If you’ve come across Iceland’s Daði Freyr before, there’s a good chance it was from 2020’s COVID-affected Eurovision Song Contest. Homemade jumpers, idiosyncratic dance routine and a hook that was catchy as hell, he was a sure fire winner.
Sad times for Europop fans then, when the whole thing was cancelled – and the song becoming a footnote in the history of the biggest song contest in the world. Or so you may have thought…
You see, Daði Freyr is still around and producing some incredibly catchy numbers. Finishing 4th in the 2021 contest kept him at the forefront of European music fans minds, and subsequent albums and tours show that his popularity shows no sign of waning.
Stylus in Leeds is packed out, maybe more than I’ve ever seen it, with a crowd that’s brimming with excitement, not just for the headliner, but for Montaigne, fellow 2020 Eurovision contestant from Australia.
Montaigne is a brilliantly quirky artist, with angular, rhythmical dance moves alongside their eclectic and theatrical music. Much of the set is centred around playful lyrics exploring identity and queerness. Both 3 minute entries to Eurovision – 2020’s Don’t Break Me and 2021’s excellent electro-pop number Technicolour – light up the room. It’s rare to see a support act so well received, but Montaigne captured the heart of Stylus.
Four screens flicker into life across the back of the stage as we approach from space. Daði Freyr’s smooth, deep tones welcome us to Planet Daði, where we are invited to simply enjoy ourselves as we hear the music.
The towering figure of Daði Freyr lollops on to the stage to huge cheers, and the opening chords of Where We Wanna Be which moves straight into I Don’t Wanna Talk. Between songs, Daði’s dry sense of humour, self-deprecating and witty, keeps everyone entertained. It’s a quirky line of comedy, which tonight centres around Daði turning up at our houses.
“If you don’t buy my album” he jokes, “well, I won’t do anything, but if you do buy it I’ll come round to your house personally”. It’s a recurring motif – a half-rebuke to keep us in line. “You really have to dance to this…” or “Sing along or…” It’s good stuff that keeps the light-hearted tone of the show ticking along perfectly.
He throws in some great covers too which elevates the mood throughout the night. Whitney’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody is brilliantly delivered, Montaigne returns to the stage for make me feel so… a collaboration the pair worked on in 2022, another upbeat playful track. Livin’ On A Prayer and Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again are both crowd pleasers too.
There are some standout pieces in this setlist though, proving that Daði Freyr is not just a novelty act. New track Wildfire is a great, upbeat piece, again showing his electro-virtuosity against a background of spiralling, star filled galaxies. 10 Years, the 4th place finisher in 2021 and a number 1 in Iceland, is the story of the enduring joy of a decade-long relationship set against some catchy synth melodies.
The room erupts one more time for Think About Things, the unlucky 2020 sure fire winner. And it’s every bit as good as we want it to be. It doesn’t have the Gagnamagnið involved this time for the solo show, but the screens show life size videos of Freyr, giving us the dance moves as the crowd sing along as loudly as they have all night.
It’s a joyful show, full of signature catchy hooks and synth wizardry. With the way things are right now, Planet Daði is pretty nice place to be.
