Ágætis byrjun
Encyclopedia
Ágætis byrjun (ˈaːuɣaitɪs ˈpɪrjʏn, A good beginning pronounced Ow-Guy-Tiss-Burry-un)is the second album
by the Iceland
ic post-rock
band Sigur Rós
, which was released in 1999. Ágætis byrjun was recorded between the summer of 1998 to the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas, and became Sigur Rós
's breakthrough album, both critically and commercially. Ágætis byrjun represented a substantial departure from the band's previous album Von
, with that album's Cocteau Twins
-esque dream pop
and extended ambient
soundscape
s replaced by Jónsi Birgisson
's now signature cello-bowed guitarwork and lush orchestration
(using a double string octet amongst other orchestral elements).
The album's title came from a friend hearing the first song they had written for the album, which would become the title track. After hearing the song, he said it was "a good beginning"; the name stuck. The name has also been translated as "An alright start."
Sigur Rós won an Iceland Music Award and the 2001 Shortlist Music Prize
for this album.
exposure in Iceland
, and spent the autumn of 1999 climbing the Icelandic album charts, finally resting at the top for a number of weeks. After surprising success in Iceland
, the album subsequently gained strong international buzz with numerous articles in many prominent publications, hype from internet message boards and blog
s, as well as often exuberant critical praise. Ágætis byrjun was released in the United Kingdom
in 2000, and in the North America
n market in 2001 by Fat Cat Records
. In 2001, Ágætis byrjun won the inaugural Shortlist Music Prize
.
An acclaimed music video was made for "Viðrar vel til loftárása
". The album's tracks have also been featured in soundtracks; "Starálfur" was used in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
and the Emmy winning 2005 TV film The Girl in the Café
. "Svefn-g-englar" was used in Vanilla Sky
, amongst others. The song "Flugufrelsarinn" has been arranged by Stephen Prustman for the Kronos Quartet
, and is available on their iTunes
-only release Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós
.
Ágætis byrjun was placed by Pitchfork Media
at number 2 on their annual Best Albums list for 2000, and was placed at 8 on their top 200 albums of the 2000s
, released on 2 October 2009.
In December 2009, Rolling Stone
ranked Ágætis byrjun the 29th best album of the 2000s.
Around late summer 2010, a deluxe edition will be released to mark the 10th anniversary of Ágætis byrjuns international release. As of October 2011, no other announcement was made to this edition, that remained unreleased.
parts from the title track, and the last song, "Avalon", consists of a different take of an instrumental passage from "Starálfur" slowed to around one-third its original speed. The strings in "Starálfur" itself are palindromic
; they are the same forwards and backwards.
All vocals are sung in Icelandic
, except for those on "Olsen Olsen" and the last section of the title track, which are sung in the gibberish
language Vonlenska. Sigur Rós' subsequent album,
, used Vonlenska exclusively for its vocals.
. The booklet cover for the CD edition of the album features the line: "Ég gaf ykkur von sem varð að vonbrigðum... þetta er ágætis byrjun" which translates to "I gave you hope that became a disappointment... this is a good beginning". This line is a reference to their two previous releases, Von
and Von brigði
.
Sigur Rós assembled and glued together the cases of the first print of Ágætis byrjun themselves. As a result, many of the CDs
were unusable due to glue stains.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
band Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
, which was released in 1999. Ágætis byrjun was recorded between the summer of 1998 to the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas, and became Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
's breakthrough album, both critically and commercially. Ágætis byrjun represented a substantial departure from the band's previous album Von
Von (album)
Von is the debut album of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.The production of the album took a long time, and the end result sounded significantly different from the original recordings. The band considered scrapping the final result and starting all over again, but decided not to because it...
, with that album's Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
-esque dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
and extended ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s replaced by Jónsi Birgisson
Jón Þór Birgisson
Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson is the guitarist and vocalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto voice. He is also blind in his right eye and is openly gay. His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for...
's now signature cello-bowed guitarwork and lush orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
(using a double string octet amongst other orchestral elements).
The album's title came from a friend hearing the first song they had written for the album, which would become the title track. After hearing the song, he said it was "a good beginning"; the name stuck. The name has also been translated as "An alright start."
Sigur Rós won an Iceland Music Award and the 2001 Shortlist Music Prize
Shortlist Music Prize
The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as , was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination...
for this album.
Release
While released to little fanfare, the album quickly gained radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
exposure in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and spent the autumn of 1999 climbing the Icelandic album charts, finally resting at the top for a number of weeks. After surprising success in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, the album subsequently gained strong international buzz with numerous articles in many prominent publications, hype from internet message boards and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s, as well as often exuberant critical praise. Ágætis byrjun was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2000, and in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n market in 2001 by Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
. In 2001, Ágætis byrjun won the inaugural Shortlist Music Prize
Shortlist Music Prize
The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as , was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination...
.
An acclaimed music video was made for "Viðrar vel til loftárása
Viðrar vel til loftárása
"Viðrar vel til loftárása" is a song from Sigur Rós's second full-length album Ágætis byrjun. It was also released as the B-side of the single "Svefn-g-englar".- Origin :...
". The album's tracks have also been featured in soundtracks; "Starálfur" was used in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is an American comedy-drama film directed, written, and co-produced by Wes Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature length film, released in the U.S. on December 25, 2004...
and the Emmy winning 2005 TV film The Girl in the Café
The Girl in the Café
The Girl in the Café is a British made-for-television drama film directed by David Yates, written by Richard Curtis and produced by Hilary Bevan Jones. The film is produced by the independent production company Tightrope Pictures and was originally screened on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 25...
. "Svefn-g-englar" was used in Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
, amongst others. The song "Flugufrelsarinn" has been arranged by Stephen Prustman for the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, and is available on their iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
-only release Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós
Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós
Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet, containing two "audience favorites," "Flugufrelsarinn" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" . The album is available only in MP3 format.-Track listing:-Musicians:*David Harrington - violin*John Sherba - violin*Hank Dutt -...
.
Ágætis byrjun was placed by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
at number 2 on their annual Best Albums list for 2000, and was placed at 8 on their top 200 albums of the 2000s
2000s in music
For music from a year in the 2000s, go to 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 2000s....
, released on 2 October 2009.
In December 2009, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked Ágætis byrjun the 29th best album of the 2000s.
Around late summer 2010, a deluxe edition will be released to mark the 10th anniversary of Ágætis byrjuns international release. As of October 2011, no other announcement was made to this edition, that remained unreleased.
Structure
The ten songs on the album include some self-reference: the introduction contains backmaskedBackmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
parts from the title track, and the last song, "Avalon", consists of a different take of an instrumental passage from "Starálfur" slowed to around one-third its original speed. The strings in "Starálfur" itself are palindromic
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
; they are the same forwards and backwards.
All vocals are sung in Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
, except for those on "Olsen Olsen" and the last section of the title track, which are sung in the gibberish
Gibberish
Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can be described as a presence of nonsense...
language Vonlenska. Sigur Rós' subsequent album,
is the third full-length album from Icelandic band Sigur Rós, first released in October 2002. It comprises eight untitled tracks, divided into two parts: the first four tracks are lighter and more optimistic, while the latter four are bleaker and more melancholic. The two halves are divided by a...
, used Vonlenska exclusively for its vocals.
Artwork
The sketch on the cover was drawn by Gotti Bernhöft with a Bic Cristal ballpoint penBic Cristal
The Bic Cristal is an inexpensive disposable ballpoint pen mass-produced and sold by Société Bic of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France.-Background:...
. The booklet cover for the CD edition of the album features the line: "Ég gaf ykkur von sem varð að vonbrigðum... þetta er ágætis byrjun" which translates to "I gave you hope that became a disappointment... this is a good beginning". This line is a reference to their two previous releases, Von
Von (album)
Von is the debut album of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.The production of the album took a long time, and the end result sounded significantly different from the original recordings. The band considered scrapping the final result and starting all over again, but decided not to because it...
and Von brigði
Von brigði
Von brigði is a remix album of Icelandic band Sigur Rós' first album, Von. It was released in 1998 on Smekkleysa Records, and continues to be available only in Iceland or through the band's online store. An LP, containing four tracks from the album, was also released, though only 100 copies of this...
.
Sigur Rós assembled and glued together the cases of the first print of Ágætis byrjun themselves. As a result, many of the CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
were unusable due to glue stains.
Track listing
English translations not official.Personnel
- Jón Þór BirgissonJón Þór BirgissonJón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson is the guitarist and vocalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto voice. He is also blind in his right eye and is openly gay. His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Kjartan SveinssonKjartan SveinssonKjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson is a keyboardist of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1998. Being something of a multi-instrumentalist, he has also played such instruments as the flute, tin whistle, oboe and even the banjo, as well as many of the unorthodox instruments that...
– keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Georg HólmGeorg HólmGeorg "Goggi" Hólm is the bassist of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Holm is the most prominent member of Sigur Rós in the English press, as he does significantly more press than the other members due to his being the most fluent English-speaker in the band; part of Georg's fluency in...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ágúst Ævar GunnarssonÁgúst Ævar GunnarssonÁgúst Ævar Gunnarsson is a founding member of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He was the band's drummer from their creation in August 1994 until he quit in 1999 after the band finished Ágætis byrjun. Orri Páll Dýrason took his place as drummer. The group became internationally popular with...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | June 1999 | Smekkleysa Bad Taste (record label) Bad Taste is one of Iceland’s most important record labels; located in Reykjavík and known worldwide for being home to The Sugarcubes, it also publishes poetry books, short films, greeting cards and Icelandic gifts... |
CD | SM79CD | |
| United Kingdom | 11 August 2000 | Fat Cat Fat Cat Records Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop... |
2LP | FATLP11 | |
| CD | FATCD11 | ||||
| United States | 22 May 2001 | PIAS PIAS Recordings [PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London... |
CD | PIASA 01-02 | |
| United Kingdom | 9 March 2009 | Fat Cat | 2LP | FATLP11X | 180g vinyl, DMM Direct metal mastering The illustration shows not a pre-war Neumann but a post war type AM32 machine; the leadscrew drive ends in a "T" piece which would couple via a rubber disc to the associated pitch unit... |
External links
- Ágætis byrjun page on the Sigur Rós website