Sigur Rós share ‘Blóðberg’ – their first new song in seven years
Sigur Rós have returned with their first new music in seven years. Check out ‘Blóðberg’ below.
The Icelandic post-rock veterans shared the new single today (June 12), just before the members kick off their sold-out tour of Europe and North America.
Coming in at seven minutes long, ‘Blóðberg’ captures a similar timeless feel to that of their hits ‘Starálfur’ and ‘Untitled #3 – Samskeyti’. It also features impressive orchestral elements contributed by The London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames.
Not only is the new track the band’s first new song in seven years, it also marks their first new release to feature multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson back in the lineup – following his departure from the band in 2012.
Alongside frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm, the song is mixed and co-produced by Paul Corely, who has collaborated with the band frequently since their formation in 1994. It also features a touching music video by Johan Renck — most renowned as the director for the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, as well as for his music videos by Madonna, Robyn and Beyoncé. Check it out below.
“I feel as nihilistic as one could regarding the future. We are powerless against our own stupidities,” said Renck of the inspiration behind the visual accompaniment. “Some aspects of this came to merge with my impressions of the themes of Blóðberg. The music becoming a score to my own miserable thoughts, giving them beauty as only music can.”
‘Blóðberg’ comes ahead of Sigur Rós’s upcoming tour dates, which will see them make stops across Europe and North America. Announced back in March, all of the shows have now sold out, and will see the band accompanied by an orchestra at each of their shows.
The tour will kick off their tour at Meltdown Festival in the UK on Friday (June 16), organised by Christine And The Queens. Here, the band will perform with the London Contemporary Orchestra. The LCO will also accompany them on their following European tour dates.
For their North American shows, the band will be accompanied by Ames and the Wordless Music Orchestra.
Back in 2022, Sigur Rós embarked on a global tour and celebrated the return of keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson after a decade’s absence.
The tour started in Mexico City on April 28, where they opened their 20-song set with ‘Svefn-g-englar’ — the first time they’ve played the track since 2013.
Later in the set, they premiered ‘Gold 2’, ‘Gold 4’ and ‘Angelus 4’ – all new tracks which are yet to be released.
The latest track is expected to feature on the band’s upcoming LP, which the members teased that they were “in the process of writing and recording” last February.
Their seventh and most recent full-length release, ‘Kveikur’, came out back in 2013. The band shared their ‘Odin’s Raven Magic’ orchestral project in late 2020.
In October, the band announced a 20th-anniversary reissue of their third studio album, ‘( )’. The new edition of the 2002 record was remastered by engineer Ted Jenson, and contains B-sides and previously unreleased demos.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
