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Revision as of 04:08, 4 April 2009
Jónsi |
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Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson () (born April 23, 1975) 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. Jónsi is blind in his right eye, and is openly gay.[1][2] His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for Sigur Rós and they also perform together as an art collaboration called Riceboy Sleeps. They released their self-titled first book in November 2006, which was an embossed hardcover limited to 1000 copies.[3] Jonsi is also a vegetarian.[1]
Musical history
In 1995, Jónsi fronted a band called ‘Bee Spiders’, under the alias ‘Jonny B’. He wore sunglasses on stage throughout whole concerts. Bee Spiders received the ‘most interesting band’ award in 1995 in a contest for unknown bands called ‘Músíktilraunir’ (Music Experimentations). The band played long rock songs and was compared to The Smashing Pumpkins.[4] Jónsi also fronted a grunge rock band called ‘Stoned’ around 1992–1993. He sometimes uses the alias Frakkur to release his solo material.
Notes
The name Sigur Rós is altered from the name of Jónsi's little sister, Sigurrós, who was born at the same time the band was formed.
In Icelandic Sigur translates to “Victory” and Rós to “Rose”.[5]
In 2003 he was escorted off the premises while protesting against Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project in Iceland. [6]
Languages
Jónsi's first language is Icelandic. He also speaks English. According to the official Sigur Rós web site:[7]
On the first three Sigur Rós albums (Von, Von Brigði, Ágætis Byrjun), Jónsi sang most songs in Icelandic but two of them (“Von” and “Olsen Olsen”) were sung in ‘Hopelandic’. All of the vocals on ( ) are in Hopelandic. Hopelandic (Vonlenska in Icelandic) is the ‘invented language’ in which Jónsi sings before lyrics are written to the vocals. It is not an actual language by definition (no vocabulary, grammar, etc.), but rather a form of gibberish vocals that fit to the music and act as another instrument. Jónsi likens it to what singers sometimes do when they’ve decided on the melody, but haven’t written the lyrics yet. Many languages were considered to be used on ( ), including English, but they decided on Hopelandic. Hopelandic (Vonlenska) got its name (from a journalist, not Jónsi himself) from the first song which Jónsi sang on, “Hope” (Von). [8]
Instruments
Like a few other players of bowed guitar, Jónsi plays a Gibson Les Paul[9]. He also plays a white Ibanez Les Paul copy.
References
- ^ a b "Icelandic rock". The Economist. June 14, 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-06-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Price, Simon (July 17, 2005), "At last! The populist person's thinking band", The Independent on Sunday, retrieved 2007-11-25
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Riceboy Sleeps Announces First U.S. Exhibition". ALARM Magazine. July 05, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "sigur rós - trivia". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
- ^ "Sigur Rós Official Site FAQ". Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ "Sigur Rós Official Site". Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- ^ "Sigur Rós Official Site". Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ gorillavsbear.net: sigur ros vs. NPR
- ^ "Sound on Sound on Sigur Ros Official Site". Retrieved 2008-03-25.