Articles by Simon Roche
Author of 163 posts.
Simon is State's Art Director as well as running his own graphic design studio (Smoke & Mirrors) out of Copenhagen, where he has tolerated pickled herring and very pretty girls for almost five years. He spends his days designing album covers, magazines, books and maps and can often be found eating the local roasted hot dogs and pursuing his quest to find the perfect pint of Classic.
Website:http://smokeandmirrorsstudio.dk/
We have raved enough about it on these pages (and are almost willing the spring and summer away so we can get up there again) but you can now watch a documentary (below) capturing the essence of the Iceland Airwaves festival, which even includes contributions from a musicologist in explaining the magic of the festival…
Iarla Ó Lionáird has been the flag-bearer for modern singing as Gaeilge on the world music stage both with Afro Celt Sound System and through his recordings for Real World records. His solo live concerts are intense and moving events often tying in visuals in a similar way to how Sigur Rós made use of…
With exactly eleven months to go to Iceland Airwaves 2012, a limited number of early-bird tickets and packages for the festival have gone on sale. One of State’s favourite weekends of the year as you can read here, next year’s event takes place later than normal, running from October 31 till November 4.
This year’s…
In the chill of early November at the seaside resort of Weissenhäuser Strand, North Germany the odd little Rolling Stone Weekender festival takes place. For the third year running this German Butlins pitches a big tent and takes over various cabaret halls and clubs in the beach resort structure and has an embarrassment of riches…
Here’s a collection of photos from around Reykjavik during the Airwaves weekend including the hangover party at the Blue Lagoon.
FatCat Records had a large amount of artists playing up in Iceland at the festival this year including Mazes, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Maps & Atlases and also artists from their fascinating post-classical imprint 130701…
Knowing full well that Friday will be a late one, the festival lays on the best possible thing to do with a hangover on Saturday morning – the now habitual trip to the Blue Lagoon thermal pools. For the damaged Airwave heads there’s a mellow DJ, a local band and a bar (serving a maximum…
Beginning Friday with something we would only do once this weekend – namely making it down for the hotel breakfast – we’re fresh and ready to check out some of the vast off-venue gigs that take place from early afternoon up till around the time the main venues kick off. In the gorgeous and spacious…
There’s more of a feeling of adventure arriving at Iceland Airwaves than at any other festival with the dramatic weather and landscape, and it’s fitting enough that we seem to drive through a neon-bright rainbow on the coach in from the airport. The high levels of organisation mean that it’s so easy to get your…
Joanna Newsom is not alone in the harp-wielding alternative music world. New Jersey-born Pat Grossi is the latest to straddle that most cumbersome of instruments though on this, his debut LP, he indulges in a more lush, electronic sound than the freak-folk or pastoral music connected to the harp.
You Are All I See… swerves
It’s six years since the release of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah‘s self-titled debut, where we first heard the distinctive high-pitched voice of Alec Ounsworth and the slightly angular, possibly even nerdy sound of the Brooklynites. Their second album went OTT on the angular bits and often came off as if they’d joined a circus…
Oh Land – Electric Arena
The body had now taken a two-day pounding and it’s almost by accident we walk on site and into the Electric Arena where Oh Land is serving some morning pop. On stage is just Ms Øland and two guys either side on keys, for this, her first Irish gig. Initial…
I Am Kloot, Crawdaddy Stage
Quite an early start for the notoriously heavy-drinking I Am Kloot and John Bramwell does confirm to us that he did have a big night. We get a long, orchestral introduction and then sweep into the most recent album’s opener, ‘Northern Skies’, just tender enough for the aching heads and…
Arcade Fire, Main Stage
Aah, the weight of expectation. Reasons why 2005’s legendary tented gig at EP was a success: they got a much bigger crowd due to word-of-mouth for the slowly-catching-on Funeral… album. They had more-or-less come from nowhere. They did what they do best, brilliantly, spurred on my the bigger-than-they imagined crowd. They
Interpol, Main Stage
They have been on the circuit for an age now and on their third guitarist in two years but as darkness fell the New York boys dug into the bag and with pulled out a bombastic set. Paul Banks still keeps his presence quite plain and simple, letting the show itself add…
