CollyLogic: Sigur Rós dance anthems anyone?

Sigur Rós dance anthems anyone?

27th March 2006

So, I’m working on a very laborious project that is taking months to get through, and I’m finding one of the few things that is helping me is the music of Sigur Rós. Some of you know of my allegiance to Iceland, that I lived there for a while, and also that I’ve loved Sigur Rós for about eight years.

Whilst new album Takk is incredible, and better than the sumptuous but drifty () (great title!), I’m still finding great solace in my long-time fave Ágætis Byrjun - probably one of the best albums ever made.
However, after dipping into my old Icelandic music collection, I dug out first album Von, which is the sound of the young Sigur Rós getting their heads around what they really want to sound like (it’s from 1997 I think). Then, I found a very rare, obscure Sigur Rós album that I forgot I had, called Von Brigði (which means Von recycled) - known as Recycle Bin to those of us crap at Icelandic, that I picked up in Reykjavik’s Japis music store years ago.

A quick Google search revealed that Recycle Bin is no longer being pressed (it was only released in Iceland on Bad Taste records), although some chancers are selling second-hand copies on Amazon for $70 dollars! It’s also available to download it seems (loads of links via Google). My thanks to Tim, who informs me that it’s still available via the Bad Taste site.

Recycle Bin is Sigur Rós at their most diverse, remixed by the likes of Gus Gus, Mum and the band themselves. It’s basically a “forget what you think you know about this band” kind of record, and features some remixes that represent tracks from Von as drum and bass, ambient, jazz or electronic anthems - and there is even a Beach Boys sample in there somewhere too!
It’s Sigur Rós, but you can dance to it! If you check out just one track from Recycle Bin, make it the stunning last track (one of three mixes of it) - Leit að Lífi (means “Search For Life") - recycled by the band themselves. Simply fucking superb, and like nothing you’ve ever heard from them, ever. Oh, and the image is of the CD cover - a beautiful bit of packaging. If you ask me, it’s a snip at $70.
Update: Here’s an MP3 of Leit að Lífi, you lucky bastards!

Simon Collison published this on 27/03/06, at 1:09 AM

Comments

I bought Takk a while back because of people like you recomending it so heavily and I loved it. I will definently buy some more Sigur Ros next time I go to the record store. Thanks so much for getting me into their sound

27/03 at 04:56 from Lowell Wood

You should check out Gus Gus from Iceland, Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips.

Cool is also Thirteen by Big Star

27/03 at 06:37 from Musicologue

Musicologue: Yeah, I love (most) Gus Gus. Got four albums of theirs, of which I still prefer the first (Polydistortion), though Attention is pretty immense.

27/03 at 08:37 from Colly

Wow, thanks for sharing, I’ve been on a sigur ros high since they came to Liverpool a couple of months ago, I’m checking that track out now.

Cheers.

27/03 at 10:58 from Stuart Frisby

I’d also like to say thanks… I’ve been holding off getting my mitts on a Sigur Ros album so thanks for the taster - although I’m really a fan of the dance angle of your MP3, it’s great - I just hope I don’t prefer the dance-y stuff to the original releases…

I know it’s mainstream (I’m not going to recommend Simon Webbe again - yes it was me!), but I got seriously adddicted to Royksopp’s Melody AM album (before it got played to death on TV adverts); disappointed by What Else Is There?, though, not half as inventive as Melody AM.

Thanks for sharing!

27/03 at 12:22 from Simon

Ooh, the MP3 is excellent. Thanks very much Colly.

27/03 at 15:28 from Ben Ward

I still need to get ahold of that album. I saw them in Atlanta a few years ago and if I was religious it would have something to do with that band. Their performance was breathtaking and I felt like I was in another world for the entire show.

28/03 at 18:16 from Travis Schmeisser

My sister called a few minutes ago saying that she’d just left most moving concert she’d ever been to...turns out it was them playing in Hammersmith. Apparently the light show was very impressive. Pretty gutted I missed them!

28/03 at 23:43 from Damien Tanner

good bands too
Tindersticks, Mudhoney, Zita Swoon, Howie Gelb (Giant Sand), Helium

29/03 at 13:44 from musicologue

I’ve recently bought Takk and fallen in love with it (isn’t Tak also “Thank you” in Swedish?).

Will certainly check out ?g�tis byrjun. Are there any other records of theirs worth a look in particular?

07/04 at 15:35 from Kitsimons

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