Ja Ja Ja :: Sudden Weather Change

Another month, another line-up of outstanding Nordic talent heading to the capital. This month, the line-up for Ja Ja Ja has been curated by Drowned in Sound editor Sean Adams, who has decided to showcase indie pop outfit Leaves, Norway’s fuzz-rockers Simon Says No! and dynamic Icelandic troupe Sudden Weather Change.

Ja Ja will take place at The Lexington, London (5 minutes walk from Angel tube) on 21st January. For tickets and further information on Ja Ja Ja click here…

Sudden Weather Change are a five piece band from Iceland, who don’t whine in made-up languages or run around naked in forests (well, they might actually do the latter). Where indie music in the last decade has moved slowly away from the early 90s alternative rock ethic (no computers! no classical instruments! lots of guitars and noise!), Sudden Weather Change embrace that ideology and turn up their amps to make sure the three guitars and bass feedback like crazy.

After releasing a home-recorded EP in 2006, Sudden Weather Change have gathered huge praise in Icelandic press, as well as with any foreign tabloid writers which have been lucky enough to witness the band performing. In April 2009 they released their first full-length album Stop! Handgrenade In The Name of Crib Death ‘nderstand? with Kimi Records in Iceland who went on to release the album in the rest of the world in October of the same year.

Currently, they are working on lots more songs, some of which will appear on a Sudden Weather Change/Reykjavík! split EP in 2010 and hopefully make a number of ears tingle.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?
Why not? You’ll have a headbanging good time and you’ll be able to think about what you’re listening to at the same time!

Tell us a little about where you’re from. Do your surroundings affect the music that you create?
We’re all from Reykjavík, Iceland. Surroundings? No, not in any sort of “weather” or “landscape” way but it’s more about all the other great things that are constantly popping up and coming out of the music scene here in Reykjavík.

If you could have played on or written any song, what would it be?
Maybe “Cashout” by Fugazi. Everything’s really well done there!

How did the band come in to being? And where did the name come from?
We basically all met at artschool here in Breiðholt (a suburb of Reykjavík) and started out as a 9-person loud-jam-heavy-rock-fusion group called “System Failure 3550 Error Error”. In a way we’re the ruins from that group.

What is the most memorable gig you have played, and what can we expect of your live set at Ja Ja Ja?
Possibly the last Airwaves at a venue called Sódóma…that was the absolute highpoint of things getting really beyond our control. Wild teenagers, girls on stage, rocking out and crowdsurfing. We had a blast on stage! I dont know what people should expect from us. The thing is, we’re just really honest and we really like what we do while we’re on stage. I just hope it shines out in the crowd enough to make them join in!

If you were asked to curate your own Ja Ja Ja night, which three acts would you choose and why?
Ganglians – they’re fresh.
Miri – they share a rehearsal space with us, and there’s no reason not to like them.
Kurt Vile

We’d like you to make us a Nordic themed mix-tape. Which five tracks would you choose?
“Híbakúsja” by Ben Frost
“Punch fucking drunk and the fucking goat” by Graveslime
“Sónn” by Botnleðja
“Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” by Reykjavík!
“Bánk Bánk Bánk” by Miri

These are all Icelandic but due to my lack of geography and memory of which band is from where this is all we can give you right now!