Watch: Active Child – Hanging On (Iceland Airwaves Best Fit Session)

Setting up a filmed acoustic session in London is relatively easy. Despite the occasional struggle with locations, a gust of wind here and there or a lost capo, there’s isn’t too much that can wrong – and things rarely do. Setting up a live session – full band, electricity and the works – is way more challenging and introduces yet another variable to the equation: the prospect of capturing audio in a way that’s both faithful to the performer and of a quality that delivers the excitement of a plugged-in performance.

So doing this in a faraway land you’ve never been to, with less than a couple of days notice and no idea what to expect should be nigh on impossible. And so it was that a few days before The Line of Best Fit ventured to Reykjavik for Iceland Airwaves, we found ourselves with the enviable prospect of a plugged in session with the creator of one of our favorite records this year.

The annual Iceland Airwaves transcends the very notions of what a music festival is. Iceland’s unique location and its traditions, the sleepy and pretty oceanside city-come-village of Reykjavik, with people whose relationship to music is possibly as profound as they come are all factors that contribute. What remains is an event stripped from layers of pretense, hipster mentality and any notions of ephemeralism. I’ve no doubt that almost everyone that attended left with a slightly elevated sense of spirituality – such is the impact of spending 5 days amongst such beauty – geographical and musical.

And then there was our first session. Less than 72 hours before our arrival, emails were sent, ideas were generated and without a single hitch we found ourselves a time, venue and setup for what would effectively become a micro-show for LA-based Pat Grossi’s Active Child project. The ease at which everything fell into place was astounding and, I’m entirely sure, a testament to the spirit and attitude in which the Airwaves event is managed. Every possible location around Reykjavik is used as a venue – bookshops, libraries, swimming pools, hotels, galleries and churches. We found ourselves at a modern hostel – the Reykjavik Downtown to be precise. Over the course of the three songs Active Child played, twenty or so people turned up and left enchanted. It was something of a dream come true after a solid two months of playing You Are All That I See almost every day – and a cherry on top get to a performance of arguably the album’s strongest track ‘Hanging On’.

We’ll be bringing you more reminiscences and some sessions with some incredible Icelandic talent over the coming weeks – but for now, site back and enjoy the incredible talent of Active Child.

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