Essential Albums: Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun
Sigur Rós’s “Ágætis byrjun” (1999) - the Icelandic post-rock masterpiece with cello-bowed guitars and invented language that redefined what atmospheric music could be.
Sigur Rós’s debut album Von sold just over 300 copies in 1997. Two years later, they released their second album and sold 10,000 copies in Iceland alone—earning platinum status in a country with a population of around 280,000.
Ágætis byrjun (translated as “A Good Beginning”) was recorded between summer 1998 and spring 1999 at the band’s Sundlaugin studio in the Icelandic countryside with producer Ken Thomas. The album represented a complete transformation from Von’s extended ambient soundscapes, replacing them with Jónsi Birgisson’s cello-bowed guitar work and orchestration using a double string octet amongst other chamber elements.
Released June 12, 1999, the album spent autumn climbing the Icelandic charts before resting at the top for weeks. It received a 2000 UK release and 2001 US release, eventually selling 227,000 copies in America alone and over 400,000 in Europe.
Pitchfork ranked it #2 on their best albums of 2000 (behind Radiohead’s Kid A) and #8 on their top 200 albums of the 2000s. Rolling Stone placed it #29 on their best albums of the 2000s.
But none of that explains why people cried the first time they heard it.
