Múm

All Music Guide:

Iceland pop experimentalists Múm were formed by Gunnar Örn Tynes, Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, and classically trained twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir. Formed in 1997, the group met while working on a children's play. Smárason found his perception of music changed through hearing Aphex Twin and decided that he would abandon the guitar-based concepts of his prior bands. This was fine and dandy with his bandmates. Following a number of singles and remixes, the full-length Yesterday Was Dramatic -- Today Is OK was released in 2000 through TMT/Thule in Iceland and Tugboat in the U.K. Each of the band's four members was in their late teens when the record was released, hailed for its playful and imaginative use of all things musical and not so musical. 2001 saw the release of Please Smile My Noise Bleed on Morr Music, a compilation of remixes from the likes of isan and Arovane. A second full-length, Finally We Are No One, was released the following year on Fat Cat. Gyða left the band to focus on her studies before Múm's third album, Summer Make Good, arrived in spring 2004; the band rounded out the year with the Dusk Log EP. The next two years found Múm on the road. In 2005, the group collaborated with the National Dutch Chamber Orchestra at Amsterdam's Holland Festival on a piece inspired by the works of composer Iannis Xenakis. Múm returned to the studio the following year, and in the interim released a live album, The Peel Session, which was originally recorded in 2002 by the BBC. For 2007's Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, the band was down to founding members Tynes and Smárason, who enlisted the help of guitarist/vocalist/violinist Ólöf Arnalds, trumpet/keyboard player Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson, vocalist/cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, percussionist Samuli Kosminen, and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Mr. Silla. The group recorded their fifth album, 2009's Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know, in Finland and Estonia as well as their native Iceland. Fans had to wait four more years for another new studio album from the band, although they weren't entirely bereft of new product, as a Christmas EP, Gleðileg Jól, was released in 2011, and a compilation of early tracks in 2012 entitled Early Birds. Early in 2013, a track entitled "Whistle" emerged -- a surprise collaboration with none other than Kylie Minogue. Later that year, Múm announced they would be releasing their sixth album, Smilewound, in September. The album would include the Kylie track and the single "Toothwheels", and marked the return to the group of Gyða Valtýsdóttir for the first time in ten years.

Wikipedia:

múm (Icelandic pronunciation: [muːm]) are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.

History[edit]

The band was formed in 1997 by original members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, who were joined by twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir. According to Kristín, the band's name was not intended to mean anything. Gyða left the band to return to her studies after the release of Finally We Are No One. In early 2006, Kristín also left the band, although it was not officially announced until 23 November of that year. With only Tynes and Smárason remaining in the group, a large group of new musicians were brought on board: guitarist/vocalist/violinist Ólöf Arnalds, trumpet/keyboard player Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson, vocalist/cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, percussionist Samuli Kosminen, and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Mr. Silla. The new collective of musicians recorded their fourth album during 2006; Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy was released on 24 September 2007.

múm toured the East Coast of the US with German musician Volker "Hauschka" Bertelmann In November 2007. They returned in Spring 2008 with the same set list. Both tours included songs from the album, Go, Go Smear the Poison Ivy.

On 27 August 2008, they announced on their official website that "múm is quietly but surely [working on] their new album. No release date has been etched in stone, but every day will bring it closer." múm also released several pictures of themselves during the recording process on their My Space page.

During a 22 May 2009 concert in Burgos, Spain, múm played songs from their newest album Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know. The album, recorded in Finland, Estonia, and Iceland, was released as a download through Gogoyoko on 17 August 2009, and on CD on 24 August 2009.

múm launched in December 2011 an EP called Gleðileg Jól (Merry Christmas in Icelandic) with traditional Icelandic Christmas songs. There are two songs plus one extra track.

On 1 June 2012, múm launched a compilation featuring 15 tracks recorded between 1998 and 2000 named "Early Birds". On 9 February 2013, a collaboration of theirs with Kylie Minogue called "Whistle" surfaced on SoundCloud.

múm released their sixth album Smilewound in September, 2013 on CD, vinyl and digital download. On 7 September, it was released on cassette for Cassette Store Day.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).