  Reykjavík, Iceland. Somewhere in the North Atlantic ocean. If you thought the world was a cruel place you should see the weather up here. Blizzards of ice and fire, earthquakes shaking the ground. Nothing you could ever imagine, it's all up here.
A huge hurricane is rising, ripping up fences and electric poles, spitting out ground and mud and breaking houses into pieces the size of a toothpick. The sound it makes is almost musical, from small hisses to roaring screams of terror. These sounds are the sounds we make from within the eye of the hurricane, or that's what we like to think anyway. Here's the story.
January fourth 1994, three of us (Jón, Georg, Ágúst) decide to go into a small sorry room wich almost could have been mistaken for a studio. We managed to get through one song before all our money was over. The result was fair enough and we brought the tape to Smekkleysa Records. It was immediately released on a compilation with other artists on that label. This was a reason enough for us to start working on our first album, Von. The album was released in 1997 and the year after Von brigði (Recycle Bin), a remix album of Von, made it into the world. We were joined by a new member Kjartan, who lifted us up on a new level. One song from that album, Leit af lífi, went straight into the charts and topped at number one the whole summer of 1998. Now the real work began. We began to work on our third and most precious album, Ágætis byrjun. It was a difficult and beautiful time and we managed to completely drain ourselves. The result was an album we were completely happy with, and still are. Then came the blow. Ágúst, our beloved drummer and friend, left the band. That was almost the end but we decided to continue and recruited Orri, a drummer extraordinaire. He is not only an impeccable drummer but also adds a new dimension to our sound. On the day of the release of Ágætis byrjun (1999), we held a concert in the Icelandic Opera House. It was one of the most beautiful days of our lives, almost perfect. And we knew from that day that nothing could stop us. Ágætis byrjun has been the highest selling album all year and still going strong. And the concert, which the Icelandic National Radio recorded, will be played on radio stations all around the world.
It was time to leave Iceland. We met Fat Cat, a London based record label and genuinely nice people. We recently released a CD single and 12" on their label and were lucky enough to be voted single of the week by NME. This is where we are at now and what comes next we cannot say but one is certain, the future is bright.
Let us add one more thing about Sigur Rós. We are not a band, we are music. We do not intend to become superstars or millionaires, we are simply gonna change music forever, and the way people think about music. And don't think we can't do it, we will.
This story will continue......
Sigur Rós are:
Visit Sigur Rós @ www.sigur-ros.com.
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