múm (pronounced [muːm], “moom”) is an experimental electronic group from Ic… Read Full Bio ↴múm (pronounced [muːm], “moom”) is an experimental electronic group from Iceland whose music is characterized by soft vocals, eccentric beats and colorful effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.

Originally a duo, the band has expanded and contracted in the 12 years of being and has counted 15 - 20 people along the way.

The band was formed in 1997 by original members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, their first release was a split 10" with the girl-band Spúnk and saw light in the summer of '98. They were joined a year later by twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir and released two albums as quartet. Following a number of collaborative projects, the group’s celebrated debut album Yesterday was dramatic - today is OK (reissued by Morr Music in October 2005) gained a wealth of glowing press and widespread praise. A remix project, Please Smile My Noise Bleed, also released on the Morr Music label in November 2001.

In 2002, after the release of Finally We Are No One and the extensive first world tour, Gyða left the band to return to her studies in Reykjavík. Shortly after, the third sister Ásthildur Valtýsdóttir joined for singing duties temporarily and Serena Tideman replaced Gyða on cello, for a single European tour. The band's third album, Summer Make Good, a darker and foggier, nautically themed work was released in May 2004, flanked by two singles, Nightly Cares and Dusk Log. By then the ensemble had evolved to include Eiríkur Ólafsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir (who had guest appearances on múm recordings from the beginning) and Ólöf Arnalds. In early 2006, Kristín also left the band after releasing and heavily touring the album Summer Make Good.

The start of 2006 saw the band's creativity start to blossom once again, starting with two remixes Goldfrapp of the tracks ‘Number 1’ and ‘You Never Know’. They followed this with two legendary DJ sets at the FatCat Festival in Belgium in February and SXSW in Austin Texas 2007. With a combination of decks, effects, laptops, toy microphones, old cassette player recordings and vocals, coupled with their own recorded material, strange electronic covers by friends, gypsy folk music and general craziness on stage. They were also subsequently invited DJ at Summer Sonic Festival in Japan as well as be headline act as DJ's in Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank tent at Bestival on the Isle of Wight. In september 2007 múm released Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy which turned out to be the bands last release for the Fatcat Records.

múm has always worked on projects which could be classed as unusual for a pop band or a pop collective. Among their extra curricular activity is their own soundtrack for the classic Sergei Eisenstein film, 'Battleship Potemkin', live performances of which have taken place in Hafnafjordur Iceland, Brooklyn Lyceum New York, and at the distinguished Gijon Film Festival Spain. múm have also composed for theater, most notably two radio theater plays, 'Svefnhjólið' (Sleeping Wheel) by Gyrdir Eliasson which won the Nordic Radio-theater prize and in 2008 Augu þín sáu mig (Your eyes saw me) by poet Sjón (which múm also worked with in 1999 on the operetta Kisa (cat). In 2005 they were invited to Amsterdam by the Holland Festival to collaborate with the National Dutch Chamber Orchestra to create a performance piece based around various compositions of the late avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis for one of the centre piece shows at the festival.

múm released their fifth studio album, Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know, in August 2009. The collective now consists of founding members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason and for touring and recording, this line-up is expanded to include their friends Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson (trumpet / piano/ keyboards), Hildur Guðnadóttir (cello / vocals), Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (Vocals / ukulele/ various), Róbert Reynisson (guitars/ukulele's) and the Finnish Samuli Kosminen (drums / percussion). The musical group sometimes extends to Ólöf Arnalds, Högni Egilsson, Ólafur Björn Ólafsson and Guðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir as well as a never ending family of friends and musicians who may join at the drop of a hat.

Official website: http://www.mum.is

Marmalade Fires
múm Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We throw our loupes, our little phone
Our lovely shorts, oh marmalade fires

We throw our folds, our pots and pans
Our dirty planks, oh marmalade fires

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
Marmalade fires

We throw our house, our round blue skies
Our pretty hills, oh marmalade fires

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
Marmalade fires

We throw our bowls, our friendly tools
Assist us here, oh marmalade fires

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
Marmalade fires

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
Marmalade fires

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
Marmalade fires

Overall Meaning

In "Marmalade Fires," múm talks about the desire to cleanse and clear out one's possessions. The lyrics suggest a sense of liberation or release that comes from letting go of material items. The repeated line, "We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out," serves as a sort of mantra for this process of letting go.

The use of the phrase "marmalade fires" is interesting because it is not immediately clear what it means. It could be interpreted as a metaphor for the cleansing process itself, with the sweet, sticky nature of marmalade representing the sentimental attachment we have to our possessions, and the fires being the necessary but painful process of letting go. Others may interpret the phrase literally, as a reference to actual fires made with marmalade.

The repetition of the line "We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out" underscores the importance of this process of simplification and detachment. It is not simply about cleaning out clutter, but about releasing oneself from the emotional weight that comes with material possessions.

Overall, "Marmalade Fires" speaks to the human desire for release and simplification. The lyrics suggest that by letting go of our possessions, we can free ourselves from their hold and find a sense of liberation.

Line by Line Meaning

We throw our loupes, our little phone
We're getting rid of our trinkets and distractions.

Our lovely shorts, oh marmalade fires
Our material possessions are being burned in a cleansing fire.

We throw our folds, our pots and pans
We're giving up our tools and utensils of everyday life.

Our dirty planks, oh marmalade fires
Even our physical space and old, worn belongings are being purged.

We throw our wardrobe, cleanse out
We're discarding our old selves and starting anew.

We throw our house, our round blue skies
We're leaving behind our entire way of life and everything that encompasses.

Our pretty hills, oh marmalade fires
Even the natural beauty that surrounds us is being destroyed in the process of renewal.

We throw our bowls, our friendly tools
Every aspect of our comfortable, familiar existence is being dismantled.

Assist us here, oh marmalade fires
We're asking for the flames to aid us in our transformation and rebirth.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GUNNAR OERN TYNES, OERVAR THOREYJARSON SMARASON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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