FBi Reveals 2014 Northern Lights Competition Winners

The biggest annual Northern Lights competition to date — hosted, as always, by Sydney community radio station FBi — has come to a close, with Melbourne's LUCIANBLOMKAMP and Sydney's The Walking Who being named as the victors from this year's breathtaking talent pool.

The win will see the Victorian producer and New South Welsh outfit whisked across to Iceland to perform at the 2014 Iceland Airwaves Festival, which is FBi's partner in orchestrating Northern Lights and the fifteenth iteration of which will be held this November.

The pair of acts were chosen from a field of just less than 600 entries from all around Australia, and will now not only have the chance to play for the festival's dedicated audience, but spend time in the studio, networking, and meeting with global industry professionals, all the while having enough time to take in the unique, eye-opening surrounds of Reykjavik and beyond.

It's been a meteoric year for young LUCIANBLOMKAMP, who at the age of 20 has already asserted himself as one of the country's most exciting up-and-coming solo talents. He very recently dropped his debut full-length Post Nature via Yes Please! Records, and finds himself at the precipice of a brand new era as a result of his Northern Lights victory.

"It's been a lifelong dream to be able to take my music overseas, and it's a surreal feeling to know that FBi has made this dream into a reality," LUCIANBLOMKAMP said in a statement. "I can't explain how much this means to me and how excited it has made me for my future as a musician. I can tell that Iceland Airwaves is bound to be an amazing experience that I won't forget."

The festival stands to be similarly valuable for psychedelic Sydneysiders The Walking Who, who also have recently put out a debut release — the warmly received Mansions EP — and are all set to make good on achieving a long-held goal of playing among the hot springs and glacial landscapes of Iceland.

"Since watching Sigur Ros' live DVD, Heima, back in 2007, dreams of swimming in volcanic hot springs began to form," the band said in a statement. "The decision had been made to one day, somehow, travel to Iceland.

"Now, finding out not only that FBi are sending us but going there to play music in one of the world's best music festivals with your mates is simply a brain f---. Truly the best thing a bunch of Aussie lads could ever ask for."

"It's no secret that Australia punches way above its weight when it comes to the quality of our home-grown talent," festival director Stephen Goodhew said in a statement. "To be able to take a couple of our favourite emerging artists and show them off at an international festival, alongside some of the most respected names in music, is a huge opportunity that we're proud to offer."

LUCIANBLOMKAMP and The Walking Who join the existing Iceland Airwaves line-up, which features luminous acts such as The Knife, Future Islands, How To Dress Well, The War On Drugs, Kelela, Adult Jazz and several others. Keep a close eye on both in the near future — they're both well-poised to break through in a big way from here.