sigur rós

sigur rós si-ur rose (the i is like the i in "hit". "rose" is said very quickly) ...



"Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with shoegazing and minimalist elements. The name is Icelandic for "victory rose" and is pronounced "see oor roce", or in the International Phonetic Alphabet, although a more popular (and incorrect) variation in the English-speaking world is 'sigger ross'"

This band amazes me. The music video to "Glósóli" from 'Takk...' is well worth the download.

They are hard to peg as they sound so unique...they create haunting tracks with spectacular dynamics. I listen to this CD at work and I tend to forget that I am at work and have to wake myself up with something loud or non-dreamy. Their music is spectacular zone out music.

"Jón Þór (Jónsi) Birgisson, Georg Hólm and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson formed the group in Reykjavík in August 1994. Their name is taken from Jónsi's younger sister Sigurrós, who was born the same day. They soon won a record deal with a local record label, Bad Taste. In 1997, they released Von (Hope) and in 1998 a remix collection named Von brigði. The name is Icelandic wordplay: Vonbrigði means "disappointment", but Von brigði means "hope alteration". (In English, the album is sometimes known by the alternative name "Recycle Bin".)
International acclaim came with 1999's Ágætis Byrjun ("An alright start") for which the band were joined by Kjartan Sveinsson. The album's reputation slowly spread by word of mouth over the next two years. Soon many critics worldwide hailed it as one of the best albums of its time and the band was playing with Radiohead and other big names. Three songs, Ágætis Byrjun's title track, its first single "Svefn-g-englar", and a live take of the then-unreleased "Njósnavélin" (to become "Untitled #4") appeared in the Cameron Crowe film Vanilla Sky.
After the release of Ágætis Byrjun, the band became perhaps most well known for Birgisson's signature style of playing guitar with the bow from a cello, accentuated with reverb, creating a sweeping, fluid sound that is unique for an electric guitar.
Drummer Ágúst left the band after the recording of Ágætis Byrjun 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 known as untitled (and then a number), however the band later published song names on their website. All lyrics are sung entirely in "Hopelandic", an improvised nonsense language created by Jón Þór Birgisson which resembles the sound 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 October of 2003, Sigur Rós joined Radiohead in composing music for Merce Cunningham's dance piece Split Sides; Sigur Rós' three tracks were named Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do and released in March of 2004. The band's 1997 debut album Von also finally found a U.S. and U.K. release in October of 2004. Their latest album, Takk... (Thanks...), falls between the styles of their first two albums, and was released on September 13, 2005, with a legal download of their first single, Glósóli, made available on August 15. For North American fans, Sæglópur was made available for download on August 16. Hoppípolla, the second official single from Takk..., was released on November 28 alongside a new studio remake of Hafssól, a song which was previously released on the band's 1997 debut, Von.
An extended Sæglópur EP is set for release in the Spring. Sigur Rós have recorded four new songs to appear on the EP. The band has also scripted a video to Sæglópur, which they will direct themselves.
Sigur Rós has sold over 2 million albums worldwide."

Enjoy the video...

Mark Harvey
Space Music Listener