BAM 2017: JFDR + Samaris + Reykjavíkurdætur + Kiasmos

Reykjavik is the guest city at this year's Mercè celebrations, and so BAM welcomes Icelandic bands to the stages in Plaça dels Àngels and Plaça Joan Coromines. First up it's JFDR (8.15pm), the solo project from Jófríður Ákadóttir, singer with Samaris (9.45pm), who perform on the same stage afterward and who are one of the most popular Icelandic bands outside of their home country; they present 'Black Lights' (2016), their third album and the first with all the lyrics in English, which has upped the evocative power of their music. Reykjavíkurdætur (11.15pm) is a female hip hop collective that was born out of the lack of women's voices on the Icelandic rap scene; and Kiasmos (12.45am) the electronic project from Ólafur Arnalds's and Janus Rasmussen, from the electropop outfit Bloodgroup, with their clubber spirit and minimalist soul.