Widescreen post-rock that speaks in its own language.
Sigur Rós: Deep Cuts
The Icelandic post-rock group's most chilling hidden gems.
Sigur Rós: Influences
Chamber rock, ambient miniatures, and spiritual uplift.
About Sigur Rós
Hometown
Reykjavík, Iceland
Formed
January 4, 1994
Genre
Alternative
Experimental post-rock outfit Sigur Rós is one of Iceland’s most successful bands, earning a trio of Platinum albums and six chart-toppers in their home country and critical acclaim abroad.
∙ Ágætis Byrjun, their 1999 breakout, was the first album ever to win the prestigious Shortlist Music Prize, which was launched to honor independent releases.
∙ All the songs on 2002’s Grammy-nominated ( ) are sung in a made-up language the band calls Vonlenska (or Hopelandic, in English), leaving their meanings up to listeners’ interpretation.
∙ Their signature track, “Hoppípolla,” and their sole No. 1, “Glósóli,” appeared on 2005’s Takk…, which won a trio of Icelandic Music Awards.
∙ “Gobbledigook,” from 2008’s Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, was a Top 10 hit in Iceland and landed on year-end best-of lists from Pitchfork and Rolling Stone.
∙ Director Cameron Crowe asked frontman Jónsi to score 2011’s We Bought a Zoo, and said that the film was inspired by his solo album, Go, and the band documentary Heima.
∙ In 2014, they portrayed a group of minstrels in an episode of Game of Thrones, performing a version of “The Rains of Castamere,” a key song that recurred throughout the series.
Members of Sigur Rós include, or have included, Jónsi, Georg Holm, Kjartan Sveinsson and more.
Musical InfluencesSigur Rós's musical influences include Morcheeba, my bloody valentine, Björk and more.