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
Nightly Cares
múm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pet the smiling one
Woo the sleeping one
R the crying one
H-hviss my little one
R-r my crying one
Ligg-ligg my tired one
Touch a feal, you blind a must
Soft the skin of the warmest rust
Cause nothing blows in the faraway
I go away, go away
Past the hills, past the day
Touch a feel, you blind a must
Soft the skin of the warmest rust
Cause nothing blows in the faraway
I go away, go away
Past the hills, past the day
The lyrics of "Nightly Cares" by Sigur Rós' Jónsi Birgisson's band, Mum, are enigmatic, with highly distinctive wordings and unclear contextual meaning, that seemingly suggest a lullaby. The song begins with Scar the fire, which possibly alludes to a harmful situation and possible scars, while Pet the smiling one and Woo the sleeping one could be interpreted as soothing gestures towards the children. R the crying one might signify the need to calm the weeping child. The following lines in Icelandic, H-hviss my little one, R-r my crying one, Ligg-ligg my tired one, Rura sleeping one, seem to be an extension of the same sentiment, with soothing words being offered to the tired and the crying child.
The second verse, Touch a feel, you blind a must, Soft the skin of the warmest rust, Cause nothing blows in the faraway, I go away, go away, Past the hills, past the day, is more abstract, leading to different interpretations, with the idea of one going away being the only explicit constant. The child-like phrasing and the lullaby tune of the song could suggest that it is addressed to children or specifically one child, with the lyrics implying a caregiver's soothing voice.
Line by Line Meaning
Scar the fire son
Hurt the one who is passionate
Pet the smiling one
Show affection to the happy one
Woo the sleeping one
Entice the one who is resting
R the crying one
Soothe the one who is weeping
H-hviss my little one
Hush, my beloved child
R-r my crying one
Rest, my tearful child
Ligg-ligg my tired one
Lie down, my weary child
Rura sleeping one
Sleep, my peaceful child
Touch a feal, you blind a must
When you touch something, you must feel it, even if you’re blind
Soft the skin of the warmest rust
Even the rough and old can be gentle and warm
Cause nothing blows in the faraway
There is no wind in the distance
I go away, go away
I am leaving and not coming back
Past the hills, past the day
Beyond the hills and into a new day
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patrick Cross
it rained a lot in 2004 in my city, this was a good soundtrack for that particular time
Jose Casarez
I found a small little CD, the same size as a GameCube disc in my break room of this that someone was throwing out, that's what brought me here
George Clancy
Well, Mum are lovely, and that's a lovely way to discover them! I heard this CD played in my local independent record shop (remember those?) around 15 years ago and bought it immediately. Been a fan ever since!
The album "Finally We Are No One" is generally considered the pinnacle of this Mum era, so give that a listen next!
kittysplode
@George Clancy Pinnacle of an era, yes. But then you will move on. You will understand the love and fear and hate of teeth before you understand the marmalade fires. Then you will understand that the universe has exactly two states, and it is time for marmalade fires.
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Destiny