Sigur Ros - Ethereal Music You Can Smell

Some may puzzle over why I am talking about a band on an art and design blog. Sigur Ros are a band from Iceland who I have admired greatly for the past few years. I have ingested most of their output which is a fusion blend of many styles but most importantly native Scandinavian folk music with modern era progressive rock. The reason I am discussing them on the Almond blog is because, to me, their music is a synesthesia which conjures various feelings at once.

With a fairly unhurried but ultra-high quality output since their album Von in 1997 the band have quickly risen to become one of the most respected and adored bands on the planet but this seems quite an unexpected marvel to someone who liked them in their early stages when they were still relatively unknown. They have followed their own path which is inspirational in itself and it would become apparent they always had a 'take it or leave it' mentality which would either have seen them consigned to the bargain basement bin near the world music section or climb the stratospheric heights which, in reality, has been their story.

Examples of this 'we are who we are' strutting can be discovered on the follow up EP, to their masterpiece album Agaetis byrjun from 1999, called Rimur which they released in 2001. The EP contains a fisherman from Iceland reciting poetry and was packaged in a accessible black and white paper case. Agaetis also had a killer cover which was a biro pen drawing of a foetus with angel's wings. The ethereal nature of the music was perfectly captured by this stark but beautiful image.

Following on from these two pieces and the original Von album they released an untitled album in 2002 then Takk in 2005. Recently they have made a short film and another album before taking a break to embark on solo projects and take a rest.

By: Russell Steedman

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Russell Steedman is an artist and designer from the UK. After graduating with an honours degree from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (the best design academy in the UK) Russell, the Creative Director of Almond Design www.almond-design.com and co-founder of Almond Media International www.almondmediainternational.com, has 10 years of high-level experience in the UK and beyond. Russell is keenly involved in the world of art and graphic design. He loves what he does for a career.