Sigur Rós - Jónsi

In the last 25 years, Iceland has deservedly became part of the conversation for lovers of good Pop & Rock music. It was mostly because of two acts: singer/songwriter/actress Bjork and the band Sigur Rós, whose frontman, Jónsi, is an out gay man.

Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson was born on born 23 April 1975 in Iceland. He is blind in his right eye from birth as a result of a malfunctioning optic nerve. Jónsi fronted a grunge band called Stoned around 1992–1993. He then fronted a band called 'Bee Spiders', under the alias 'Jonny B'.

In January 1994, in Reykjavík, Iceland, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (guitar and vocals), Georg Hólm (bass) and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson (drums) formed the group Sigur Rós. The band's name is Icelandic wordplay: while the individual words Sigur and Rós mean, respectively, Victory and Rose, "Victory Rose" wouldn't be grammatically correct; the name is actually borrowed from Jónsi's younger sister Sigurrós, who was born a few days before the band was formed, and then split into two words.

In 1997 they released their first album, Von (Hope). It was an experimental work, the band reaching out to find their individual voice. Von was originally released in Iceland to moderate critical acclaim, originally selling 313 copies. It eventually became platinum.

Myrkur (Darkness) was a track that stood out:

The title track was another:

Kjartan Sveinsson (keyboards) joined the band in 1998. He was the only member of Sigur Rós with musical training, and has contributed most of the orchestral and string arrangements for their later work.

International acclaim came with 1999's Ágætis Byrjun (A Good Beginning). The album's reputation spread by word of mouth over the following two years. Soon critics worldwide hailed it as one of the great albums of all time, and the band was playing support to established acts such as Radiohead. Three songs, Ágætis Byrjun, Svefn-g-englar, and a live take of the then-unreleased Njósnavélin (later 'unnamed' Untitled #4) appeared in the Cameron Crowe film Vanilla Sky. The former two also subsequently appeared in the US version of the television series Queer as Folk. Their music has also appeared in the TV series 24 with Ný Batterí, and CSI with Svefn-g-englar. In 2004, Wes Anderson used Starálfur in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as did the Emmy-winning 2005 TV film The Girl in the Café. In Enki Bilal's Immortel (Ad Vitam) the song Hjartað Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm) is used. The song Svefn-g-englar was also used on V on 24 November 2009 and features prominently in Café de Flore released in 2011.

After the release of Ágætis byrjun, the band became well known for Jónsi's signature style of reverb accentuated guitar work using a cello's bow, and his falsetto or countertenor voice.

Svefn-g-englar (Sleep, Angels) is a masterpiece: it creeps up on you and immerses you in a fugue-like state. Switch your lights down low and enjoy it:

Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása (Good Weather For An Airstrike) is of particular interest to us: it spawned a cinematic and controversial (for "the others") / inspirational (for us) music video. Set in 1950s Iceland, it features a football match between two teams of young boys. As one team scores a goal and celebrates, two young boys on the same team begin to kiss. The kiss is eventually broken up by the boys' fathers. All band members appear in cameo in the video: Jónsi is the soccer team coach, Orri is the scorekeeper, Georg is the referee, and Kjartan is one of the spectators. Do watch it please!

The title track, Ágætis byrjun, is also definitely worth listening to:

Their next album came out in 2002 and was titled (). No, there's no mistake here, the album's title consists of two opposing parentheses, representing either the album's two halves (the first lighter and more optimistic, the second bleaker and more melancholic), or the idea that the album has no title, leaving the listener free to determine it. Jónsi sang the album's lyrics entirely in "Hopelandic", a made-up language consisting of gibberish words.

The songs are also untitled. There are no liner notes or production credits included, although packaged with the album is a booklet of twelve blank pages, on which listeners are invited to write or draw their own interpretations of the album's music. ( ) holds a Metacritic score of 82/100 based on twenty reviews, making it one of the thirty highest-scored albums of 2002 according to Metacritic.

Here's Untitled #1, which was released as a single and had some chart success: it peaked at #4 in Canada, #20 in Denmark, #31 in Ireland, #72 in the UK, and #98 in Germany.

My favorite from this album is Untitled #3:

I also love Untitled #4:

For many believers, the music of Sigur Rós has been a soundtrack for worship; that is, the band’s soaring melodies and non-linear vocals draw the listener up to focus on higher things. Perhaps it may best be thought of as “spiritual” music—not explicitly religious, but art that tries to transcend the ordinary of human experience and tap into something more than temporal reality. That might sound ridiculous and ostentatious, but it’s also the best way to talk about their music: it’s transporting.

Takk... (Thanks...) (2005) was their fourth studio album. Their third #1 in Iceland, it was also a hit in Italy (#4), Norway (#4), Ireland (#6), Finland (#8), Sweden (#12), the UK (#16), Denmark (#16), Australia (#19), the US (#27), Germany (#27), and France (#30).

Glósóli (Glowing Sole) was the first single released from the album and it also had an impressive video:

Hoppípolla (Hopping Into Puddles) was the band's most successful single. It was used in many TV events and film soundtracks, most notably in advertisements for the BBC's Planet Earth TV series, BBC's coverage of top football events, as well as for the Cameron Crowe film starring Matt Damon, We Bought A Zoo. I couldn't find the official video on YouTube (it's geo-blocked), but here's an excellent live version:

Sæglópur (Lost At Sea), was another single off this album. it was also extensively used in other media, most notably on the trailer for The Life Of Pi and was also featured in the final episode of Neflix's Sense8 Season 1.

Hvarf/Heim (Reaction/Home) (2007) is a compilation album. Hvarf contains studio versions of previously unreleased songs (with the exception of Hafsól), while Heim contains live acoustic versions of songs already released.

Hljómalind was the album's single. Its name comes from a record store in Reykjavík called Hljómalind.

Their next album came out in 2008. It was called Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly). In general, the music continues Sigur Rós' departure from their generally ethereal and minimalist music, being (as the title and cover suggest) more playful and fanciful than their early work, featuring more traditional guitar melodies, acoustic instrumentation, and folk-oriented compositions following in the vein of their later albums. It was also a big commercial hit worldwide.

Gobbledigook was their first single:

Next came Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur (Within Me A Lunatic Sings):

All Alright was the band's first track sung in English:

The next Sigur Rós album would be released 4 years later. Jónsi announced that Sigur Rós was on "an indefinite hiatus", as several members of Sigur Rós recently had children, and as Jónsi developed his solo career. In 2009 Jónsi and his partner Alex Somers completed their first album together, entitled Riceboy Sleeps. The instrumental album was recorded in Iceland and played solely on acoustic instruments and mixed in Hawaii. From this album, here's Happiness, which first appeared on the 2009 AIDS benefit Album Dark Was the Night.

In 2010 Jónsi released a solo album called Go. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scoring a 76/100 on the music review aggregator website Metacritic.

The first single was the exuberant Go Do:

The next single was yet another joyful track called Animal Arithmetic:

Generally, Jónsi's music was much more upbeat that his work with his band. Could a reason for that be that his partner Alex Somers was also working with him here?

Sinking Friendships was also heard in the We Bought A Zoo film.

He also wrote and performed Sticks & Stones for the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack (2010):

Four years later he collaborated on the How To Train Your Dragon 2 soundtrack. Here's Where No One Goes:

The next Sigur Rós album was released in 2012 and was called Valtari (Roller). The album was commercially successful going at #8 in the UK Albums Chart, #7 in the Billboard 200 and #1 in Iceland. It was met with positive reviews as well with Metacritic, receiving an average score of 74, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Two singles were released from the album, the first being for Ekki Múkk (Quiet Here):

The next single was Varúð (Caution):

On 24 January 2013, the band announced the departure of Kjartan Sveinsson, saying "Yes[,] he has left the band. He said he spent half his life in the band and it was time to do something different." Kjartan's departure transformed the band into a "three piece band" (as referenced by the band itself.)

Their latest (and so far last) album was released on on June 17, 2013. Kveikur (Priming) sees a new direction taken by Sigur Rós, both musically and thematically. The band has described the album's sound as "more aggressive" than any of their previous works. The lead single was Brennisteinn (Sulfur):

At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 80, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 36 reviews. The album's second single was Ísjaki (Iceberg):

In 2014 they appeared on Game Of Thrones and also covered The Rains of Castamere:

They are currently working with the American producer John Congleton and have released a new single 3 months ago, called Oveður (Storms).

Jónsi Birgisson and his band have had an indelible impact on ambient music. With their symphonies swept up in falsetto and vivacity, they’ve influenced everyone from Radiohead to Coldplay, and won fans as diverse as David Bowie and Brad Pitt. But beyond Sigur Rós’ musicality, their unique brand of wordless orchestra reaches many fans on a profound, soulful level.