Sigur Ros Map Brief Six Date US Tour : April 13, 2012

It was not long ago that Sigur Ros announced their first live show in more than four years when the revealed they would play a set at the U.K.’s Bestival Festival in Se [...]

Sigur Ros, Black Keys, MGMT Line Up to Play Osheaga Music Festival : March 21, 2012

Though the organizers of Montreal’s Osheaga festival have been tweeting confirmed acts throughout this month, the official lineup for the event has now been released. [...]

Sigur Ros’ Jonsi Scores Cameron Crowe’s Latest ‘We Bought the Zoo’ : August 03, 2011

News came via Twitter, as so often happens these days. Todd VanDerWerff, The A.V. Club television critic, sent word while at Television Critics Press Tour. Cameron Crow [...]

sigur ros Biography

The Icelandic band Sigur Ros was formed in 1994 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Band members include Orri Pall Dyrason, Kjarri Sveinsson, Gerg Holm and Jonsi Birgisson. The post-rock band blends minimalist and classical elements to form their sound. The band is noted for using the bowed guitar, the falsetto vocals of frontman Jonsi Birgisson and their ethereal sound. The band announced in January 2010 that they were going on an indefinite hiatus so that band members could have more time to spend with their families and to explore solo careers.

Sigur Ros was established in 1994 by drummer Agust Aevar Gunnarsson, bassist Georg Holm and vocalist and guitarist Jonsi Birgisson. The signed a recording deal with Bad Taste, a record label owned by the Sugarcubes. They released “Von” in 1997. In 1998, keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson joined the band. In 1999, Sigur Ros achieved international acclaim after releasing the album “Agaetis Byrjun.” Three songs from the set appeared in “Vanilla Sky,” the Cameron Crowe film.

After “Agaetis Byrjun” was recorded Gunnarsson left the band and Orri Pall Dyrason replaced him on drums. They released the album in 2002. The lyrics are all sung in a constructed language called Vonlenska made up of nonsense syllables resembling Icelandic phonology. In 2005, the band released “Takk,” their fourth album. It had a structure that was more rock oriented. The song “Hoppipolla” off the set appeared in the film “Penelope” and in the trailers for the movies “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Children of Men.” In June 2008 Sigur Ros released “Meo suo I eyrum vio spilum endalaust,” their fifth studio album. The set was stylistically different than their earlier works and featured more guitar and fewer strings, with the songs being more pop-oriented.