Krunk Vinyl & CDs

Review: The year is 1999 and while the sounds of Ibiza lounge house and blistering trance dominate much of the radio waves, elsewhere in Europe something very special is taking form. At this point in time, Sigur Ros had only put out one album, Vonn, in 1997, and followers who joined more recently, when the Icelandic oddities broke into major TV advertising campaigns and movie scores, but haven't looked back at their origins, might be surprised at what that one sounded like. Altogether darker, much more cacophonous.


Aegis Byrjun would follow the groundbreaking but largely unsung debut (Vonn only sold 300 copies in their own country) with a groundbreaking moment that set a precedent for everything they have done since. This is where big brands like Nissan pricked up ears, mesmerised by a sound that's at once alien, yet also deeply human, huge but intimate, classical yet contemporary, and fundamentally focused on triggering emotions.

Review: Sigur Ros' fifth full-length LP (originally released in 2008) gets reissued by Piccadily Records this week, after having remained completely out of print worldwide for far too long. This 2xLP of post-modern ethereal folk is noted for being the band's first to be recorded, completed and toured all in the space of just one year - they had formerly toiled for years over their previous albums. It might also just be the best LP to highlight the band's 'realness'; the lyrics were originally meant to be in English, but they later returned to their own native Icelandic for a more authentic feel.

Review: Alex Somers has spent much of his hugely successful career either composing music for film and TV, or producing other artists. It's for that reason that it's taken him some time to deliver a debut solo album, though to make up for this he's simultaneously releasing two sets - Siblings and Siblings 2 - both of which feature music mostly recorded between 2014 and 2016. On Siblings, Somers dazzles with his versatility, offering a mixture of haunting, emotive and mind-altering compositions that frequently blur the boundaries between experimental electronica, neo-classical and ambient. The Los Angeles-based producer frequently combines swelling orchestration with crackly field recordings, ethereal vocalisations, immersive synthesizer sounds and off-kilter electronic sounds, resulting in a hazy, otherworldly musical journey that rewards repeat listens.