It’s with great excitement that we introduce the latest curators of the Nordic Playlist – Sigur Rós!

Throughout their phenomenal 20 year career, Sigur Rós’s music has become almost synonymous with their homeland, as the band have come to be globally recognised as one of the most pioneering and artistic outfits in the world. We’re not exaggerating if we tell you that Sigur Rós have been included in almost every single Nordic Playlist that has been released so far (see for yourself by checking out our archive), so we’re extremely excited to have the band join us as curators!

The past few years have seen Sigur Rós touring the world to huge acclaim, so as the tour prepares to reach its conclusion in Reykjavík, the band have decided to wrap things up in special style. Rather than playing one show in their home city, the band have created a whole new concept called Norður og Niður, a festival created and curated by the band themselves.

Taking over Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík for four consecutive days, the festival will present a hand-selected line up of some of the band’s most coveted artists and performers, using the unique setting to blend musical and visual elements in the creation of a unique experience. As they prepare for the Norður og Niður festival to get underway, we caught up with the band on a rare off day from touring to find out more about what the event has in store, as well as to dig deep into their musical psyche to discover their favourite Nordic artists. So click ‘play’ just above to hear Sigur Rós’s hand-picked Nordic Playlist!

Thank you very much for joining us at the Nordic Playlist! We’re thrilled to have you here – so where are we speaking to you from today?

Reykjavik, Iceland. The other two are in either London or LA, depending on who you’re after.

As if touring hasn’t kept you busy enough over the past few years, you’re set to host a fantastic, ambitious festival in Reykjavík to round off the year, so we’d love to find out more about it – where did the idea for Norður og Niður begin?

This past year and a half we’ve tried where possible to go back to playing several of nights in lovely old theatres rather than just one in a big drafty sports hall. The last time we did this in Reykjavik, Harpa hadn’t even been built, so we’ve never played there. The idea then got mission creep, and the concept of bringing in some other bands to play in another room within the complex, suddenly became taking over the whole building.