múm «» Early Birds
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Album release: Worldwide: June 01, 2012/US: July 03, 2012
Record Label: Morr Music / MORR 116
Runtime: 72:39
Tracklist:
01. Bak þitt Er Sem Rennibraut
02. Póst Póstmaður
03. Gingúrt
04. Glerbrot (Previously Lost)
05. Hvernig Á Að Særa Vini Sína (Previously Unreleased)
06. Bak þitt Er Sem Rennibraut (Bústadavegurer Fáviti Megamix Eftir Músíkvat)
07. Insert Coin (Bjarne Riis Arcade Game Mjiks Eftir Múm)
08. Loksins Erum Við Engin (Natturuoperan Song)
09. Náttúrúbúrú
10. 0,000Orð
11. Lalalala Blái Hnötturinn
12. Múm Spilar La La La
13. Hufeland
14. Volkspark Friedrichshain (Previously Forgotten)
15. Enginn Vildi Hlusta Á Fiðlunginn, því Strengir Hans Vóru Slitnir (Getiði Ekki Verið Góð Við Nömmu Okkar)
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≈ múm at the Aldrei fór ég suður festival in Ísafjörður, April 10, 2009 / © Author: Greg Neate
≈ Hallo. We are múm and thats who we are, (pronounced “miooyyuujm”). And now our new album is out and it’s called “Go go smear the poison ivy”, it’s our fourth album proper and we are happy with it.
≈ Maybe it’s a season too late, but we trust you to pretend it’s not. That’s about all we ask of you right now. But words can not express how thankful we are to everyone, everyones is the openest arms.
≈ But we are not medical practitioners, nor are we what is generally considered “hobos of leisure”. We are conveyors of sound and a few things more and that’s quite enough.
≈ Our first album is called ” yesterday was dramatic, today is ok”, our second one was called “Finally we are noone” and the third “Summer make good”, but before and between these two we released alot of different things and played with many different people in all kinds of places. These were all what you would call “good times”, even though everything always goes up and down in one way or the other.
We hope you enjoy the music. /// Morr Musik: http://press.morrmusic.com/release/press/id/588
Website: http://mum.is/ // Fat Cat: http://fat-cat.co.uk/site/artists/mm
Members:
≈ Gunnar Örn Tynes
≈ Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason
≈ Ólöf Arnalds
≈ Eiríkur Orri Olafsson
≈ Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir
≈ Sigurlaug Gísladóttir
≈ Samuli Kosminen
≈ Róbert Sturla Reynisson
Past members:
≈ Gyða Valtýsdóttir
≈ Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir
Discography:
Albums:
≈ Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK (TMT, 2000; reissue Morr Music, 2005)
≈ Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
≈ Loksins erum við engin (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — the Icelandic version of "Finally We Are No One"
≈ Summer Make Good (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know (Morr Music, 2009)
Compilations:
≈ Blái Hnötturinn (2001) — Soundtrack
≈ Motorlab #2 (2001) — 3 tracks contributed to compilation album by Kitchen Motors
≈ Please Smile My Noise Bleed (Morr Music, 2001) — 3 New Tracks + Remixes
≈ Remixed (TMT, 2001) — Versions of Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is Ok
≈ Fálkar (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — contributed "Grasi Vaxin Göng"
≈ Wicker Park (soundtrack) (Lakeshore Records, 2004) — contributed "We Have a Map of the Piano"
≈ Screaming Masterpiece (2005) — Appeared in the documentary with the video for "Green ≈ Grass of Tunnel" and contributed the same song to the soundtrack.
≈ Friends of the Random Summer (2005) — 3 CD, Unofficial Release.
≈ Kitchen Motors Family Album/Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússins (Spring 2006) — contributed "Asleep in a Hiding Place"
≈ Early birds (Morr Music, June 2012) — 15 rares, lost and unreleased tracks.
EPs:
≈ The Ballað of the Broken Birdie Records (TMT, 2000)
≈ Dusk Log (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ The Peel Session (Fat Cat Records, 2006) (Maida Vale 4 Studio 2002)
≈ Gleðileg Jól (A Number Of Small Things, 2011)
Singles:
≈ "Green Grass of Tunnel" (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
≈ "Nightly Cares" (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ "They Made Frogs Smoke 'til They Exploded" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ "Marmalade Fires" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ "Prophecies and Reversed Memories" (Morr Music, 2009)
≈ Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason ( born: 1977); FM Belfast at Sonnenrot Festival (Eching/Germany) / Author: Arne Müseler; July 16, 2011
≈ Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (born 1984), is a singer and song-writer. She performs under the stage name Mr. Silla.
≈ She teamed up with Magnús B. Skarphéðinsson to form the duo Mr. Silla & Mongoose. ≈ Together they have performed at Iceland Airwaves two times and have released an album called Foxbite.
≈ Currently, Sigurlaug is one of the new vocalists in the band Múm.
≈ Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (born September 4, 1982) is a classically trained ≈ Icelandic cellist who has played and recorded with the bands Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle and Múm, as well as her solo project Lost in Hildurness. She has also toured with Animal Collective.
In 2007 she released a solo album, Mount A, on which she attempted to "involve other people as little as I could." It was recorded in New York and Hólar in the north of Iceland. 2009 saw the release of her second solo album, Without Sinking on the UK-based audio-visual label, Touch.
≈ As well as the cello, Hildur also sings and arranges choral music, once arranging a choir for performances by Throbbing Gristle in Austria and London. As a composer she has written a score for the play Sumardagur ("Summer Day") performed at Iceland's National Theatre.
≈ Ólöf Arnalds (born 1980) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene for quite some time. Apart from her own music and being a touring member of múm since 2003, she has cooperated with bands and artists such as Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Mugison, Slowblow and Skúli Sverrisson. Between 1988 and 2002 Ólöf studied violin and classical singing, and in 2002-2006 she studied composition and new media at Iceland Academy of the Arts.
≈ In 2007, her debut album Við Og Við was released by 12 Tónar. The album features a set of songs performed mostly in a traditional troubadour style.
≈ Ólöf's second album is Innundir skinni and was released in September 2010.
≈ Ólöf's cousin Ólafur Arnalds is also a well known neo-classical composer.
≈ Ólöf Arnalds in San Francisco, August 4, 2019 / Author: Charlie Homo
≈ "Götter des Indietronics"
De Bug
≈ "Gut lässt sich hier aber zeigen, wie sich durch kindliches Suchen mit den Förmchen fieldrecording, ElektroniChaos und irgendwie sogar Jazz wunderschöne Sandburgen bauen lassen, die weder perfekt noch unfertig sind."
Westzeit
≈ It is the year 1998: What might have been the first decade in the
history of pop music that was characterized by an overwhelming
sense of fragmentation is drawing to a close. Anything goes:
guitars & electro, retro sounds or wicked forays into the digitized
future. Pop hasn’t sounded this optimistic and upbeat in a while,
and there’s currently no need for Weltschmerz in Indie anymore.
Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason have been
making music together as múm for about a year at this point –
though it’s not like anyone really took note of them or cared back
in 1998.
≈ The two band mates are basically nomadic drifters: They are
constantly moving from one basement studio to the next,
traveling through Europe, recording anything and everything that
comes to mind. Whenever they feel like getting some fresh air,
they go out with their DAT recorders to do some field recordings
– only to return to some unfurnished apartment in Reykjavík,
Montpellier or Berlin in order to mix and combine all the recorded
material. Accordingly, the duo indeed also pushes the level of
fragmentation in music. However, múm do not have set ideas or
a clear mission. All they do is sample, play around, mix,
recombine things, and ultimately marvel at the results. And then,
at a theater production, Gunnar and Örvar meet twin sisters
Kristín and Gyða. And then there were four.
≈ Early Birds is all about those days: It’s a compilation of 15 tracks,
all of them recorded between 1998-2000 and long-lost or
extremely rare, taken from demo tapes or limited edition vinyl
releases. Accordingly, you’ll find not only a track from the
aforementioned theater production, but also the yet-unreleased
“Hvernig á að særa vini sína”, a fan favorite ever since, that was
included on the soundtrack to the movie The Exploding Girl.
múm had a trademark even back in the earliest days: their
compositions were all about melodies. Yet, that’s about the only
thing these 15 songs have in common. Especially the first half of
the compilation focuses more on the playful, “full of beans”-type
of experimental tracks: pastiche and experimentation are key,
and it’s anything goes indeed: they go from hyped-up pre-
Electronica sound to jazzy Drum & Bass, and they aren’t even
afraid to present a double-neck guitar solo à la Hair Metal done
kiddie style. However, as said above, all the early experiments
nevertheless share a certain signature sound. The second half of
the album is comprised of those quieter, rather massive múm
tracks, with only a few analog layers, harmonious and blissful,
revolving around each other for minutes. These tracks are
somehow reminiscent of minimal music, but then again they are
simply too charming, too wistful and clearly not made for
academics.
≈ Early Birds ends with a contemplative piece that’s 10 minutes long and comprised of field recordings, harmonica, accordion, and lots of room for reverb (you could almost call it Dub). In this case the song title pretty much translates to “No one was listening to the fiddler, because the fiddle-strings were broken (why can’t you be good to your mother?)”. This final track ultimately became the “Ballad Of The Broken String” on múm’s debut album “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK” (2001), though this early version is indeed quite different. When the debut dropped, múm had found their sound. The rest is history: The band was hailed as a key exponent of “Electronica”, and with every release they sounded more and more unique and complete – only to become what might be Iceland’s most original band today.
Early Birds showcases the formative years and perfectly illustrates this evolution, though at the same time it shows that things could’ve turned out quite differently. Plus, it also proves one other thing: Yesterday was OK, too.
≈ The compilation album comes with nostalgic artwork by Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir who experienced the early days of múm first hand. Both the LP and CD version include a booklet that explains how each of the 15 (mostly instrumental) tracks came about.
múm «» Early Birds
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Album release: Worldwide: June 01, 2012/US: July 03, 2012
Record Label: Morr Music / MORR 116
Runtime: 72:39
Tracklist:
01. Bak þitt Er Sem Rennibraut
02. Póst Póstmaður
03. Gingúrt
04. Glerbrot (Previously Lost)
05. Hvernig Á Að Særa Vini Sína (Previously Unreleased)
06. Bak þitt Er Sem Rennibraut (Bústadavegurer Fáviti Megamix Eftir Músíkvat)
07. Insert Coin (Bjarne Riis Arcade Game Mjiks Eftir Múm)
08. Loksins Erum Við Engin (Natturuoperan Song)
09. Náttúrúbúrú
10. 0,000Orð
11. Lalalala Blái Hnötturinn
12. Múm Spilar La La La
13. Hufeland
14. Volkspark Friedrichshain (Previously Forgotten)
15. Enginn Vildi Hlusta Á Fiðlunginn, því Strengir Hans Vóru Slitnir (Getiði Ekki Verið Góð Við Nömmu Okkar)
≈ Hallo. We are múm and thats who we are, (pronounced “miooyyuujm”). And now our new album is out and it’s called “Go go smear the poison ivy”, it’s our fourth album proper and we are happy with it.
≈ Maybe it’s a season too late, but we trust you to pretend it’s not. That’s about all we ask of you right now. But words can not express how thankful we are to everyone, everyones is the openest arms.
≈ But we are not medical practitioners, nor are we what is generally considered “hobos of leisure”. We are conveyors of sound and a few things more and that’s quite enough.
≈ Our first album is called ” yesterday was dramatic, today is ok”, our second one was called “Finally we are noone” and the third “Summer make good”, but before and between these two we released alot of different things and played with many different people in all kinds of places. These were all what you would call “good times”, even though everything always goes up and down in one way or the other.
We hope you enjoy the music. /// Morr Musik: http://press.morrmusic.com/release/press/id/588
Website: http://mum.is/ // Fat Cat: http://fat-cat.co.uk/site/artists/mm
Members:
≈ Gunnar Örn Tynes
≈ Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason
≈ Ólöf Arnalds
≈ Eiríkur Orri Olafsson
≈ Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir
≈ Sigurlaug Gísladóttir
≈ Samuli Kosminen
≈ Róbert Sturla Reynisson
Past members:
≈ Gyða Valtýsdóttir
≈ Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir
Discography:
Albums:
≈ Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK (TMT, 2000; reissue Morr Music, 2005)
≈ Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
≈ Loksins erum við engin (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — the Icelandic version of "Finally We Are No One"
≈ Summer Make Good (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know (Morr Music, 2009)
Compilations:
≈ Blái Hnötturinn (2001) — Soundtrack
≈ Motorlab #2 (2001) — 3 tracks contributed to compilation album by Kitchen Motors
≈ Please Smile My Noise Bleed (Morr Music, 2001) — 3 New Tracks + Remixes
≈ Remixed (TMT, 2001) — Versions of Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is Ok
≈ Fálkar (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — contributed "Grasi Vaxin Göng"
≈ Wicker Park (soundtrack) (Lakeshore Records, 2004) — contributed "We Have a Map of the Piano"
≈ Screaming Masterpiece (2005) — Appeared in the documentary with the video for "Green ≈ Grass of Tunnel" and contributed the same song to the soundtrack.
≈ Friends of the Random Summer (2005) — 3 CD, Unofficial Release.
≈ Kitchen Motors Family Album/Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússins (Spring 2006) — contributed "Asleep in a Hiding Place"
≈ Early birds (Morr Music, June 2012) — 15 rares, lost and unreleased tracks.
EPs:
≈ The Ballað of the Broken Birdie Records (TMT, 2000)
≈ Dusk Log (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ The Peel Session (Fat Cat Records, 2006) (Maida Vale 4 Studio 2002)
≈ Gleðileg Jól (A Number Of Small Things, 2011)
Singles:
≈ "Green Grass of Tunnel" (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
≈ "Nightly Cares" (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
≈ "They Made Frogs Smoke 'til They Exploded" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ "Marmalade Fires" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
≈ "Prophecies and Reversed Memories" (Morr Music, 2009)
≈ Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (born 1984), is a singer and song-writer. She performs under the stage name Mr. Silla.
≈ She teamed up with Magnús B. Skarphéðinsson to form the duo Mr. Silla & Mongoose. ≈ Together they have performed at Iceland Airwaves two times and have released an album called Foxbite.
≈ Currently, Sigurlaug is one of the new vocalists in the band Múm.
≈ Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (born September 4, 1982) is a classically trained ≈ Icelandic cellist who has played and recorded with the bands Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle and Múm, as well as her solo project Lost in Hildurness. She has also toured with Animal Collective.
In 2007 she released a solo album, Mount A, on which she attempted to "involve other people as little as I could." It was recorded in New York and Hólar in the north of Iceland. 2009 saw the release of her second solo album, Without Sinking on the UK-based audio-visual label, Touch.
≈ As well as the cello, Hildur also sings and arranges choral music, once arranging a choir for performances by Throbbing Gristle in Austria and London. As a composer she has written a score for the play Sumardagur ("Summer Day") performed at Iceland's National Theatre.
≈ Ólöf Arnalds (born 1980) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene for quite some time. Apart from her own music and being a touring member of múm since 2003, she has cooperated with bands and artists such as Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Mugison, Slowblow and Skúli Sverrisson. Between 1988 and 2002 Ólöf studied violin and classical singing, and in 2002-2006 she studied composition and new media at Iceland Academy of the Arts.
≈ Ólöf Arnalds in San Francisco, August 4, 2019 / Author: Charlie Homo
≈ In 2007, her debut album Við Og Við was released by 12 Tónar. The album features a set of songs performed mostly in a traditional troubadour style.
≈ Ólöf's second album is Innundir skinni and was released in September 2010.
≈ Ólöf's cousin Ólafur Arnalds is also a well known neo-classical composer.
De Bug
≈ "Gut lässt sich hier aber zeigen, wie sich durch kindliches Suchen mit den Förmchen fieldrecording, ElektroniChaos und irgendwie sogar Jazz wunderschöne Sandburgen bauen lassen, die weder perfekt noch unfertig sind."
Westzeit
≈ It is the year 1998: What might have been the first decade in the
history of pop music that was characterized by an overwhelming
sense of fragmentation is drawing to a close. Anything goes:
guitars & electro, retro sounds or wicked forays into the digitized
future. Pop hasn’t sounded this optimistic and upbeat in a while,
and there’s currently no need for Weltschmerz in Indie anymore.
Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason have been
making music together as múm for about a year at this point –
though it’s not like anyone really took note of them or cared back
in 1998.
≈ The two band mates are basically nomadic drifters: They are
constantly moving from one basement studio to the next,
traveling through Europe, recording anything and everything that
comes to mind. Whenever they feel like getting some fresh air,
they go out with their DAT recorders to do some field recordings
– only to return to some unfurnished apartment in Reykjavík,
Montpellier or Berlin in order to mix and combine all the recorded
material. Accordingly, the duo indeed also pushes the level of
fragmentation in music. However, múm do not have set ideas or
a clear mission. All they do is sample, play around, mix,
recombine things, and ultimately marvel at the results. And then,
at a theater production, Gunnar and Örvar meet twin sisters
Kristín and Gyða. And then there were four.
≈ Early Birds is all about those days: It’s a compilation of 15 tracks,
all of them recorded between 1998-2000 and long-lost or
extremely rare, taken from demo tapes or limited edition vinyl
releases. Accordingly, you’ll find not only a track from the
aforementioned theater production, but also the yet-unreleased
“Hvernig á að særa vini sína”, a fan favorite ever since, that was
included on the soundtrack to the movie The Exploding Girl.
múm had a trademark even back in the earliest days: their
compositions were all about melodies. Yet, that’s about the only
thing these 15 songs have in common. Especially the first half of
the compilation focuses more on the playful, “full of beans”-type
of experimental tracks: pastiche and experimentation are key,
and it’s anything goes indeed: they go from hyped-up pre-
Electronica sound to jazzy Drum & Bass, and they aren’t even
afraid to present a double-neck guitar solo à la Hair Metal done
kiddie style. However, as said above, all the early experiments
nevertheless share a certain signature sound. The second half of
the album is comprised of those quieter, rather massive múm
tracks, with only a few analog layers, harmonious and blissful,
revolving around each other for minutes. These tracks are
somehow reminiscent of minimal music, but then again they are
simply too charming, too wistful and clearly not made for
academics.
≈ Early Birds ends with a contemplative piece that’s 10 minutes long and comprised of field recordings, harmonica, accordion, and lots of room for reverb (you could almost call it Dub). In this case the song title pretty much translates to “No one was listening to the fiddler, because the fiddle-strings were broken (why can’t you be good to your mother?)”. This final track ultimately became the “Ballad Of The Broken String” on múm’s debut album “Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK” (2001), though this early version is indeed quite different. When the debut dropped, múm had found their sound. The rest is history: The band was hailed as a key exponent of “Electronica”, and with every release they sounded more and more unique and complete – only to become what might be Iceland’s most original band today.
Early Birds showcases the formative years and perfectly illustrates this evolution, though at the same time it shows that things could’ve turned out quite differently. Plus, it also proves one other thing: Yesterday was OK, too.
≈ The compilation album comes with nostalgic artwork by Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir who experienced the early days of múm first hand. Both the LP and CD version include a booklet that explains how each of the 15 (mostly instrumental) tracks came about.