Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós is a musical group Icelandic related with the movement Post-rock'n'roll/Space rock'n'roll/Ambient, created with Reykjavík in 1994. The style of Sigur Rós has traditional elements and minimalists, and it is éthéré. The Fausset of Jónsi is also famous.

Members

Current

Having left the group

Others

Amiina, a String quartet accompanying them on the compositions present on the albums like in spectacle:
  • María Huld Markan - Violin
  • Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir - Violin
  • Ólöf Júlía Kjartansdóttir - viola
  • Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir - Violoncello

History of the group

Jón Þór Birgisson ( Jónsi ), Georg Hólm ( Goggi ) and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson formed a musical group on January 4th 1994, one week after the birth of Sigurrós (in French “Rose of the victory”), the sister of Jón Þór Birgisson, which gave its name to the group. They quickly gained the right to produce an album with Bad Taste, a local label. With a limited budget, they recorded Von (“Hope”), which left in 1997 to Iceland, quickly followed by an album of remix, Von brigði (“Modification of hope”, vonbrigði meaning despair).

The group increases with the arrival of Kjartan Sveinsson ( Kjarri ) for the album Ágætis byrjun (“a good start”) which left in 1999 to the Fat Cat. This second album had very good echoes near criticisms and obtained a good success near the public, particularly with the the United Kingdom. Agust Ævar Gunnarsson left the group after this recording and was replaced by Orri Páll Dýrason. The popularity of the group believed gradually during the two years which followed, helped by the word of mouth. Thom Yorke, principal type-setter of Radiohead, having particularly appreciated this album, made it possible Sigur Rós to play in first part of the European round of Radiohead (fine 2000, after the exit of Kid has). According to the rumor, it even appears that Thom, after having listened to their album, balanced a good part of the pieces which they were composing by thinking that these compositions were nothing beside those of their Icelandic counterparts. Collaboration with Radiohead continues always at present. Sigur Rós will see its audience and its public widened with the presence of three pieces ( Ágætis byrjun , Svefn-g-englar as well as a version recorded in concert of Njósnavélin ) in the film Vanilla Sky of Cameron Crowe, left in 2001.

In 2002, the group left the album () recorded in its personal studio, in an unused swimming pool of Álafoss, in the suburbs of Reykjavík, which gives a tonality rougher and heavy to its music. This third album with the characteristic to be completely sung in vonlenska (see below) and that no title of piece is apparent on the small pocket.

In October 2003, Sigur Rós and Radiohead take part together in the project Split Sides ; while they play, the dancers of Merce Cunningham improvise their movements. The three pieces played by Sigur Rós were integrated into the EP Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do which appeared in March 2004. In October of the same year, Von was finally distributed to the the United States and the United Kingdom.

The fourth album, Takk… (“Thank you… ”), in September 2005 at EMI left. This album keeps its aspect envoûtant by naturally perpetuating the hanging melodies which make the beauty of the music of the group since soon ten years.

The new album of Sigur Rós could leave in 2007 if one believes of it a declaration of the bass player Georg Hólm: “We are for the moment in experimental phase. A few pieces were already recorded. Some of them were written a long time ago; we decided that it was time to put them on tape. ”

In addition, always in 2007, Sigur Rós will occur in concert with Miami with the dancers of Merce Cunningham.

Remarks

Languages of the words

When they are sung, the pieces of Sigur Rós can have words written in Icelandic or vonlenska . The vonlenska is a “language” invented by Jón Þór Birgisson, not having any direction but having on the other hand a sonority close to Icelandic. In fact, in the development of the pieces, the song is initially carried out in vonlenska before real words are not sometimes added there. Certain pieces were simply published directly in this state of outline. The vonlenska term comes from Icelandic von , meaning hope, the suffix - lenska pointing out íslenska (Icelandic). " I called it as that because the first time that I sang as that it was on Von that one translates into English by “hope”. " I think that nobody can include/understand except me. Or, at least, people include/understand by themselves, in their own manner. Everyone hears a different significance (Jón Þór Birgisson). " A French translation could thus be “espoirlandais”. The words of Von and Ágætis byrjun , except for the pieces Von and Olsen Olsen , are written in Icelandic, those of () , of Von and Olsen Olsen being in vonlenska .

Others

  • Jón Þór Birgisson generally plays of the guitar with a bow of Violoncelle, which generates an atmospheric sound, technical having already been used by some rock groups in the Sixties in particular by Jimmy Page, the guitarist of the group Led Zeppelin.
  • Georg Hólm plays sometimes of the low guitar with a rod of battery and Orri Páll Dýrason of the Cymbales with a bow.
  • Jón Þór Birgisson sings in Falsetto (voice of head), and was already made confuse with a woman.
  • They are accompanied on scene by Amiina, a Icelandic string quartet.
  • On scene, it is very rare that the group communicates between the pieces with the public.
  • the name Sigur Rós is in fact the first name of the little sister of Jón Þór Birgisson, spelled Sigurrós . It was also the name of his/her grandmother. The use of the orthography Sigur Rós is not grammatical in Icelandic and does not have a direction.

Discography

Albums

Individual and EP

DVDs

Other productions

External bonds

  • '' Eighteen Second Before Sunrise '' - Official site, with musical extracts and vidéos.
  • '' Vonlenska '' - Words and translations in French of the texts of Sigur Rós.
  • '' Hopeland '' - Forum French-speaking on Sigur Rós.
  • '' French-speaking Ny batteri '' first site devoted to Sigur Rós (updated last 10/26/2002).

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