Jónsi To Release Solo Album In March 2010!

Parlophone Records today released a press release announcing the forthcoming release of ‘Go’, the highly anticipated debut solo album from Jón Thor Birgisson, aka Jónsi, lead singer of Sigur Rós. According to the press release, the choice to make an album of solo recordings came together as a solution to a backlog of songs Jónsi had written that didn’t seem to fit within the Sigur Rós context. The first collection of this material saw its release earlier this year in the form of a record called ‘Riceboy Sleeps’ an instrumental album made with his partner, Alex Somers.

‘Go’, however, is apparently a different beast entirely if only because it features Jónsi’s signature vocals throughout, with the majority of the songs sung in - gasp! - English. When he began working on ‘Go’, Jónsi initially though he would be making a low-key, acoustic album until, as he says, “somewhere along the line, it just sort of exploded.” The record is not thus straight ahead pop, nor rock, folk, ambient or electronic but encompasses all of these sounds and moods.

The record features a number of free-spirited collaborators, such as Nico Muhly (Björk, Antony & The Johnsons, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Grizzly Bear), who has arranged all the songs on ‘Go’, and percussion hero Samuli Kosminen, who is also no stranger to Icelandic collaborations. Co-produced by Jónsi alongside Alex Somers and Peter Katis (Interpol) and recorded at home in Reykjavik and at Peter’s Tarquin Studios in Connecticut in spring 2009, the album was mixed by Tom Elmhirst at Metropolis Studios in London.

Jónsi will be bringing these songs to life with an extensive world tour throughout 2010. For more details on this along with exclusive Jónsi news, information and music check out www.jonsi.com where you can also download the wonderful track ‘Boy Lilikoi’ for free. (And in case you’re wondering, a lilikoi is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit).