The competition was the brainchild of Mitchel Martin-Weber. Suffice to say, Martin-Weber is not short of a penny and wanted to put it to a good cause – specifically, he’s a huge supporter of music, arts and culture in Sydney. He’d already been the philanthropic heart behind a similar project for Aussie visual artists, in which they were sent overseas somewhere breathtaking with the intention that it would be inspiring and inform their work. Incidentally, Martin-Weber was also a long-time supporter of FBi Radio. So, fired up by the success of the project, he approached a board member to sound out interest. Naturally, the response was ‘hell yes’.
When Martin-Weber and FBi put their heads together, they wanted to replicate the idea of sending the musicians to somewhere small, remote and downright magnificent. In light of that, the Iceland Airwaves Festival was a no-brainer. So, FBi Radio put in a call to Iceland Airwaves, who were, thankfully, super keen and the rest is history.
For Melburnians who may not be familiar with FBi Radio, it’s Sydney’s community radio station something akin to PBS or Triple R. It’s also a blessing in an otherwise pretty arid radio landscape.
FBi Radio has a pretty unique charter – it plays 50% Australian content, and of that, half has to come out of NSW. Being NSW-centric, it made sense previously for the competition to be open to New South Wales participants only. The rest of the country can celebrate this year though, because for the first time the floodgates are open nationally, owing to government support.
The backing has also meant that the scope of the competition has expanded to include bands (before, with more limited funds, only solo artists and producers were able to apply). Happy days.
Clare Holland, Managing Director, of FBi Radio, is super enthused. She knows what the competition can mean for winners. “Take Oliver Tank and Rainbow Chan, the 2011 winners,” she reflects. “They’ve both been hugely successful. One of the tracks they recorded over there has been licensed to a couple of different things. There’s so much exposure and opportunity.
“Since it’s a few years out now for both of them, it’s meant that we’ve had some time to track their progress. It’s difficult to exactly measure the impact. I’m careful never to single one thing out – you can’t say it was a certain gig or airplay. You have to look at everything in context. However, it’s fair to say that it’s been a great opportunity for them in terms of career trajectory.”
No shit. Since winning, Tank has gone on to support international heavyweights like Lorde and Lana Del Rey, while Chan has played the Vivid Live Festival with Karen O. That’s nothing to sniff at.
Holland’s going to be a festival first timer this year. It’s awe- and envy-inspiring hearing the line-up. “The range of artists at the festival is amazingly broad,” she exclaims. “In past years they’ve had Bjork. This year, the larger acts include Tiny Ruins, Caribou and The Flaming Lips. There’s quite a lot and they’re varied, but they’re all artists we’d play on the station. I’m actually quite interested in seeing Future Islands. Did you see their much-viewed performance on Letterman? It was right out there.”
And listening to previous winner, the delightfully named and natured Rainbow Chan, is a buzz too. Chan plays beautiful, sometimes haunting synth-pop and it seems that fate played a hand in her selection as a winner. Being a self-confessed ‘Iceland-nerd’, she was already in Iceland doing fieldwork for her Honours thesis about Bjork’s Homogenic when the competition was announced. “Yeah, about eleven friends emailed me to say ‘have you heard about this contest? You have to enter it’,” Chan laughs.
She thinks there were about 600 entries the year she applied, but it came down to her and Tank and the experience sounds surreal. “I hadn’t ever played outside Sydney before,” she marvels. “It was so bizarre that these were my first shows. It was a decent crowd to check us out too! I was grateful anyone was there quite frankly.”
How did winning change things for Chan? “It opened a lot of doors,” she says. “When I got back, I got management and more shows. It was hand-in-hand with hard work, but it was definitely a springboard that allowed me to be recognised on a bigger platform. I owe a lot to FBi – they were the first people to give me a chance.”
Chan’s also got some sage advice. “If you’re thinking ‘I might give it a go’ – just do it,” she urges. “You’ve got nothing to lose and you just never know.
“And if you win,” she continues, “Reykjavik is such an interesting city. The landscape is the most dream-like and beautiful I’ve ever seen. If you can afford it, book some day tours and explore nature. It’s quite cold though, so bring a beanie.”
BY MEG CRAWFORD
