Skip to content
News

Sigur Ros Announce New ‘Aggressive’ Album, Speak English in Reddit AMA

sigur ros, reddit ama

Sigur Rós appeared on Reddit Thursday (January 24) for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, and like Trent Reznor and Das Racist’s Heems before them, the Icelandic post-rock trio discussed their career arc, inspirations, and plans for future projects (unlike Snoop Lion, they did not detail their weed consumption). Answering questions from a Los Angeles studio where they are currently at work on their next full-length, the members of Sigur Rós confirmed that multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson has left the band. (The Reykjavík Grapevine, an Icelandic newspaper, reported last year that Sveinsson chose to sit out the tour for 2012’s Valtari.) The group also announced several stops on their upcoming tour (Vancouver, Mexico, South America among them), and described the material for their new album (expected later this year) as “more aggressive.”

Sigur Rós also shared a teaser video for their next round of live shows. Up above is the clip, which features some new (and, yes, aggressive) music. Scroll down to read some highlights from the band’s AMA.

On why Kjartan Sveinsson left the band: “He said he spent half his life in the band and it was time to do something different… all on a good note. He wanted to leave for some time… He is planing to compose on his own.”

On a Coachella 2013 appearance: “Maybe.”

Frontman Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson on his experience as a raw food vegan: “I used to be raw food vegan but stopped it when I started touring. I found it to be so antisocial in my hotel room with my blender making a green soup when everybody else was out eating somewhere … but I’m mos def gonna go back on raw food diet someday … makes you lighter and more creative …”

On “Hopelandic,” the made-up language the band sings in from time to time: “In the past I used to sing with just sounds that fitted best to the song and melody and it is probably the most natural way of singing, but maybe too repetitive… and also laziness of writing lyrics… [There] is a big misconception that all our music is in a made up language, most of our music is in Icelandic.”

Drummer Orri Páll Dýrason (presumably) on the biggest influence of his career: “When I was a kid I wanted to learn how to play the vibraphone and I went to the music school in Seltjarnarnes. The teacher told me that I had to start by playing the drums for one year before touching the vibes. I agreed to that and really got into drumming. Later I found out that the school didn’t have a vibraphone and the teacher was just trying to get me into the school. So I was tricked into playing drums.”

On their creative process: “It happens quite naturally and effortlessly… we just jam in the rehearsal space and come up with something we all like… we do everything by ear and don’t even know what these black and white [keys] on the piano are called? And we never put anything down on paper… just keep it in our small brains before it shrinks any further.” 

Bassist Georg Hólm on which bandmember he would eat first if he had to: “I think I would eat Jónsi first… he´s raised on the healthiest diet.”

On whose idea it was to have Shia LaBeouf get naked for the “Fjögur Píanó” video: “I think it was probably [LaBeouf’s] idea.”

On Jónsi’s unique guitar: “It’s a homemade guitar that one of our guitar tech did… it’s a mixture of Les Paul and an old Ibanez guitar and the shape is easier to play with a bow.”

On how they deal with the boredom of touring: “Get drunk :)”