Sigur Rós ( ) is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi's falsetto vocals, and their use of bowed guitar, Sigur Rós incorporate classical and minimal aesthetic elements. Jónsi's vocals are sung in Icelandic and non-linguistic vocalisations the band terms Vonlenska. They have released eight studio albums, and attracted critical and commercial attention with their second album Ágætis byrjun (1999).
History 1997–1998: Von and Von brigði
Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (guitar and vocals), Georg Hólm (bass) and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson (drums) formed Sigur Rós in Reykjavík in January 1994. The band's name, which means 'Victory Rose', is taken from the name of Jónsi's younger sister, Sigurrós, born a few days before the band was formed.
Sigur Rós signed a record deal with the Icelandic Sugarcubes-owned record label Bad Taste, because they thought the falsetto vocals would appeal to teenage girls. In 1997, they released and in 1998 a remix collection, . The band was joined by Kjartan Sveinsson on keyboards in 1998. He is the only member of Sigur Rós with musical training, and contributed most of the orchestral and string arrangements for their later work.
1999–2001: Ágætis byrjun
International acclaim came with 1999's . The album's reputation spread by word of mouth over the following two years. Soon critics worldwide were praising it effusively, and the band drew praise from high-profile acts such as Radiohead, Coldplay and David Bowie.
Three songs, "", "", and a live take, from a 2000 concert in Denmark, of the then-unreleased "" (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 "", and CSI with "". In 2004, Wes Anderson used "" 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 "" is used. The song "" was also used on V on 24 November 2009, and features prominently in Café de Flore released in 2011.
After the release of , the band became known for Jónsi's signature style of reverb accentuated guitar work using a cello's bow.
2001–2004: ( )
In 2001, Sigur Rós christened their newly completed studio by recording an EP titled with an Icelandic fisherman named Steindór Andersen. The EP contains six songs, all of which feature Steindór Andersen reciting traditional Icelandic rímur poetry. Sigur Rós accompany him on three songs. Two songs feature Steindór alone. The last song on the EP, "", is a duet with Sigurður Sigurðarson. A thousand copies of the EP were printed and sold during the spring tour of 2001. The EP was sold in a blank-white-paper case. In 2001 the band toured in Canada, performing at Massey Hall in Toronto in September., Chart Attack, 20 September 2001, Reviewed by: Chris Burland
Drummer Ágúst left the band after the recording of and was replaced by Orri Páll Dýrason. In 2002, their highly anticipated follow-up album ( ) was released. Upon release all tracks on the album were untitled, though the band later published song names on their website. All of the lyrics on ( ) are sung in Vonlenska, also known as Hopelandic, a language without semantic meaning, which resembles the phonology of the Icelandic language. It has also been said that the listener is supposed to interpret their own meanings of the lyrics which can then be written in the blank pages in the album booklet.
In 2002, the band also wrote an original score for the Bodyscript dance production by Wayne McGregor Random Dance in collaboration with Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Arts Council England.
In October 2003, Sigur Rós and Radiohead both composed music for Merce Cunningham's dance piece Split Sides; Sigur Rós's three tracks were released on the March 2004 EP Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do. Radiohead's contribution was not commercially released. Sigur Rós' 1997 debut album, Von, found a US and UK release in October 2004.
"Untitled 3" (a.k.a. "") from the album is used on the video 6AM by film maker Carmen Vidal, winner of the 2006 Student Academy Award. "Untitled 3" is also used at the end credits of the indie drama movie, Mysterious Skin. It can also be heard in Skins and CSI: Miami and the British TV Documentary Protecting Our Children as well as during a section of the London 2012 summer Olympics on the BBC. It can also be heard in the climactic scene of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga on Netflix. "Untitled 4" from the album (also called "") featured in the final scene of Vanilla Sky, and director Cameron Crowe commented: "We struggled to find an appropriate track to end the film with and then I went to see Sigur Rós perform in Los Angeles and they played this song, '', that was just perfect. I had to have it." This track is also featured on Canadian TV series Orphan Black in episode 10 of season 3.
2005–2006: Takk...
Their fourth album, employs the distinctive sound of their second album in a more rock oriented structure with greater use of the guitar, and was released in September 2005. "", the second official single from , was released in November alongside a new studio remake of "", a song that was previously released on the band's 1997 debut, . "" was used in the trailers for the BBC's natural history series Planet Earth in 2006, as well as the closing credits for the 2006 FA Cup final, ITV's coverage of the 2006 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, advertisements for the BBC's coverage of England games during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, on television advertisements for RTÉ's Gaelic games coverage in Ireland, and on an advertisement for Oxfam. It was also used in the final scene of the movie Penelope, for the trailer of the film Children of Men and for the trailer of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Following this, demand for the single grew. It was made more widely available by EMI in consequence. This song was also used in the trailer for the Disney movie Earth as well as in the 2011 film We Bought a Zoo. Whilst it does not appear on the film's soundtrack album, it is also featured in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga.
An extended EP was released in July 2006 in most parts of the world and in August in the United States. Its original release was scheduled in May, but because of the sudden demand of "" it was pushed back from that date. Sigur Rós recorded three new songs to appear on the EP ("", ", and ""). In July 2006, Sigur Rós finished a major world tour with stops in Europe, the United States (where they played a headline show at the Hollywood Bowl), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan. Upon return to their homeland, Sigur Rós provided a series of free surprise outdoor concerts throughout Iceland in July and August, playing in various venues such as abandoned bunkers and community coffee shops, all of which were included in the 2007 documentary film . They also performed twice in the United States in February.
2007: Heima and Hvarf/Heim
In August 2007, a limited DVD+CD edition of the 2002 soundtrack to the documentary was released. was released on 5 November (6 November in the U.S.), a double compilation album containing studio versions of previously unreleased songs — "", "" (formerly known as ""), "" and "" on , and acoustic studio versions of the songs: "", "", "", "", "" and "", on . On the same day (20 November in the U.S.) , a live DVD of the previous summer's Iceland tour, was released. Just prior to the release of , on 29 October, a single named "" was released.
The 2007 feature-length documentary from Sigur Rós's summer tour in Iceland, which occurred in 2006, attempts to shed light on the band's homeland. Therefore, the film is called , which means 'at home'. In the movie, the band members express their interpretation of Iceland. The film revolves around three main elements; the band playing live, the Icelandic nature shaping their music, along with interviews, where they tell the viewers what it was like to play at home in addition to sharing their overall experience of the tour.
To promote their film , the band scheduled a series of premiere screenings throughout the world, featuring a short acoustic set before the film and a question-and-answer session afterwards.
2008: Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Sigur Rós's fifth regular studio album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, was released in June 2008 to generally positive reviews. Stylistically different from their earlier releases, it featured fewer strings and more guitar, and had more pop-oriented songs, making it "the group's most accessible effort" while maintaining the "majestic beauty that defines the band's music." The final track "All Alright" is the band's first to be sung in English, though all the other lyrics are in Icelandic.
The band were announced as a headlining act for the 2008 Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay, Australia, Latitude Festival 2008, and the 2008 La Route du Rock Festival in St Malo, France. In addition, the band performed a late-night set at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, where they blew a speaker at the end of their second song. Jónsi Birgisson commented, "The piano is exploding, I think," one of the few things spoken in English.
The band released the first song from the album titled "Gobbledigook" for free on their website, along with a music video.
On 8 June, the whole album was made available for free streaming on their website.
In autumn 2008 Sigur Rós embarked on a world tour supporting their newly released album. The band played as a four-piece without Amiina and the brass band, the first time the band had played as a four-piece in seven years. The tour started on 17 September 2008 in the United States, at the United Palace Theater in New York City, and finished with a concert in Reykjavík at Laugardalshöll on 23 November 2008. The majority of the tour was European with the exception of concerts in the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan.
The track "Festival" from the album features in the score of the 2010 film 127 Hours, providing the euphoric backing to the climax of the movie. It is also featured at the end of HBO mini-series "24/7 – Flyers-Rangers".
The track "Untitled #7 (Dauðalagið)" was also featured in the launch trailer for Dead Space.
2009–2012: Hiatus, Inni, Valtari In 2009, Jónsi embarked on a solo adventure with his first solo album, Go, released the next year.Gershuny, Diane. "Time to Go." Electronic Musician. (2010): 18. ProQuest. Web. 13 June 2015.