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Nov 21, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Sigur Rós

Iceland’s Sigur Rós previously announced Norður og Niður, a new festival at Reykjavik’s Harpa venue from December 27 - 31. The band will perform four shows in Harpa’s main hall, Eldborg (which has a capacity of only 1,500 per show), on December 27, 28, 29, and 30. Now they have announced some rare limited vinyl releases that will be available at the festival and have shared a previously unreleased (and untitled) song by frontman Jónsi. The band have also announced additions to the festival’s lineup. Below are the song, info on the vinyl releases, and the festival lineup.

Jónsi’s album is entitled Frakkur, 2000-2004 and described in a press release as “a collection of his unreleased solo electronic recordings, as part of a range of limited edition vinyl at Norður og Niður festival. Edited down from several unreleased albums’ worth of unheard material, the first 100 copies of the record will come in a handmade sleeve created on site at Harpa by the Icelandic artist Sigga Björg Sigurðardóttir.”

Sigur Rós Route One is an album that features “all the musical highlights of their 24-hour ‘slow TV’ journey around Iceland’s Ring Road on the longest day of 2016. The music was created using ground-breaking generative music software.”

Jónsi, Alex Somers, and Paul Corley have teamed up with Liminal Remixes. It’s described as such: “To coincide with their Liminal Soundbath at the festival on Dec 30th, the three friends collate an album of extraordinary never-before-heard ambient versions of some Sigur Rós classics, including ‘Untitled 6, 7 and 9,’ ‘Varúð,’ and ‘Brennisteinn,’ and others.”

All Animals is an EP by Jónsi and Alex Sommers that is being reissued. “The long-deleted EP released shortly after their fabled Riceboy Sleeps album, available on vinyl for the first time.”

There is also a new album of unreleased music from Alex Somers.

Back in May we posted our interview with the band’s Georg Holm about Norður og Niður and the challenges of recording their new album.

“We’ve got loads of ideas, but there are not many I can confirm right now,” said Holm in our interview. “We will be playing four shows but we’re still working on everything else. I can definitely promise a very unique experience and some of the ideas, to be honest, are quite outrageous. [Laughs] It’s going to be fun. We don’t want it to be too serious but fun. It’s not a music festival or an art festival, but we’ll definitely have art installations and dance pieces and bands playing and events that will be kind of weird. There will also be something involving Christmas music. I can tell you that.”

A previous press release further described the festival as such: “Elsewhere in Harpa, Norður og Niður will host musical performances, art installations, dance pieces, film screenings, spoken word and impromptu happenings, many of them featuring the extended network of friends and collaborators that they have met and worked with throughout their twenty-plus year career.”

Norður og Niður Day-By-Day Schedule (More TBA):
Wednesday Dec 27th:
Blanck Mass
Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip)
Dimma
Mammút
Kristín Anna
Árni
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Steindór Andersen & Pall Guðmundsson
Alex Somers
Nelly Ben Hayoun Presents ‘Disaster Playground’

Thursday Dec 28th:

Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)
Gusgus
Tangerine Dream
Mary Lattimore
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Alex Somers
Kórus
Kjartan Holm & Caleb Smith
Jo Berger Myhre & Olafur Björn Olafsson
Dean Deblois Presents ‘Heima’

Friday Dec 29th:

Mogwai
Peaches
Dan Deacon
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Iceland Dance Company*
Dustin O’halloran
Julianna Barwick
Jfdr
Hugar
Alex Somers
Sigrún
Brassgat Í Bala
Daniel Bjarnason Presents “Under the Tree”

Saturday Dec 30th:

Jarvis Cocker
Stars of the Lid
Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason
Ulrich Schnauss
Iceland Dance Company*
Amiina Mr Silla
Gyða
Alex Somers
Liminal Soundbath
Eirikur Orri Olafsson
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Presents “The Show of Shows”

* New choreographed work set to music of Sigur Rós.

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