KEXP at Iceland Airwaves, Day 3: Young Karin

Our second Iceland Airwaves band of the day live from Kex Hostel in downtown Reykjavik was Icelandic trip hop and electro pop group Young Karin, played Bumbershoot in Seattle this year. They are a new band, having formed just last year. But they are already garnering attention at home and abroad. They have one EP out recently and another set to drop soon. Officially, Young Karin are the duo of Karin Sveinsdóttir and Logi Pedro (younger brother of Uni Stefson, both members of Retro Stefson), and today they were joined by drummer Hrafnkell Örn Guðjónsson (of Agent Fresco).

They kicked off their set with three new, as of yet unreleased songs, "Black Water", "True Believer", and "End of Summer" and all made full use of the subwoofers, pumping out big bass beats. Guðjónsson added in alternating electro and acoustic drum fills. The beats were dark, yet somewhat danceable. Sveinsdóttir has a pretty, powerful voice that she used to good effect, especially on later tunes. Some songs had a more rocking feel, and even some indie rock-like guitar lines, others touched on a modern R&B feel. But overall this was an electro pop show in a darker, more melancholy vein. They closed with two songs off their debut EP n1, "Sirens", and their single, "Hearts". Bass and synths filled the room, and Sveinsdóttir's voice soared above.

Up next is Prins Póló at 10am PST on 90.3FM in Seattle, and streaming audio and video live all over the world at kexp.org.