GusGus is an electronic music band from

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, Iceland. Although initially a film and acting collective, the group is mostly known for its

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

. The group's discography consists of eleven studio albums.

History

GusGus was initially formed in 1995 as a film and acting collective. The band's name refers to the 1974 German film '' Ali: Fear Eats the Soul'' (german: Angst essen Seele auf) by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's mai ...

, where a female character is cooking

couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

for her lover, pronouncing it ''Gusgus''. GusGus' music is eclectic, and although primarily classified as

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

, and

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, the band has experimented with other styles. They have remixed songs of popular artists such as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

Moloko Moloko () were an Irish-English electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their UK top 10 sin ...

, and

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fr ...

. Membership in the band has varied, and included: *

Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson (born 26 August 1969) is an Icelandic solo artist and a lead singer of the bands GusGus, Nýdönsk and Esja. Biography Daníel has been part of the local and international music scene since he started his career w ...

* Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir * Magnús Jónsson (aka Blake) * Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir * Urður Hákonardóttir (aka Earth) * Högni Egilsson * Birgir Þórarinsson (aka Biggi Veira or Biggo) * Magnús Guðmundsson (aka Maggi Lego, Herb Legowitz, Hunk of a Man, Buckmaster De La Cruz, The Fox, Fuckmaster, or Herr Legowitz) * Stephan Stephensen (aka President Bongo, Alfred More, or President Penis) * Sigurður Kjartansson (aka Siggi Kinski) * Stefán Árni Þorgeirsson * Baldur Stefánsson (Director of Financial Arts, aka DJ Tekno Jörgensen) * Ragnheiður Axel * Páll Garðarsson In 1997, the band performed in Toronto. They returned for a second visit as part of a tour supporting their second album, ''This is Normal''. In 1998, a remix of the track "Purple" appeared on

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

's trance compilation ''

Tranceport Tranceport is a trance music DJ mix album series. The series debuted in November 1998 with Paul Oakenfold's '' Tranceport'', released on Kinetic Records. The album featured many trance songs that were receiving a lot of dance club play at the tim ...

''. After the group's third album, ''

This Is Normal ''This Is Normal'' is the third studio album by Icelandic electronic music band GusGus. It was released on 26 April 1999 on 4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the H ...

'' (1999), the filmmaking arm of GusGus (Kjartansson and Árni Þorgeirsson) split off to form the production company Celebrator, now known as

Arni & Kinski Arni may refer to: Municipalities * Arni, Tiruvannamalai, a town in Tamil Nadu, India * Arni, Maharashtra, in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra State, India * Arni, Karditsa, a municipality in the Karditsa regional unit, Greece * Arni, Aargau, a munic ...

, which has produced advertisements and videos. In January 2004, they released the song "Desire" with

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the split in 1996, he began a solo career, r ...

. As of 2011 the band had sold over 700,000 copies worldwide. Its 2015 incarnation consists of four members (President Bongo, Biggi Veira, Urður Hákonardóttir and Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson). A few former members such as Hafdís Huld, Blake, and Daníel Ágúst have gone solo;

Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single " Jungle Drum", her 1999 album '' Love in the Time of Science'', and her performance of " Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film '' The L ...

provided a song for the soundtrack of

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''.

Band members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1200 height:800 PlotArea = left:200 bottom:120 top:0 right:25 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1996 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1996 Colors = id:act value:red legend:Years Active LineData = at:01/01/1995 layer:back at:01/01/1995 width:1.5 layer:front PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Baldur Stefánsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Birgir Þórarinsson from:start till:end color:act bar:Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson from:01/01/2008 till:end color:act bar:Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir from:start till:31/03/2000 color:act bar:Högni Egilsson from:01/01/2011 till:31/12/2016 color:act bar:Magnús Guðmundsson from:start till:31/12/2007 color:act bar:Magnús Jónsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Páll Garðarsson from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Ragnheiður Axel from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Sigurður Kjartansson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Stefán Árni Þorgeirsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Stephan Stephensen from:start till:31/12/2013 color:act bar:Urður Hákonardóttir from:01/01/2001 till:31/12/2007 color:act bar:Urður Hákonardóttir from:01/01/2011 till:31/12/2013 color:act bar:Margret Rán Magnúsdóttir from:01/01/2021 till:end color:act

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Gus Gus'' (1995) * ''

Polydistortion ''Polydistortion'' is the second studio album by Icelandic electronic music band GusGus. The album was released on 7 April 1997 on 4AD, serving as their first release on the label. The songs "Why?" and the band's cover of Slowblow's "Is Jesus You ...

'' (1997) — UK No. 130 * ''

'' (1999) — UK No. 94 * '' Gus Gus vs. T-World'' (2000) * ''

Attention Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Att ...

'' (2002) * ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama * ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...

'' (2007) * ''

24/7 In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...

'' (2009) * ''

Arabian Horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily ...

'' (2011) * ''

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

'' (2014) * ''Lies Are More Flexible'' (2018) * ''Mobile Home'' (2021)

Live albums

* '' Mixed Live at Sirkus, Reykjavik'' (2003)

Compilations

* '' 15 ára'' (2010)

Singles

* "Polyesterday" (1996) — UK No. 55 (as ''Purple EP: Polyesterday'') * "Believe" (1997) — UK No. 154 * "Standard Stuff for Drama" (1997) * "Ladyshave" (1999) — UK No. 64 * "V.I.P." (1999) — UK No. 86 * "Starlovers" (1999) — UK No. 62 * "Dance You Down" (2002) — UK No. 141 * "Desire" (2002) — UK No. 95 * "David" (2003) — UK No. 52 * "Call of the Wild" (2003) — UK No. 75 * "Lust / Porn" (2005) * "Need in Me" (2005) — BG No. 24 * "Forever Sampler" (2006) * "Moss" (2007) * "Hold You" (2007) * "Add This Song" (2009) * "Thin Ice" (2009) * "Within You" (2011) * "Over" (2011) * "Deep Inside" (2011) * "Crossfade" (2014) * "Obnoxiously Sexual" (2014) * "Mexico" (2014) * "Airwaves" (2014) * "Featherlight" (2017) * "Don't Know How to Love" (2018) * "Lifetime" (2019) * "Out of Place" (2020) * "Higher" feat Vök (2020) * "Stay the Ride" (2021) * "Our World" (2021) * "Love is Alone" feat John Grant (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gusgus Trance music groups Icelandic electronic music groups 4AD artists Musical groups from Reykjavík