Tuesday 2 July 2013

SIGUR ROS

This post's artist is from the May 2013 Mix, this is track #30.

Band: SIGUR ROS
Genres: Atmospheric Rock / Dreamscapes / Experimental
Related artists: Solo stuff.
Country: Reykjavik, Iceland
Years Active: 1994-present
Song: "Staralfur"
Album: "Agaetis Byrjun"
Year: 1999
For fans of: Bjork, Ramona Cordova and drugs.

I used to work at a record store during the xmas holidays. Considering it was a chain, most of the music sold there was garbage. My friend, Gus Harris, actually - from The Mark Inside asked me to see if I could order a cd from an Icelandic band. He had to write the band name on a piece of paper - and, needless to say, our crappy mainstream store couldn't get it for less than $40. Fast forward 6 months later and he was able to find a copy, which he then let me listen to. I was quite the close-minded punk at the time - so the fact that I actually gave it a chance speaks volumes to SIGUR ROS - and my respect for Mr. Harris.

SIGUR ROS is what I would expect morphine to be like if it were somehow converted to music and taken aurally. The vocalist has one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard. When I saw them  in March of 2013, I was surprised that he even needed a microphone - as his voice, although sweet and calming, boomed to the point where it enveloped the entire auditorium. His voice careens up and down through who-knows-how-many peaks and valleys - and as cheesy as it sounds, I would describe his voice as constantly soaring. The instrumentals are, in general, very minimal - except when they are used to accentuate and drive the momentum and mood of a song. They use pretty basic instrumentation - generally a skeletal orchestra and your typical bass/drums/guitars, although the vocalist/guitarist usually uses a violin bow to play his guitar. He also seems to wear some very questionable colonial attire during their sets - as I found out when I took this video:
 
SIGUR ROS - "E-Bow" [performed live from the album '( self-titled )' cd]
LIVE VIDEO from March 30, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 

If you've never heard SIGUR ROS, find a time when you want to relax and play some of the songs embedded below. You may travel through time. If so, you're welcome.

An interesting note, when SIGUR ROS shipped out their newest cd - their management accidentally okayed the previous albums tracks as the songs for the new album! So, basically, thousands of fans got the new cd - all packaged and shiny - and when they inserted it into their cd player it was like a burned copy of their last album! That would be trippy, especially if you are already on drugs before popping in that cd.

*you don't need drugs to enjoy this band
**drugs won't make you enjoy the band any less, though
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SIGUR ROS Discography
 
SIGUR ROS has a rather extensive discography. Check it out )==>HERE<==(.
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youtube )))))embedded official video((((( links

(1999) SIGUR ROS - "Sven-g-Engular" (from 'Aaetis Byrjun' cd)

(2005) SIGUR ROS - "Hoppipolla" (from '( )' cd)

(2013) SIGUR ROS - "Brennisteinn" (from 'Kveiker' cd)
 
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SIGUR ROS' official youtube page is )==>HERE<==(.

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