JaJaJa Festival 2013

For a group of countries with such modest populations, our Nordic cousins sure do punch above their weight on the musical front.

From Sigur Rós to I’m From Barcelona, from Ungdomskulen to Efterklang, a disproportionate number of the best bands touring today derive from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland: A fact one may attribute to their progressive political foresight, their stalwart support for the arts and perhaps the ready availability of Rekorderlig.

This curious but commendable state of affairs has been exemplified by the efforts of JaJaJa, who for the last four years have brought over the crème de la crème (gräddan av grädde?) of Nordic music to British shores. The move from semi-regular club night to fully-fledged festival was a natural next step, and although not entirely bereft of teething problems, was a promising start to what will hopefully become an annual institution.

Friday’s best-received band were veteran Danish dream-poppers Mew, whose dynamic and accomplished set drew heavily from their classic 2003 album Frengers. Icelanders múm also delighted, though their ethereal delicacy wasn’t always a perfect fit for the cavernous Roundhouse main hall. Their new material is better crafted than anything they’ve produced in years, but they’ve also jettisoned some of the immediacy and light-heartedness of the Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy/Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know… era which makes them come across as a little distant on stage.

As for Day 2, the charming, enthusiastic indie-pop of Kid Astray and Broke’s cacophonous crescendos piqued our interest, although the ultimate highlight was Truls, a portly Norwegian fellow who combined an incredible R&B falsetto with instrumentals evocative of M83 (and a drummer who looked like Zangief).

What might prove to be JaJaJa’s key to success is the non-musical stuff; a fantastic selection of films, the record fair, the strange culinary freebies (horseradish and herring roe on a toothbrush?!), the presence of Iceland’s premier burger purveyors. The bands of course are important, and any future events should make provision for big hitters on both days but the wider cultural elements should be maintained and built upon. This first instalment certainly had its flaws, not least some weird scheduling choices and oddly underwhelming sets, but with its unique selling points and a lot of promise, JaJaJa has the potential to truly live up to its name in the years to come.

All photographs by Jason Williamson. See Friday’s full gallery here. See Saturday’s full gallery here.