archive for January, 2003
chat page updated
we’ve updated the chat page to make it easier for you to access the infamous sigur ros chat room. there were some problems with the chat client we’ve been using so we switched to a better one.
icelandic music awards
sigur ros won two awards in the pop music category at the icelandic music awards last night (thursday). the categories were best album and best performer. sigur ros also won the icelandic music award for best album in 1999 for ágætis byrjun, as well as four other awards.
usa tickets now on sale
ticket sales are beginning today and tomorrow to most of the usa tour dates. click here for more information. the tour page has also been updated with new info links.
( ) still on charts
the new album ‘( )’ is currently #1 on rolling stone’s ‘college radio’ chart, two months after its release.
amina interviewed
in response to the queries about the string quartet ‘amina’ that has accompanied sigur ros on tours and in the studio over the last few years, we have conducted an interview with the mysterious group. you can read the interview here.
jonsi protests karahnjakar
jonsi was thrown out of the reykjavík city hall by police last thursday at a large protest against the controversial kárahnjúkar power station project. jonsi was shouting at city officials as several others were doing but jonsi was the only protestor removed from the scene. police claimed he was “the one who behaved the worst” but spectators overheard police officers whispering among themselves before the protest began “keep an eye on that one in the blue jacket”, referring to jonsi. here’s a photo of jonsi being escorted by police out of the city hall building. you can read more about the kárahnjúkar project on inca.is and on raddir.is. if you’d like to make yourself useful and submit your name to the list of protestors, after having read the facts on these sites, you can do so here.
new material not so new
the songs sigur ros played at the kárahnjúkar protest conference last wednesday weren’t so new after all. the first song was an alternative version of samskeyti, or track 3 from ( ), and the second song was a song which has never been played live before but was one of the songs the band played at the peel session they did in september 2000 (entitled ‘big’). sorry about getting you all excited about nothing.
vaka video update
more on the upcoming vaka music video. the video has been completed and will be premiered at the sundance film festival on january 23rd, the same date the band will play at the suede lounge as part of the festival (where they will be joined by the string quartet amina, as usual). as previously reported, the video will be considerably darker than the band’s two other videos, svefn-g-englar and viðrar vel til loftárása. the video involves schoolchildren playing in a post-apocalyptic playground covered in black snow, where they must play under the protective guise of gasmasks. you can read an interview with director floria sigismondi about the video here.
ticket problems
there were some problems today with the usa tour ticket system on sigur-ros.com. there was a much bigger reponse to the ticket sales than had been anticipated but the main problems in the system were due to a bug which has now been fixed. those people who also had problems registering at sigur-ros.com can go directly to www.sigur-rostickets.musictoday.com and use the username sigurros and password tickets to access the ticketing area. tickets through this service are limited so we recommend ordering quickly.
new material debuted
sigur ros played three new songs at the kárahnjúkar protest conference last night in reykjavík. the music was accompanied by a short film entitled ‘fimmta árstíðin’ (the fifth season), which sigur ros co-produced. the film contained aerial landscape shots of iceland. the first two songs played are likely to be recorded in the band’s studio to appear on the upcoming vaka single, but nothing is confirmed yet. for the last piece, jonsi lined himself in the middle of the stage with his mouth gagged, accompanied by a choir which was gagged as well. a microphone was set up in front of jonsi and an extended version of avalon (the last song on ágætis byrjun) came on the pa. after a short while, jonsi took off his gag and sung an operatic improvised vocal accompaniment to avalon. the choir remained silent and gagged the whole time. kjartan came out for a short while and conducted this silent choir in the slow rhythm of avalon.
phoenix date added
a phoenix date has been added to the spring usa tour, april 4th at the celebrity theatre. there will be no further dates added to the north american tour. please do not email us about this, we’ve had far too many tedious emails moaning about them not playing in whatever city/town on this tour. they’re concentrating on playing the south this time, where they’ve not yet been. people in australia, please be patient. as soon as we have news on tour dates for you, we’ll let you know. thanks.
usa tour tickets
tickets to all the spring usa tour dates will be available on sigur-ros.com, as of noon eastern standard time tomorrow (january 17th). to order tickets through this service you must be registered on sigur-ros.com and own a credit card. the username for the ticketing area is sigurros and the password is tickets. tickets purchased through sigur-ros.com will be cheaper than those bought through ticketmaster and some of the best seats in the seated venues will be reserved for sigur-ros.com.
100 greatest music videos
according to slant magazine, viðrar vel til loftárása is the 71st greatest music video of all time. go here for the complete list.
japan tour
sigur ros have added three japan dates to follow the usa tour in april, two in tokyo and one in osaka. see the tour page for details.
london concert tickets
the february 12th concert at the hammersmith apollo in london is in fact not sold out, as previously reported. tickets are still available through aloud.com and ticketmaster. apologies about the confusion.
vaka video update
the shooting of the video to track 1 (vaka) from the new album has been completed and is currently being edited. the video was shot in toronto and the director was floria sigismondi. you can expect this video’s atmosphere to be considerably darker than the band’s two previous videos, svefn-g-englar and viðrar vel til loftárása. the video is likely to be premeried at the sundance film festival later in the month, where sigur rós will also play a gig.
usa tour
sigur ros will embark on a 16 date usa tour in march and april, following the 15 date european tour in february. the band will be accompanied by the amina string quartet on both tours. check the tour page for all the 2003 dates. the band will also be playing at the suede lounge in park city, utah, on january 23rd, as part of the sundance film festival. tickets are now on sale to this gig through suede lounge. tickets to the march 29 house of blues concert in new orleans are now on sale here.
kárahnjúkar protest concert
sigur ros will perform a short set next wednesday (january 15th) at a conference whose aim is to protest against the impending construction of the kárahnjúkar power plant in east iceland. this kárahnjúkar hydropower project will result in irreputable environmental damage to approximately 290000 hectares of land in this area. other icelandic artists who have protested against the project include björk, who recently submitted a protest article in the icelandic newspaper morgunblaðið. the conference takes place at borgarleikhúsið in reykjavík and begins at 20:30. admission is free. for more information, visit raddir.is, the kárahnjúkar protest website, or karahnjukar.is.
march usa tour
it’s now confirmed that there will be a usa tour in march following the european tour in february. tickets to two of the tour’s dates have been popping up. tickets to a new orleans concert on march 29th will go on sale january 13th here and presale tickets have already gone on sale to two washington d.c. concerts on march 18th and 19th here, although they ask that you subscribe to their mailing list first. we should have all the confirmed dates for you shortly.
