“I was thinking that next time, I might throw some catsuits into the audience,” muses the elfin Hafdis Huld as we discuss her recently completed set in a baking hot field in Herefordshire during the Big Chill festival.

“Do it,” I reply to the sound of a lot of worms escaping from a big open can. “I will, I will. You shouldn’t dare me to do that…I actually have a gold catsuit. Have you seen my ‘Tomoko’ video? There is a skin-tight gold catsuit in there and if you dare me then that may very well be forced on someone.”

Not one to discourage the wearing of such an outfit, I double dare Hafdis, putting a bottle of something potent on the line if she gets someone to wear said item at her forthcoming Reykjavik Nights gig in London. “Yes, OK! We will definitely need a bottle of something to get these people to get into the catsuit, some Reyka vodka! How about you, why don’t you put on the catsuit?”

A few more worms escape the can. “Maybe I could just wear some traditional form of Icelandic clothing,” I venture, thinking I could get away with a joke shop-style horned Viking helmet. Not satisfied at this, she continues: “What will that be? What will that be? I am expecting to look forward to this!” Unsurprisingly I’m not, but a bet is a bet and I’m sure gambling laws prohibit me from participating in the event we’re betting on – no catsuit for me.

The gig earmarked for the catsuit cameo is Hafdis Huld’s headlining slot at Reykjavik Nights, a new bi-monthly Icelandic band night that aims to transplant that country’s best musical talent into The Luminaire in Kilburn, for a Nordic-themed evening of raucous music and life-embellishing boozing with like-minded souls.

The first night, judging by several highly complimentary reviews, was pretty special with the current zeitgeists of Icelandic electro, Trabant, entertaining a merry melting pot of Londoners until the early hours with support from punkish Aela and London-based Tin Ten Yen (an honorary Icelander for the evening). This time round, the night has an obvious pop slant with Hafdis Huld. Her debut album, Dirty Paper Cup, and her festival performance provided a glimpse of some genuinely charismatic song writing. She also played a cover of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, complete with banjo solo, during her slot at the Big Chill.

The evening also features two other bands; Jan Mayen, a multi-award-nominated Reykjavik-based guitar band similar in ambition to The Strokes with a hint of The Klaxons and a large slab of old Seattle-style grunge, plus the intriguing Motion Boys. The two-piece Motion Boys are led by the Icelandic equivalent of Fatboy Slim; the confusingly named Arni + 1. Apart from having a name which must get his mate or girlfriend past plenty of guest list restrictions, Arni + 1 also plays in a plethora of electro-oriented Icelandic bands which combine to make Norman Cook’s career look relatively sedate, despite Arni still being in his twenties.

The Motion Boys will be joined by a formidable selection of Icelandic musicians to help re-create their rather complex studio sound on stage. This motley crew include members of Trabant and Minus which, if you’re not familiar with Icelandic music, is like having Calvin Harris and Iron Maiden as your backing band for the night.

After covering her imminent London performance and gold catsuits, Hafdis Huld moves onto other pressing cultural matters. “I think (Queen) Elizabeth might have me over for scones and cream tea. You see, I have been reading up on what posh English people do! But no pissed-on shark, no smoked sheep’s faces, no pickled sheep’s testicles, no dried fish (all Icelandic delicacies)… am I supposed to starve?”

Slightly taken aback at the thought of pissed-on shark and smoked sheep’s face entering the mouth of such a pleasant young lady, I counter this list of edible oddities with a related true fact: “I ate pilot whale recently.”

Confusion instantly spreads across her face and I try to explain what a pilot whale is. “What is that? A whale that flies a plane? That would be good if it was…”
I point out that a pilot whale is an impractical size to captain an aircraft and, after some lengthy discussions, we conclude that a dolphin, if it had to be a water-borne mammal, could be a better option to fly a plane. “True. But what would you feel more comfortable with, if you had to choose – a plane flown by a whale or by a dolphin?”

A dolphin is the obvious answer; anyone who ever watched Flipper on a Sunday morning knows that a dolphin could easily make the switch from goody-two-shoes sea life to Tom Cruise-like hero.

“Also, you could have a conversation with a dolphin,” she finally adds. So take note Icelandair - when Hafdis Huld gets on the plane to London for Reykjavik Nights in a few days, she’s expecting a dolphin in the pilot’s seat and she wants a chat.

www.tourdates.co.uk/hafdishuld

Reykjavik Nights takes place on Wednesday 26 September 2007 at The Luminaire.