Sigur Rós

Agaetis Byrjun

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Just as it clocks up its first birthday in the Icelandic charts (much of that time spent in the No.1 slot), comes the news that Sigur Rós’ breakthrough album, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’, is to be released in Britain on August 14 on FatCat Records. Like the group’s two celebrated UK EPs, ‘Svefn-G-Englar’ and ‘Ny Batterí’, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ was recorded in Reykjavik with producer Ken Thomas.

Already the cause of much clamouring anticipation, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ approximates in English to ‘A New Beginning’ or ‘A Good Start’. It is the group’s second album proper, following 1997’s ‘Von’ (‘Hope’) and its sister remix release ‘Von Brigði’ (literally ‘Variations on Hope’, although punningly also ‘Disappointment’ and ‘Recycle Bin’!). Sung in Jonsí’s usual mixture of Icelandic and his own private Hopelandish, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ is the first album to feature keyboard player and second guitarist, Kjartan Sveinsson. It was recorded before the arrival of new drummer Orri Pall Dyrason.

Sigur Rós first came to light in 1994 when they cropped up alongside Bjork, Unun and other Icelandic independent artists on a compilation celebrating 50 years of Icelandic independence from Denmark. Still called Victory Rose (the English translation of Sigur Rós, itself a variant on Jonsí’s sister name Sigurros), they were fronted by the then 17 year old Jonsí, and went on to record ‘Von’, which in 1998 spawned a No.1 single, ‘Leit Af Lifi’, and saw them voted the country’s Brightest Hope.

Sigur Rós began recording ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ in Summer 1998 at Reykjavik’s Studio Sasyrland with Ken Thomas, who had previosly worked with the Sugarcubes. It was released in Iceland on Smekkleysa last June, and slowly climbed to the top of the chart, where it resolutely remained. At the Icelandic music awards last December Sigur Rós and ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ were voted Band and Album of the Year respectively, and Jonsí both Best Vocalist and Guitarist.

The group first met Alex and Dave from FatCat early last Spring when the pair were over DJing for a major GusGus show in Reykjavik, at which Sigur Rós were supporting. Following the UK release of the two FatCat EPs, Sigur Rós have played sell-out UK shows at the Union Chapel, Astoria and with Godspeed You Black Emperor! at the Royal Festival Hall. They are about to headline the Labradford-organised Festival of Drifting with dates up and down the country.