If you can't go to Iceland, Iceland comes to you. For over 25 years now, Sigur Rós has been delighting us with its soaring, atmospheric post rock, taking us straight to the land of elves, volcanoes and geysers. On Monday July 3 , 2023, Sigur Rós gave an exceptional concert at the Philharmonie de Paris as part of the new edition of Days Off.
As every year, this Parisian festival offers unique creations, such as this concert by the Icelanders. Surrounded for the occasion by the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Nordics - now made up of Jónsi, Georg Hólm and Kjartan Sveinsson (following the departure of Orri Páll Dýrason in 2022) - came to Paris to present their new opus. Called"Átta", this 8th album is due for release on September 1, and follows on from the excellent"Kveikur" released in 2013. The Icelanders will have made us wait 10 years before producing a new album. But the first singles unveiled and the tracks presented live by the band that evening in Paris show us that the wait was well worth it.
On the live front, Sigur Rós have been less discreet, with a show at the Grand Rex in 2017, two home concerts at the Harpa in Reykjavik the same year, and two incredible performances at the Zénith de la Villette in autumn 2022. But this time, for their new tour, the Nordics are breaking new ground by surrounding themselves - for a handful of dates only - with a philharmonic orchestra. An idea we warmly applaud. While a number of rock bands have dared to try their hand at this exercise, such as Metallica, The Who, Kiss and Scorpions, there are still too few for our taste.
Now we can add Iceland's Sigur Rós to that list. For this grand premiere, and in order to offer the many fans present on Monday evening a sublime, ethereal, transcendent and incredibly moving performance, the band chose to call on the London Contemporary Orchestra, masterfully conducted by the British Rob Ames, who also collaborated on the Nordic band's latest opus.
Nestling at the heart of the orchestra and positioned at the center of the immense stage of Salle Pierre Boulez, the Icelanders burst onto the stage at 8pm sharp. And it didn't take them long to send shivers down our spines. Between percussion, guitars, strings (violins, cellos, double basses), brass and the falsetto voice of its leader, Sigur Rós immediately transports us into a parallel world where melancholy and darkness mingle with a faint glimmer of hope. We're tempted to close our eyes and let ourselves be carried away even further, but it would be a shame to miss the set design - simple and uncluttered, with just twenty or so flickering light bulbs on stage, but beautiful and poetic.
Although there are over 30 musicians on stage, our eyes are inevitably drawn to Jónsi, as discreet as ever, but oh so talented and inspiring. With his infinite, ethereal voice, even hoarse at times, the leader of the Icelandic band touches us to the core. Whether armed with his guitar and his trusty archer, at the piano or even without an instrument behind his microphone stand, the Sigur Rós singer and musician has that unique gift of moving us with just a few notes, forcing us to bite the inside of our cheeks to keep from crying in the face of such beauty and musicality.
As for the setlist, Sigur Ros obviously delighted its fans by returning to several old songs, most of which the audience cheered from the very first notes played. Reworked for the occasion by the London Contemporary Orchestra, we shivered on " Vaka ", wept on " Heysátan ", shuddered on "Starálfur" (unfortunately slightly spoiled by an out-of-tune guitar) and " Álafoss ", then exulted on " Hoppípolla ", sublimated by the power of brass and percussion.
But Sigur Rós was also on hand at the Philharmonie de Paris to present several of its new tracks, including the sublime single " Blóðberg ", as well as " Skel ", " Ylur " and " 8 ". These tracks are undeniably less rock than those featured on"Kveikur", but give us a fine preview of the band's cinematic, atmospheric next opus.
Unveiling a maelstrom of emotions as only the band is capable of, this set of around 2h30 (including a 20-minute intermission) offered us an incredible moment suspended in time and of a rare beauty that we won't soon forget.
Blóðberg
Ekki Múkk
Fljótavík
8
Von
Andvari
Starálfur
Dauðalogn
Varðeldur
Intermission
Untitled #1 - Vaka
Untitled #3 - Samskeyti
Heysátan
Ylur
Skel
All Alright
Untitled #5 - Álafoss
Sé Lest
Hoppípolla
Avalon
Location
Philharmonie de Paris
221 Avenue Jean Jaurès
75019 Paris 19
Access
Metro line 5 "Porte de Pantin" station
Official website
sigurros.com