Seabear | I Sing I Swim
Seabear’s “I Sing I Swim” - how a 24-year-old Icelandic art student recorded seven musicians around a single microphone and created 2007’s most hauntingly beautiful folk song.
Story Behind “I Sing I Swim”
The Solo Project That Accidentally Became a Band
Sindri Már Sigfússon never meant to start a band. In 2003, he was an art student at Iceland University of the Arts, coming home to his parents’ house each afternoon after classes ended at noon. While they were at work, he’d set up in the hallway with tiny speakers, a decent microphone, and his PC computer, recording songs that were supposed to stay solo projects.
He made a homemade EP called Singing Arc under the name Seabear, designed the cover himself, and used his mother’s sewing machine to stitch the packages together. He burned ten copies and brought them to 12 Tónar, a Reykjavík record store that maintained a rack specifically for homemade music. “I didn’t see myself as a working musician,” he later admitted.
But somehow that EP made its way to German label Tomlab, who released a Seabear track on a split 7” with Grizzly Bear. When they invited Sindri to perform at Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre, he faced a problem: he needed a band. So he put out a call to fellow Reykjavík musicians—people who played with Sigur Rós, múm, and Benni Hemm Hemm. By 2006, Seabear had grown from one person in a hallway to seven musicians crowding around microphones.
“I Sing I Swim” emerged from this expanded lineup as they recorded The Ghost That Carried Us Away in Sindri’s small studio. The 24-year-old songwriter placed all seven band members in front of a single microphone (except for drums) to capture what would become their signature lo-fi intimacy. That one-mic approach wasn’t an artistic choice as much as practical necessity—but it created the delicate, breathing-room sound that made the track unforgettable.
From Reykjavík Basements to International Recognition
When Morr Music released The Ghost That Carried Us Away in August 2007, critics struggled to categorize it. “Sufjan Stevens meets an unplugged Arcade Fire,” wrote Clash magazine. Rolling Stone called Sindri “the Icelandic Beck.” But those comparisons couldn’t fully capture the fragile beauty of songs like “I Sing I Swim”—how violin, guitar, piano, harmonica, and whispered vocals created what one reviewer described as “fragile hymns of nonchalant casualness.”
The song explores themes Sindri kept returning to: nature, mortality, and love rendered through dreamlike imagery. Trees singing when birds sleep. Winter clothes left behind. Children swimming in water. The metaphors pile up without explanation, trusting listeners to find their own meanings in the spaces between words.
“I Sing I Swim” Recording and Production Details
The Single-Microphone Philosophy
Recording The Ghost That Carried Us Away meant fitting seven musicians into Sindri’s small home studio—Gudbjörg Hlín Gudmundsdóttir on violin and vocals, Örn Ingi on guitar and lap steel, plus Halldór Ragnarsson, Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason, Sóley Stefánsdóttir, and Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir on various instruments. Sindri placed them in front of a single microphone and let them think about his musical ideas together.
This wasn’t state-of-the-art production. It was what Sindri had learned from his art school days: use what you have. The single-mic approach created natural bleed between instruments, where the violin breathes into the piano and the guitars wrap around vocals. You can hear musicians adjusting their distance from the mic, leaning in for emphasis, pulling back for space.
The lo-fi aesthetic wasn’t romanticized minimalism—it was seven people making the most of limited equipment. But that limitation became the album’s greatest strength, creating an intimacy that expensive studio separation couldn’t replicate.
Morr Music and the German Connection
Berlin-based Morr Music had established itself as the home for Iceland’s experimental folk artists, having already signed múm and Benni Hemm Hemm. They brought Seabear into their roster and released The Ghost That Carried Us Away on August 17, 2007. The album was mastered at Dubplates & Mastering, preserving the delicate dynamics that made tracks like “I Sing I Swim” feel alive.
The production emphasizes space as much as sound. Instruments enter and exit organically. Gudbjörg’s violin floats above the arrangement like her “voice in the clouds,” as early press materials described it. Sindri’s vocals remain almost bashful, present but never dominating. The track runs 3:40, just long enough to establish its hypnotic pattern before leaving you wanting more.
Notes About “I Sing I Swim” by Seabear
Release Date: August 17, 2007
Duration: 3:40
Genre: Indie Folk / Chamber Pop / Lo-Fi Folk
Album: The Ghost That Carried Us Away (debut album, track 6 of 12)
Writer: Sindri Már Sigfússon
Producer: Sindri Már Sigfússon (self-produced)
Label: Morr Music (Germany)
Mastering: Dubplates & Mastering
Album Duration: 44 minutes
TV Placement: Featured on Grey’s Anatomy (2010)
Album Format: CD, Vinyl LP, Digital (reissued on vinyl in 2022, limited to 300 copies)
Seabear “I Sing I Swim” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: The Ghost That Carried Us Away
Release Date: August 17, 2007
Label: Morr Music (Berlin, Germany)
Producer: Sindri Már Sigfússon
Mastering: Dubplates & Mastering
Recording Location: Sindri’s home studio, Reykjavík, Iceland
Recording Method: Single-microphone setup for most instruments
Album Concept: Lo-fi folk explorations of nature, mortality, and love
Critical Reception: Compared to Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes by critics
Band Members/Personnel
Sindri Már Sigfússon - Vocals, guitar, piano, songwriter (also records as Sin Fang)
Gudbjörg Hlín Gudmundsdóttir - Violin, vocals, harmonica
Örn Ingi Ágústsson - Guitar, lap steel
Sóley Stefánsdóttir - Keyboards, vocals (later successful solo artist on Morr Music)
Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason - Various instruments (also member of band Kimono)
Halldór Ragnarsson - Various instruments, visual artist
Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir - Various instruments (left live performances in 2008 to focus on visual art)
Production Notes
Evolved from Sindri’s solo project (started 2003) to trio (2005) to seven-piece (2006)
Recorded using minimal equipment in home studio setting
Band members included musicians who performed with Sigur Rós and múm
Sindri created album artwork and hand-sewed early EP packaging
Album preceded 2010 follow-up We Built a Fire
Band toured extensively in 2010 (160 shows) before taking hiatus
Reunited in 2019 for Iceland Airwaves festival
Interesting Facts About “I Sing I Swim”
The Track That Made Seabear Famous
“I Sing I Swim” became Seabear’s calling card, the song that introduced international audiences to Iceland’s thriving indie-folk scene. When Grey’s Anatomy featured it in 2010, three years after the album’s release, it brought the band to American audiences who’d never heard Icelandic chamber pop. The placement made perfect sense—Grey’s Anatomy had become known for emotional indie soundtracks, and “I Sing I Swim” delivered that haunting intimacy the show’s music supervisors sought.
The song’s imagery resonated because it trusted listeners to interpret rather than explaining itself. What does it mean when “birds are sleeping” so “the trees sing”? Why wash your hands in a lake? What is that black rock in your bedroom? Sindri’s lyrics work like dream logic, where specific images carry emotional weight without literal translation. Critics noted how even listeners who didn’t understand Icelandic could feel moved by the band’s Icelandic-language tracks—but “I Sing I Swim,” sung in English, proved that Sindri’s gift transcended language entirely. The emotions lived in how words sounded as much as what they meant.
From Accidental Band to International Tours
The trajectory from homemade EPs sewn on his mother’s machine to international touring happened so fast it left Sindri reeling. He’d graduated from Iceland University of the Arts in 2007 with a degree in visual arts—music was supposed to be a side project. Instead, Seabear found themselves touring Europe and America, playing festivals, watching their songs appear on television.
By 2010, exhaustion caught up. The band played 160 shows that year—starting in January, ending in December. That relentless schedule, combined with Sindri and Sóley juggling solo careers (Sindri as Sin Fang, Sóley as a solo artist also on Morr Music), meant something had to give. Sindri put Seabear on hiatus, admitting later: “It was probably my decision to put the band on hiatus in 2010. It was kind of stupid in hindsight, because we were selling out a lot of the tours and it was going quite well. But it’s always fun to self-sabotage.”
The hiatus lasted nine years until 2019, when the band reunited for Iceland Airwaves. Their comeback show at Kex Hostel was at maximum capacity, with a telecast in the basement and lines around the block. “I Sing I Swim” remained the song audiences wanted most—proof that some tracks transcend their moment to become timeless.
Common Questions
Q: What is “I Sing I Swim” by Seabear about? A: The song explores themes of longing, memory, and human connection through dreamlike nature imagery. Lines about trees singing when birds sleep, washing hands in lakes, and finding the sea create emotional resonance without literal interpretation, inviting listeners to find personal meaning in the metaphors.
Q: Who is Seabear? A: Seabear is an Icelandic indie-folk band led by singer-songwriter Sindri Már Sigfússon. What started as his solo project in 2003 grew into a seven-piece ensemble by 2006, featuring musicians who also performed with Sigur Rós and múm.
Q: How was “I Sing I Swim” recorded? A: The track was recorded in Sindri’s small Reykjavík home studio using a single microphone for most instruments, creating an intimate lo-fi sound. This minimalist approach—born from necessity rather than aesthetic choice—became the album’s signature production style.
Q: What TV show featured “I Sing I Swim”? A: “I Sing I Swim” was featured on Grey’s Anatomy in 2010, three years after the album’s release. The song also appeared on other shows—bandmate track “Cat Piano” was featured on Gossip Girl in 2008.
Q: Is Seabear still together? A: Seabear took a hiatus in 2010 after extensive touring but reunited in 2019 for Iceland Airwaves festival. During the break, Sindri Már Sigfússon continued making music as Sin Fang, while other members pursued solo projects and visual arts.