Sigur Rós have shared their first album in a decade on streaming platforms.
The Icelandic post-rock band have added ‘The Átta’ to the likes of Spotify and Apple Music today (16.06.23), with physical copies available from September 1.
The group previewed the collection with the single ‘Blóðberg’ earlier this week.
Multi-instrumentalist Georg ‘Goggi’ Hólm said of the atmospheric album: “In a post-pandemic world torn apart by war, economic turmoil, culture wars, and brutally divisive discourse, Átta feels like a balming and unifying bond.
“It’s what the music asked for and spoke for itself.
“This record sounds like a Sigur Rós album, but it’s more introverted than before. It’s very expansive with this sound of strings, but it looks within more than outside.”
It features the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames.
Kjartan ‘Kjarri’ Sveinsson added: “We wanted to allow ourselves to be a bit dramatic and go far with these arrangements.
“The world needs that right now. It’s hard to describe, but for me everything is always open to interpretation. People can think and feel how they want.”
It marks their first album since 2013’s ‘Kveikur’.
Sigur are also hitting the road for a tour with a 41-piece orchestra.
They will play in Europe and North America with the London Contemporary Orchestra and the Wordless Music Orchestra, respectively.
A statement posted on the band’s website read: “Sigur Ros have announced a limited run of very special dates, performed with a 41-piece orchestra in both Europe and North America. You can expect a new album in June, the first studio album in 10 years.
“Having spent the past few years writing and recording, Sigur Ros will now debut these brand new songs to the world. The tour kicks off in London at Meltdown Festival, where the band will perform with the London Contemporary Orchestra, who also accompany them on their following European tour dates.
“Accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra in North America, the band will perform their new material as well as favourites from their extensive catalogue. All orchestral dates will be conducted by Rob Ames.”
The first show will take place at London’s Royal Festival Hall tonight as part of the annual Meltdown Festival. They will then head to countries including France, Holland and Germany before taking the shows to Canada and the US with stops in Toronto, New York City and Boston, and concluding the trek in Los Angeles on August 28.