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From November 3 to 5, Luxembourgish acts, KLEIN, Francis of Delirium, and Tuys, descended into the beautiful town of Reykjavik for the first Iceland Airwaves festival since the pandemic. Kultur | lx has been planning their first iteration of “|lx finest – Sounds from Luxembourg” at Airwaves since the festival’s bookers saw KLEIN perform at Eurosonic back in January 2020, so it was a particularly special moment to see fans (new and old), along with a local and international industry (made up of bookers, managers, labels, and media), fill the venues of the three showcasing acts.

Each group had the opportunity to play a first slot on days 1 and 2 before the “|lx finest” showcase event, which took place on the third day at IÐNÓ (with a capacity of 350 people). The showcase was preceded with a networking reception for professionals attending the conference and included a small Luxembourgish delegation, made up of artists and festival bookers, as well. 

One important feature of the festival’s conference is the wide range of international media present. The reaction on the shows, particularly for Francis of Delirium (who already have had a banner year), was among the strongest of any Luxembourgish presence at a showcase festival to date. Some of the top music blogs in the world covered the bands’ shows, with Stereogum proclaiming “Francis Of Delirium proved to be one of the most impressive revelations of the whole weekend…These were visceral, invigorating performances, some of the best of Airwaves 2022” while Loudersound said “when TikTok discovers Bahrich’s perfectly-pitched adolescent angst anthems, she’ll be flying.”

As one of the world’s most extraordinary new music showcases, Iceland Airwaves ended up having one of the strongest and most diverse bills in the festival’s 20 plus year history, including Arlo Parks, Amyl & The Sniffers, and Metronomy. With Iceland’s natural wonders often claiming the title “the greatest show on Earth”, Iceland Airwaves was one-of-a-kind offering and Kultur | lx was very proud to be part of it.

WHAT THE MEDIA ARE SAYING :

STEREOGUM
Iceland Airwaves Made Its Real Deal Return For 2022

“Francis Of Delirium proved to be one of the most impressive revelations of the whole weekend. First with a set at Gamla Bíó early in the evening on Friday, then again at Iðnó on Saturday, the Luxembourg group brought a heavier, grungier interpretation of their early material to Iceland. These were visceral, invigorating performances, some of the best of Airwaves 2022 — and a promising glimpse of whatever Francis might pursue on their debut album.

LOUDERSOUND

Inside Iceland Airwaves 2022 as the coolest music festival on the planet returns in spectacular fashion

“The real joy of Airwaves, however, is stumbling upon artists you’ve never previously heard of … such as Francis of Delirium from Luxembourg, fronted by vocalist/guitarist Jana Bahrich.”

“Performing at Gamla Bió the following evening, Francis of Delirium impress too. Louder elected to check out the trio after hearing 2021 single Quit Fucking Around on the festival’s smartly-curated Spotify playlist, and it’s a highlight, alongside 2020 single Circles, in a charmingly ragged set which calls to mind ’90s indie rockers Pavement, Belly and Arlington, Virginia’s Tsunami. When TikTok discovers Bahrich’s perfectly-pitched adolescent angst anthems, she’ll be flying.”

NIALLER9
Iceland Airwaves: 8 acts we loved from the return to Reykjavik’s new music festival
(#1 : Francis of Delirium)

“Bright young guitar-pop out of Luxembourg. One of the two best singalongs of the festival.”

PASTE
15 Bands to See at Iceland Airwaves 2022 (Francis of Delirium)

“Paste hailed Francis of Delirium the indie-rock project of Luxembourg-based musician Jana Bahrich, as the Best of What’s Next in 2021. Bahrich’s sound splits the difference between Smashing Pumpkins and Caroline Polachek, as she told us at the time, ‘merg[ing] this grunge, ‘90s, guitar-driven stuff with more pop melodies.’”