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Soundtrack to Heaven: Jonsi’s “Go”

Posted By: Susan | May 6, 2010 | 6 comments

If you think the only good musician to come out of Iceland is Bjork, then it’s time you check out Jonsi. The lead singer for Sigur Ros, Jonsi Birgisson, recently released a solo album and performed at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on Monday night. So I wasn’t surprised to see a fan’s comment about the album on YouTube that said, “If there is a heaven, this would be its soundtrack.”

Seeing Jonsi perform and hearing his angelic voice was truly an out of body experience felt by the entire crowd. While Jonsi opened up with a few mellow tunes, he picked up the pace when he sang “Go Do”. It begins with him banging on a suitcase while triumphantly singing, “go sing, too loud, make your voice break — sing it out; go scream, do shout, make an earthquake.” Both the lyrics and pace of this song are upbeat, as Jonsi reminds us in the refrain that “we should always know that we can do anything.”

Not only does Jonsi’s musical ability set him apart, but so does his artistic vision when it comes to costume and stage set. He appeared as shown on the cover of his album, in a high-necked white jacket with bright, colorful scarves of red, green, yellow and blue; similar to the bird in his video. The stage imagery corresponded with each of the songs beautifully, as if one could not stand without the other. One song featured a movie on a dark background of white hand-drawn images of a wolf running across fields. We see a deer running through a forest and eventually the wolf chasing after the deer. Just as the wolf is about to grab its hind legs, the deer turns into a bird and soars through the sky.

The most powerful imagery was saved for the final song, “Grow Till Tall.” Jonsi dons a colorful headdress and dances about with the microphone pressed to his lips as if he’s a medicine man playing the flute and summoning the rains. The screen behind him depicts a peaceful rain shower, white on black, collecting in puddles. Halfway through the song, as it picks up in volume and intensity, the rain falls harder and harder. It becomes a chaotic storm with lightning flashing until Jonsi collapses at the end out of sheer exertion. There was no mistaking that he had given all of himself to the performance.

To learn more about Jonsi and hear his solo album, visit http://jonsi.com/go. You can also see pictures from Jonsi’s flickr page.

6 Responses

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Mark Robinson May 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm

I heard a friend at work praise Sigur Ros but didn’t know anything about them. One quiet Sunday morning listening to XPN a song came on that transported me. It was breath taking and when the DJ said it was new from Jonsi the singer of Sigur Ros, I knew I’d become a fan. Jonsi’s music is not just lovely, but magical, it has the power to open the soul and change the heart. I’m in love…
ultrasound technician May 7, 2010 at 8:33 am

this post is very usefull thx!
Mike May 6, 2010 at 6:19 pm

Big fan of Sigur Ros, I’ll definitely have to check this album out.
Jon May 6, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Jonsi’s is the type of music that when you listen to it, something in you changes, and you are never again the same.

I was at this concert, and can’t wait to see him again!
Miel Abeille May 6, 2010 at 3:53 pm

My ears can’t enough! What a great find.. thanks for sharing