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.
