eighteen seconds before sunrise - sigur rós news

heima on pitchfork

2009-11-06T20:24:45Z

for one week only pitchfork have made available a free stream of sigur rós’ documentary heima (which is currently rated #2 on imdb’s list of best documentaries of all time.) the movie is split into twelve chapters so you can skip directly to your favorite part of the movie if you wish.

watch heima on pitchfork

100,000 paper planes

2009-09-30T14:27:00Z

this sunday (september the 27th) in grand rapids, michigan, artist rob bliss will release 100,000 paper airplanes as part of “artprize” event.

twenty close family and friends will be stationed atop the seven- to 11-story high buildings to send the planes flying in a wave-like fashion while attendees sing, hum or play an instrument to the tune of sigur ros’ “olsen olsen.” (listen to the song in this video).

there will be five-minute intervals between each burst of color. the eight bars of “olsen olsen” will be played continuously in a loop-like fashion for 30 minutes.

“it can sort of just go on forever,” bliss said. “it’s very triumphant and celebratory and beautiful.”

more information is available on the facebook event page and the mlive.com article which we quoted from above.

update: here is a video of the event:

jónsi projects

2009-09-15T09:02:33Z

over on pitchfork there are two exclusives at the moment. the first one is the latest video from jónsi and alex for a song called “sometimes i get scared” – more information about the video and a link to the video are on the jonsiandalex.com news page. (update: this video is now available through jonsiandale.com too)

the second is the premiere of jónsis collaboration with the dj tiësto. you can listen to the song here.

takk dmm vinyl

2009-09-09T16:18:39Z

one little indian have released “takk” on heavyweight vinyl – the package consists of 2 x 12″ vinyls and one 10″ etched vinyl. (the 10″ vinyl contains the etching on one side, with mílanó on the reverse side. the 2×12″ vinyls contain the rest of the album)

its available now from onelittleindian.com.

more ordering information about the recent heavyweight vinyl releases is here on our order page.

third quiz show appearance

2009-08-29T12:07:25Z

on music quiz show popppunktur last friday, sigur rós beat electro pop group bloodgroup by one point in an exciting sudden death round. the boys will be appearing on the show once again in the seminfinals on friday (last friday was actually the 8-team finals, not semifinals as previously reported). they’ll be going up against the comedy folk band ljótu hálfvitarnir (the ugly idiots). the bands are set to face some new challenges in the semifinals, such as writing an improptu song based on a made-up song title they draw randomly, and a weightlifting challenge. you can watch the show live here from 8:10pm gmt (9:10pm cet) or after airing here.

gogoyoko – fair play in music

2009-08-26T18:54:02Z

being big supporters of fairness in the music industry, sigur rós would like to spread the word about a brilliant new icelandic project called gogoyoko. gogoyoko is a music store and social networking site which allows artists to sell and distribute their music easily, with 100% of the profit going to the artist. it’s by artists for artists. the site offers loads of free handy tools for the artists such as music players (40% of the advertising income going to the artists), widgets, customized music store, live updates, etc. if you’re an artist looking for an easy and fair way to sell your music, we really recommend you check out gogoyoko.

second quiz show appearance

2009-08-25T09:21:52Z

sigur rós will appear in the semi-finals of the icelandic music quiz show popppunktur on friday night, 21 august at 8:10pm icelandic time (9:10pm london time). this time they will be going head to head with electro pop band bloodgroup. you can watch the show live here, or after airing here.

[edit: sigur rós beat bloodgroup by one point in a very exciting sudden death round. they will be competing on the show again on friday, august 28th.]

merce cunningham passes away

2009-07-28T15:32:01Z

choreographer merce cunningham passed away on sunday the 26th of july aged 90. he was known to sigur rós fans through the ’split sides’ dance collaboration his company did with sigur rós and radiohead in 2003. more information on his life and career is available on his website merce.org and ’split sides’ information is here.

jonsiandalex.com

2009-07-21T19:34:33Z

following on from the last few news pieces, “riceboy sleeps” by jónsi and alex has now been released. we have opened a new site over on jonsiandalex.com, there you will find news updates, a free mp3, “riceboy sleeps” album stream, high res videos, recipes, free downloadable books, photo galleries and so on. enjoy!.

(also, jónsi and alex have an exhibition in london at the moment. running until some time in september at maison bertaux in soho)

riceboy sleeps album launch

2009-07-13T16:31:04Z

this friday in london (july 17th) there will be a launch event for the album release of “riceboy sleeps” by jónsi & alex.

~~the first ten people to email us with their name will be added to guest list. the guest list position will be confirmed via email and each of the ten people will be able to bring a friend.~~

thanks to all who entered. all the places have now been taken.

riceboy sleeps pre-order

2009-07-09T18:27:19Z

the deluxe edition of the “riceboy sleeps” album by jónsi & alex is now available for pre-order on jonsiandalex.com. the deluxe edition comprises of the album, a 33minute ep entitled “all animals”, a 40 page colouring book with original drawings by jónsi & alex, a box of 6 colouring pencils, a badge aswell as the second edition of the original “riceboy sleeps” hardback book. the deluxe edition is only available through jonsiandalex.com and is limited to 3,500 numbered pieces & is priced at 35$ + postage.

regular editions of the album are also available through many other stockists. the cd: amazon.co.uk / amazon.com / rough trade. the vinyl: amazon.co.uk / rough trade. digital releases: amazon.co.uk.

riceboy sleeps update

2009-07-03T22:08:22Z

as mentioned before, the new riceboy sleeps album from jónsi and alex will be released shortly – if you go to their site now you can get an mp3 from the forthcoming album, sign up for their mailing list aswell as seeing a video that explores some of the stories behind the recording and evolution of the album. there is also information about being able to pre-order the deluxe edition from the 6th of july.

icelandic folk music festival 2009

2009-06-19T15:35:36Z

on the 4th of july, sigur rós will take part in the icelandic folk music festival in the icelandic town of siglufjörður. the event will be in honour of the icelandic chanter steindór andersen.

steindór andersen, páll guðmundsson, various icelandic kvæðamenn (rímur chanters) and sigur rós will perform odins ravens magic.

aol spinner interface session

2009-06-22T07:41:56Z

on september the 18th 2008 in new york city, the band recorded a four song live session for aol spinner interface. the four songs, all from “með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust”, are: við spilum endalaust, fljótavík, inní mér syngur vitleysingur and illgresi. there is also an interview.

the four songs and interview are also available on the spinner interface podcast (itunes link)

best icelandic album

2009-06-19T13:50:17Z

as ágætis byrjun celebrates its 10th anniversary it has just been voted the best icelandic album of all time in a survey by the icelandic national radio and tonlist.is. the list of the 100 best icelandic albums was based on the opinion of 100 experts the press and music industry as well as a public vote. in addition to ágætis byrjun, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust was in 9th place and takk… was in 20th place.

a similar survey on the best icelandic albums was conducted in 2001 with the same conclusion: ágætis byrjun is the best icelandic album of all time.