múm

múm is an Icelandic experimental electronic group from Reykjavík, active since 1997. The group is known for soft vocals, unusual rhythms, colourful electronic textures, and a mix of traditional and unconventional instruments. Its line-up changes over time, with the core remaining centred on founding members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason.

Formation and early releases

The group forms in Reykjavík in 1997, originally as a duo. Its first release is a split 10-inch with the girl band Spúnk, issued in 1998. A year later, twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir join, and the group releases two albums as a quartet.

Albums and label releases

múm’s debut album, Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK, brings the group wide praise and is later reissued by Morr Music in 2005. The remix project Please Smile My Noise Bleed also appears on Morr Music in 2001. After the album Finally We Are No One and an extensive world tour, Gyða leaves the group in 2002. The third album, Summer Make Good, appears in 2004 and has a darker, more foggy, sea-themed character. It is accompanied by the singles Nightly Cares and Dusk Log. In September 2007, the group releases Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, its last release for FatCat Records. The fifth studio album, Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know, follows in 2009.

Changing membership

After Finally We Are No One, Gyða Valtýsdóttir leaves. Ásthildur Valtýsdóttir then joins temporarily for singing, and Serena Tideman replaces Gyða on cello for a single European tour. By the time of Summer Make Good, the group also includes Eiríkur Ólafsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Ólöf Arnalds, with Hildur Guðnadóttir appearing on recordings from the beginning. Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir leaves in early 2006 after touring Summer Make Good. The group’s later touring and recording line-up also includes Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Sigurlaug Gísladóttir, Róbert Reynisson and the Finnish musician Samuli Kosminen, with occasional contributions from Ólöf Arnalds, Högni Egilsson, Ólafur Björn Ólafsson and Guðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir.

Collaborations and other projects

múm works on a number of projects outside the standard pop-band format. It creates a soundtrack for Sergei Eisenstein’s film Battleship Potemkin, with live performances in Hafnafjordur, Brooklyn Lyceum in New York, and at the Gijon Film Festival in Spain. The group also composes for theatre, including the radio theatre play Svefnhjólið by Gyrdir Eliasson, which wins the Nordic Radio-theatre prize, and Augu þín sáu mig by Sjón in 2008. In 1999, múm works with Sjón on the operetta Kisa. In 2005, the Holland Festival invites the group to Amsterdam to collaborate with the National Dutch Chamber Orchestra on a performance based on compositions by Iannis Xenakis.

Live activity

In 2006 and 2007, múm also performs as a DJ and live electronic act, including sets at the FatCat Festival in Belgium, SXSW in Austin, Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, and Bestival on the Isle of Wight. These performances use decks, effects, laptops, toy microphones, cassette recordings, vocals, recorded material and covers by friends, alongside electronic improvisation and folk influences.