Jónsi Birgisson
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
band
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...
. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his
falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...
or
countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...
voice. Jónsi released his debut solo album '' Go'' on 5 April 2010. His second album, '' Shiver'', was released on 2 October 2020. He released his third album ''Obsidian'' a year later in conjunction with an art exhibition of the same name. He has also collaborated with his ex-partner
Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...
and has contributed to the scores for the films ''
How to Train Your Dragon ''How to Train Your Dragon'' is a media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the book series How to Train Your Dragon (novel series), of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: '' ...
'' and ''
We Bought a Zoo ''We Bought a Zoo'' is a 2011 American biographical comedy drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. It was co-written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Matt Damon as widowed father Benjamin Mee, who ...
.''


Musical career

When Jónsi was 13 years old, he learned his first song on guitar, "Wrathchild" by
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
. Iron Maiden remains one of his favorite bands to this day. In 1995, Jónsi fronted a band called Bee Spiders, under the alias 'Jonny B'. He wore
sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names Sunglasses#Other names, below) are a form of Eye protection, protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damagin ...
on stage throughout their concerts. Bee Spiders received the 'most interesting band' award in 1995 in a contest for unknown bands called ''Músíktilraunir'' (''Music Experimentations''). The band played long rock songs and was compared to
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...
. Jónsi also fronted a
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
band called Stoned around 1992–1993. He also uses the alias Frakkur to release his solo material, e.g., the contribution to ''
Kitchen Motors Family Album ''Kitchen Motors Family Album'' (Icelandic: ''Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússinsis'') a compilation album released in 2006. It came into being two years after the celebration of Kitchen Motors' 5 year anniversary on May 1, 2004. The album feat ...
'', which marked the first release under this name. Since 1994, Jónsi has been the singer and guitarist for
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...
. To date, they have released eight studio albums. Aside from his many years with Sigur Rós, Jónsi has collaborated with his ex-partner
Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...
under the
moniker A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
Jónsi & Alex, releasing their album '' Riceboy Sleeps'' in 2009. In April 2010, Jónsi released his first solo album, '' Go'', and began a multi-nation tour to promote the album from March through September across North America and Europe. Jónsi's song "Around Us" was used for the American promotional trailer for
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
's film '' The Secret World of Arriety'' and was also included in ''
FIFA 11 ''FIFA 11'', titled ''FIFA Soccer 11'' in North America, is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on 28 September 2010 in North America, 30 Se ...
'', the soundtrack by
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
. His song "Tornado" was featured in Henry Alex Rubin's 2012 film '' Disconnect''. Jónsi also wrote the score for the 2012
Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...
film ''
We Bought a Zoo ''We Bought a Zoo'' is a 2011 American biographical comedy drama film loosely based on the 2008 memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee. It was co-written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Matt Damon as widowed father Benjamin Mee, who ...
''. "Boy Lilikoi" and instrumental versions of "Tornado", "Sinking Friendships", and "Around Us" were all included in the 2011 documentary '' This Is What Love in Action Looks Like''. Jónsi's song "Grow Till Tall" was used by the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in their 2017 competitive program ''Jagged Line.'' It was also featured in the trailer for the third installment of the '' Divergent'' series, '' Allegiant''. In 2018, Jonsi contributed an original song titled "Who Are You Thinking Of?" to the soundtrack of the feature film '' Boy Erased''. He collaborated with
Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...
on the song "
Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
", also included on the soundtrack.


''How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise

Jónsi recorded "Sticks and Stones" for the score to the 2010 film ''
How to Train Your Dragon ''How to Train Your Dragon'' is a media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the book series How to Train Your Dragon (novel series), of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: '' ...
'', for which
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
released a music video on 17 December 2010. His song "Tornado" was featured in the arena show adaptation of this film. In 2014, Jónsi co-wrote the song "Where No One Goes" for the sequel, ''
How to Train Your Dragon 2 ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is a 2014 American animated fantasy film loosely based on the How to Train Your Dragon (novel series), book series by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and written and directed by Dean DeBlois, it i ...
'', with the film's music composer John Powell. He also co-wrote the melody for "For the Dancing and Dreaming". Jónsi additionally wrote a rough demo (entitled "Mama's Boy") for the film, which was eventually replaced by "Flying with Mother". He wrote and performed the song "Together from Afar" for the final installment of the franchise, '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', in which he also provided the vocals for the track "The Hidden World".


Dark Morph

In 2019, it was announced that Jónsi and Swedish composer Carl Michael von Hausswolff had formed a new musical collaboration they were calling Dark Morph, and on 10 May 2019, they released their first album, also titled ''Dark Morph''. The project "promises to explore the ramifications of ongoing environmental collapse to the oceans and its inhabitants." The album consists mainly of ambient sounds, often simulating the sounds of animals and nature, and contains very few actual melodies.


Studio albums


''Riceboy Sleeps'' (2009)

Jónsi and his ex-partner
Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...
completed their first album together, '' Riceboy Sleeps'', under the name Jónsi & Alex. The instrumental album was recorded in Iceland, played solely on acoustic instruments, and mixed in Hawaii. The album features appearances by the Icelandic string quartet
Amiina Amiina (formerly Amína, stylized in lowercase) is an Icelandic band composed of members Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson. In the past they have frequent ...
and the Kópavogsdætur choir. The 68-minute album includes nine tracks and was released on 20 July 2009 on
Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
.


''Go'' (2010)

A post that appeared on Jónsi's official site on 26 May 2009 stated that the artist was working on a solo album that would feature predominantly acoustic music and string arrangements from classical composer
Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestra ...
. The album was set to be produced by
Peter Katis Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician. Katis is best known for working with alternative and indie rock bands. He works primarily out of his own residential studio, Tarquin Studios, ...
(
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
, The National,
Tokyo Police Club Tokyo Police Club was an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2005, it consisted of vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. The band found early success with ...
). On 4 December 2009, a free MP3 of the track "Boy Lilikoi" was made available to mailing-list subscribers through the website. The MP3 announced the title of the album to be '' Go'' and gave a worldwide release date of "the week of 5 April 2010" through
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
and
XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...
. On 5 April 2010, as promised, the album was released in Iceland and the United Kingdom, with a worldwide release date of the following day. The album was sung mainly in English, marking a change from the majority of Jónsi's previous work, which was sung mainly in Icelandic and Vonlenska. The album charted at No. 20 on the UK album charts on 12 April 2010 and reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The ''Go'' limited-edition box set also included '' Go Quiet'', a 45-minute film, directed by
Dean DeBlois Dean Allan DeBlois ( ; born June 7, 1970) is a Canadian filmmaker and writer. He is best known for co-writing and directing the Oscar-nominated animated feature films '' Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) for Walt Disney Animation Studios (with Chris Sande ...
(director of the Sigur Rós concert film ''
Heima ''Heima'' (; ''at home'') is a documentary film and double DVD set about the tour around Iceland in the summer of 2006 of the band Sigur Rós. During the tour the band played two big open-air concerts at Miklatún - Reykjavík (30 July) and Ásbyr ...
''), that features all nine songs from the album performed acoustically at home in Reykjavík, over New Year 2010. Jónsi went on tour with his album '' Go'' on 6 April 2010. The tour did not include any venues within Jónsi's home country of Iceland. The artist's touring band included Alex Somers on guitar, sound effects, and keyboards; Thorvaldur Thór Thorvaldsson on drums; Ólafur Björn Ólafsson on keyboards; and Úlfur Hansson on bass and
monome Monome is an Upstate New York-based company, founded by Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, that produces sound modules and MIDI controllers. Monome is also the name of their initial product, a grid-based controller that is now sometimes simply referre ...
.


''Shiver'' (2020)

Jónsi went a decade without releasing any solo material. On 3 April 2020, Jónsi took to Instagram to announce that he was releasing music later that month, which would be the lead single, "Exhale", to his second studio album, '' Shiver'', with an accompanying music video directed by Jónsi and
Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000), ''Heaven'' (2002), '' Flight of the Phoenix'' (2 ...
. The album was made in collaboration with English music producer, singer and head of record label
PC Music PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, uploading its first releases to SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L H ...
, A. G. Cook. Jónsi had no expectation for his and Cook's initial meeting, but the more they talked, the more he realized they might be perfect collaborators. Jónsi released another single, "Swill", for the album on 24 June 2020, with an accompanying music video directed by Barnaby Roper.


Collaborations

Jónsi makes a guest appearance under the alias 'Frakkur' on track 13, "Skyscraper Heart", on ''Hi-Camp Meets Lo-Fi – Explosion Picture Score'' by Dip (1999)
Jónsi provides vocal material on three collaborations with The Hafler Trio:
''Exactly As I Say'' (2004 CD; a separate limited edition of 111 copies also exists containing DVD and 5.1 surround sound)
''Exactly As I Am'' (2005 Double CD)
''Exactly As I Do'' (2005 Double CD)
Jónsi makes a guest appearance on
Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...
's track "Kaleidoscope" on his album of the same name, which was released on 6 October 2009.
Jónsi appears on the album '' In a Safe Place'' by
The Album Leaf The Album Leaf is an American musical project founded in San Diego, California, in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer, and Rhodes piano. His performances often feature projected visual art. History Inc ...
, on the song "Over the Pond". In 2018, Jónsi collaborated with
Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...
on the song "
Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
" from the '' Boy Erased'' soundtrack.


Languages

Jónsi's first language is Icelandic. He also speaks English, according to the official Sigur Rós website:


Instruments

Like a few other players of the bowed guitar, Jónsi plays mainly variations of the
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...
. He also plays Ibanez Les Paul copies, model PF200. The first Ibanez used to be his main instrument during the Bee Spiders era all through ''Ágætis Byrjun''. It was largely refinished and decorated (as can be seen in ''Ágúst Jakobsson's'' documentary ''Popp í Reykjavík''). That particular instrument got stolen and broken but was on display in the
Reykjavík Art Museum Reykjavik Art Museum ( ; founded in 1973) is the largest visual art institution in Iceland. It occupies three locations in Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Icela ...
in the summer of 2003. During the recordings of '' Takk...'', Jónsi bought another PF200 to replace the Les Paul. Since the summer of 2006, Jónsi has been using a guitar that was made on the road by his then guitar tech Dan Johnson. The guitar is usually referred to as "The Bird", after the band's bird designs seen on previous album artwork that adorn the neck and frets of the guitar. "The Bird" is based on the body of the Ibanez PF200. The artist has also been seen playing a variety of other instruments such as the piano, acoustic guitar, electric bass guitar, harmonium, mellotron, baritone ukulele, and the banjo.


Activism

In 2003, he was escorted off the premises while protesting against
Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant ( ), officially called Fljótsdalur Power Station ( ) is a hydroelectric power plant in Fljótsdalshérað municipality in eastern Iceland, designed to produce annually for Alcoa's Fjarðaál Aluminium smelting, alu ...
in Iceland. Jónsi is a vegetarian. He states that he "didn't go vegetarian because of the animals" but became gradually more concerned for their welfare. Jónsi elaborated that he would find it difficult to date someone who eats meat, saying "I just love animals and I do not want to kill them, cook them or eat them so it'd be hard for me to watch anyone do that." He briefly followed a
raw food Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the diet (nutrition), dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is cooking, uncooked and processed food, unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and resu ...
diet, although he no longer practices this as he felt it hindered his social life and he was "getting antisocial" when on tour.


Visual arts

Alongside his visual art collaboration with
Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...
, he has also exhibited his own artwork. Jónsi has exhibited at the Los Angeles branch of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in late 2019 and again in 2023, as well as their New York branch in 2021. He also exhibited a large-scale experiential artwork titled ''FLÓÐ'' at the National Nordic Museum in early 2023. ''Jónsi: Hrafntinna (Obsidian)'' was exhibited at the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
(AGO), Toronto in 2022 as well as the
Museum of Old and New Art The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is an art museum located within the Moorilla Estate, Moorilla winery on the Berriedale, Tasmania, Berriedale peninsula in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest privately funded museum in the South ...
, Tasmania, Australia in 2023. Jónsi founded Fischersund, a perfumery and art collective with his sisters Inga, Lilja and Sigurros in 2017, and together they launched their debut exhibition ''Faux Flora'', a multi-sensory experience at the National Nordic Museum in 2024 through to 2025.


Personal life

Jónsi is openly
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
. He began a relationship with fellow musician
Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...
in 2003 and released an art collaboration with him. They announced their separation in 2019, after having been together for 16 years and remain close friends. He is blind in his right eye from birth as a result of a broken optic nerve from the brain.


Discography


Albums


Studio albums


Collaborative albums


=Jónsi and Alex (with Alex Somers)

=


=Dark Morph (with Carl Michael von Hausswolff)

=


=Other collaborative albums

=


Soundtrack albums


Live albums


Compilation albums


Film albums


Extended plays


Singles


As lead artist


As featured artist


Other appearances


References


External links


Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsi 1975 births 20th-century Icelandic LGBTQ people 21st-century Icelandic LGBTQ people 21st-century Icelandic male singers Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock pianists Annie Award winners Blind activists Blind musicians Countertenors English-language singers from Iceland Gay singers Icelandic gay musicians Icelandic LGBTQ rights activists Icelandic LGBTQ singers Icelandic people with disabilities Icelandic pianists Icelandic rock guitarists Lead guitarists Living people Male pianists Musicians from Reykjavík Progressive rock guitarists Sigur Rós members