|
Jónsi Acoustic in-store performance Concert |
GA Voice: What do you say to people who might be concerned that the release of a solo disc by you might be interpreted as the end of Sigur Rós?
Jónsi: I’m going to be touring my solo album this year. And I’m going to keep on working in Sigur Rós, writing and recording songs. Hopefully there’s going to be a new Sigur Rós album in 2011.
There is a radiant effervescence to some of the songs on “Go,” such as “Go Do,” “Animal Arithmetic” and “Around Us.” Is that a reflection of your state of mind at the time?
Yeah, I think so; definitely. I wanted to push these songs in any way possible. “Go Do,” for example was written on ukulele, which sounds kind of weird when I listen to it now. There are so many layers on the song, so many instruments. I think I was pushing for more and more stuff to put on the songs. I wanted them to be energetic.
There’s definitely a powerful energy in those songs. The songs “Around Us” and “Grow Till Tall” both contain references to growth and growing “till tall.” Can you please say something about the connection between the two songs?
I don’t know why “grow” appears in so many songs. I think it appears in three lyrics on the album, actually. It’s probably about somebody growing. I’m not sure why it appears so many times.
Do you think it could be a reflection of your own personal and creative growth?
Yeah, it could be, actually. I’m kind of taking a big step by myself by releasing this solo album and finally releasing these songs by myself. I’ve been creating for many, many years.
Are you referring to the passion fruit lilikoi in the song “Boy Lilikoi”? Is lilikoi something that you like to eat?
Maybe it has a different meaning. Maybe it’s about nature and living in the wild and dreams. Maybe meeting some young boy out in the forest (laughs).
You collaborated with your partner, Alex Somers, on the new album “Go” and you’ve also collaborated with him before. How does being in a relationship effect creative collaboration?
It’s actually quite healthy. I like it. Alex is this amazing person who really inspires me. We have kind of the same taste in everything, like music, movies and books and clothes and food; nearly everything. We fit well together. It’s really good for me. We support each other and help each other with songwriting. He helped me choose the songs for this album and produced the album with me. So, yeah, it’s really good.
Top photo: Jónsi, the openly gay frontman of Sigur Rós, brings a wildly rhythmic and sumptuous style to ‘Go,’ his solo album. (by Lilja and Inga Birgisdóttir)