New Album: Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
(With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly)
Released: June 23rd 2008
Free Download: Gobbledigook
First play TONIGHT on Radio One
Track available from
www.sigurros.com
Sigur Rós will be releasing their fifth album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English translation: With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), on June 23rd, 2008 on EMI Records. The first song from the album, entitled ‘Gobbledigook’, will be unveiled with a world exclusive first play on Radio 1 tonight (May 27th) by Zane Lowe. The track will then be available worldwide for free download, via www.sigurros.com from 7.30pm GMT.
A pre-sale for the album will begin on www.sigurros.com on June 2nd and anyone who pre-orders will then be able to access a stream of the full album from June 9th. A special deluxe edition of the album to be released later in the year, featuring a ‘Making Of…’ book, a film, and more, will also be available to pre-order on the band’s website as of June 2nd, in addition to a plethora of Sigur Rósgoodies – exclusive clips, information on tickets for upcoming shows throughout the year etc. – which will be available to those who sign up for the mailing list on www.sigurros.com.
With A Buzz… was co-produced by the band and renowned producer Flood and was recorded in New York City (at Sear Sound Studios), London (at Assault and Battery Studios and Abbey Road), Reykjavík (at Álafoss, the band’s studio, as well as a church in Reykjavik) and Havana, Cuba. Whereas Sigur Rós’ last release – the critically-acclaimed tour film Heima, chronicling their free tour throughout Iceland – took the band to their homeland, their newest creation, With A Buzz…, is the first album in the band’s career to be made outside of Iceland. It is also their first album to feature vocalist Jón “Jónsi” Thor Birgisson’s vocals in English on one track (the remainder are sung in Icelandic).
Inspired by the unfettered feeling of the acoustic performances filmed during Heima, Sigur Rós decided to adopt a looser approach in the writing and creation of their brilliant fifth album. The material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after completion. The album glows with the perfect imperfection of live takes, the sounds of fingers playing guitar strings, cracked notes, and a stark, upfront presence not found in previous Sigur Rós recordings, moving away from the reverb-induced guitar sounds of old to something altogether more fragile and affecting. It also contains some of the most joyous music the band has ever recorded.
First song ‘Gobbledigook’ sets the tone for With A Buzz… with its shifting acoustic guitars, playful vocals, time signature shifts and swirling percussion, while ‘Inni mer syngur vitleysingur’ (‘Within me a lunatic sings’) sparkles as one of the most anthemic songs Sigur Rós have ever written. ‘Festival’ is epic in its elation and scope, ‘Illgresi’ (‘Weeds’) features one of Jónsi’s finest vocal melodies over a lone acoustic guitar, and ‘Ára bátur’ (‘Row boat’) is the single largest musical undertaking in the band’s career, as it was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boy’s Choir, a total of 90 people playing at the same time. The band also utilized the talents of their string-quartet friends Amiina, as well as a five-piece brass section on certain tracks, in addition to introducing the Mellotron into their writing/recording process for the first time on this album, specifically on one of the most tender and beautiful songs on the record, ‘Fljótavík’.
The spirit of With A Buzz… is best captured by the album’s stunning artwork, contributed by acclaimed visual artist Ryan McGinley. McGinley first met the band when he photographed Jónsi six years ago; the album cover was taken from a flyer for McGinley’s most recent exhibit, I Know Where The Summer Goes, which happened to find its way into Jónsi’s inbox just as the band was deciding on how to best visually represent their new collection of songs. The result is a perfect synergy of the aural and the visual.
The track listing for Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) is…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. |
Gobbledigook
Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
Góðan daginn
Við spilum endalaust
Festival
Með suð í eyrum
Ára bátur
Illgresi
Fljótavík
Straumnes
All alright |
Sigur Rós will be playing shows all over the globe through out the summer and autumn performing material from With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly, including their first ever UK festival headline appearance at Latitude Festival on July 19th.
Sigur Rós live dates
(NB – the majority of these dates are festival appearances):
June:
5
7
8
11
12
14
16
20
22 |
Guadalajara, Mexico – Teatro Degollado
Tepoztlan, Mexico – Festival La Colmena
Tijuana, Mexico – Planeta Tijuana
Omaha, USA – Orpheum Theatre
Kansas City, USA – Uptown Theatre
Manchester, USA – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
New York, USA – Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Centre
Germany – Southside Festival
Bremen, Germany – Hurricane Festival |
July:
5
6
8
9
11
12
13
14
17
19 |
Wechter, Belgium – Rock Werchter Festival
Arras, France – Main Square Festival
Vienna, Austria – Arena
Lausanne, Switzerland – Les Docks
Florence, Italy – Giardino Di Boboli
Rome, Italy – Cavea Auditorium
Milan, Italy – Arena Civica
Zurich, Switzerland – Volkhaus
Benicassim, Spain – Benicassim Festival
Suffolk, England – Latitude Festival |
August:
1
2
3
7
8
9
11
12
13
15
17
18
19
20
22
24
26
27
29
31 |
Melbourne, Australia – Festival Hall
Sydney, Australia – Horden Pavillion
Byron Bay, Australia – Splendour In The Grass
Oslo, Norway – Øya Festival
Gothenburg, Sweden – Way Out West
Copenhagen, Denmark – Beat Day Festival
Cologne, Germany – Philharmonie
Wiesenbaden, Germany – Schlachthof
Berlin, Germany – Tempodrum
St. Malo, France – La Route Du Rock Festival
Biddinghuizen, Holland – Lowlands Festival
Dresden, Germany – Alter Schlachthof
Prague, Czech Republic – Arena HC Sparta Praha
Warsaw, Poland – Palladium
Riga, Latvia – Arena
Helsinki, Finland – Kulttuuritalo
St Petersburg, Russia – TYUZ Theatre
Moscow, Russia – B1
Stradbally, Ireland – Electric Picnic Festival
Inveraray, Scotland – Hydro Connect Festival |
Further announcements of Sigur Rós headline tour dates around the world will be made soon.
Sigur Rós:
Jón Thor Birgisson (vocals, guitar), Georg Holm (bass),
Kjartan Sveinsson (keyboards/piano), Orri Páll Dýrason (drums).
http://www.sigurros.com
http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/sigurros
