It is Thursday but it really feels like it’s Saturday. I have a feeling it’s always weekend when Kaleo‘s around.
The band members are as cool as they come with their free spirits and Icelandic flair. They even manage to make winter overalls look trendy. Their guitarist, Rubin, takes on a leadership role. He’s a tall, charming man with curly hair that everyone dreams of but no one can achieve with any perm on the planet. He helps me make sure everyone is geared up and we head towards the monster truck that will take us to the snowmobiles.
The group they’ve surrounded themselves with is just as cool as the band members. Their sound engineer suggests a spontaneous road trip between cities in California and tells me his street art has been featured in Family Guy. I’m both intrigued and impressed. Everyone from family members and friends to videographers and managers is nice and laid-back characters. I wonder what role they’ve played in Kaleo’s success.
The ride in the truck is quite an adventure. I hear comments on how they’ve never seen a bigger vehicle and the group is giddy when we cross over bumpy spots. I’m not surprised but it seems like they are all true adventurers.
The snowmobile tour starts and off we go. We dash across the shimmering snowfields. It’s a perfect day, the sun is shining and the view is so magnificent it seems like the Icelandic highlands surrounding us are never-ending. We make quite a few stops on the way, admiring the sights in front of us and for a moment, just letting life take over. A part of the group starts making a snowman, a pretty impressive one I must say. Soon enough, we are filming a video of our guide crashing into the snowman with a group jumping around and doing aerobics in the background. The creative juices are apparently always flowing.
Kaleo has been a frequent visitor to my Spotify playlists. After having spent the day with them, I like them even more. They have a fresh sound, a sound you wouldn’t necessarily expect from Iceland if you’ve grown accustomed to Björk and Sigurrós. Kaleo is now touring all over America and will continue their tour in Europe in November. I have never seen them live but hopefully, I’ll catch them this winter. You should do the same.
Vigdís Ingibjörg Pálsdóttir
