her set list was short, playing tracks Let’s Get Lost and Show-Talked Windows, with a sincere refusal to perform any work from her new album for the paranoid fear that they would leak onto the internet, via every Brynar, Hilmar and Alla’s mobile devices. Thereby, her set list was all her old tracks, which was a tad disappointing for folks like me, who are pretty well-frequented with her work. Despite the fragile delivery, melancholic atmos, and intimacy that you rarely receive from talent such as this, there is a further feeling of sadness surrounding her unwilling to perform exciting new tracks.
Friday night’s Ja Ja Ja Festival within the same venue had a very different, less indie, beatnik vibe; as you would expect for a Friday night bar one Icelandic act on the programme, who reminded us of The Stooges, should you shy your eyes away from the stage. Aesthetically Fufanu, the boys on stage are trying to deliver a band’s presence but their young looks and youthful radiance makes it formidable to view them as such, well certainly as they would prefer to be considered. However, that does not take away from the fact that these youthful guys are supplying us with a vast array of talent, which One Little Indian have clearly picked up on.
Their music certainly astounded the crowd, before they went on the following Sunday to support Damon Albarn on stage at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, “one big pub,” certainly not too shabby for their second performance out of their own territory, despite their lack of stage presence. Obviously at the Albarn gig it is clear that Fufanu will get a broad degree of exposure but you have to question sometimes what festivals such as these really throw into the London’s cultural mix. Do they simply congregate a community of Scandinavians that have appreciation for their homegrown talent or do they expose it to the wider masses? Either way there is only one way to encourage that exposure and that is by hosting it in the first place, and without such things we would deprived of a widely talented arena of live musicians, which yes, include the wonderfully shy and poignant Sumie, and the peachy Fufanu, whose young looks I am perhaps merely envious of.
For more information on this fresh new festival do check the website
