Sigur Rós announce ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ 20th anniversary reissue

The band's 1999 album gave them their big breakthrough

Sigur Rós have announced the reissue of ‘Ágætis Byrjun (A Good Beginning)’ to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

The album, which was originally released in 1999, gave the Icelandic band their big breakthrough. It has since been certified gold in the UK and platinum in their home country.

The new editions will be released in a variety of formats, including a seven-vinyl limited edition deluxe box set, a four-CD release, and a double vinyl version. The vinyl box set will include demos, early sketches of songs, and live recordings.

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Included in the track listing are guide vocal versions of ‘Svefn-g-englar’ and the title track, a version of ‘Staralfur’ at its original speed, an extended version of ‘Vidrar vet til loftarasa’, and more.

The reissue also includes a recording of the band’s concert at the Icelandic Opera House, which took place on June 12, 1999 to mark the release of the record. The live album has been mixed by the band’s former keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, alongside Birgir Birgisson, who originally recorded the set. The concert was also the last time drummer Águst Gunnarsson played with the band.

The limited edition deluxe box set will be released in a linen-bound box that includes an 84-page cloth-bound book. Inside the book are handwritten string arrangements, photos, ideas for artwork, and more from the band’s archive. The first 1999 copies of the box set will also be numbered.

The new editions of ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ will be released on June 21 via Krunk Records. They are available to pre-order now from Sigur Rós’ website. The tracklists for the reissues are as follows:

1999 Deluxe 7 x LP numbered limited edition:

3 x LP – Demos and Rarities (100 minutes):-

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Side A
‘Svefn-g-englar’ (Live at Popp í Reykjavík, 1998)
‘Starálfur’ (Original speed version)

Side B

‘Flugufrelsarinn’ (1998 Demo)
‘Ný batterí’ (Instrumental)

Side C
‘Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm)’ (1995 Demo)
‘Viðrar vel til loftárása’ (Alternative ending)

Side D
‘Olsen Olsen’ (1998 Demo)
‘Ágætis byrjun’ (1998 Demo)

Side E
‘Hugmynd 1’ (1998 Demo)
‘Hugmynd 2’ (1998 Demo)
‘Hugmynd 3’ (1998 Demo)

Side F
‘Debata mandire’ (Live at Laugardashöll, 1999)
‘Rafmagnið búið’ (From Ný batterí EP, 2000)

2 x LP – Live Íslenska Óperan 1999 (90 minutes):-

Side A
‘Intro’
‘Von’
‘Syndir Guðs’

Side B

‘Flugufresarinn’
‘Olsen Olsen’
‘Ágætis byrjun’

Side C
‘Viðrar vel til loftárása’
‘Svefn-g-englar’
‘Ný batterí’

Side D
‘Nýja lagið’
‘Hafssól’

2 x LP – Original album

4 x CD:

1 x Rarities / 2 x Live Íslenska Óperan 1999 + Rarities / 1 x Original album

2 x LP:

Original album + download code of Demos and Rarities + Live Íslenska Óperan 1999

Earlier this year, the band scored the soundtrack to a Taiwanese dance performance called ‘22° Lunar Halo’. The piece is set to make its world premiere in Taiwan between April 13-28 and was helmed by choreographer and artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung.

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