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

Prophecies & Reversed Memories
múm Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

You've dreamt this all before, you've sang this song before
You've seen it all before, it was just a little different, that's all
You've dreamt this all before, you've sang this song before
You've seen it all before, it was in another world, that's all

Long, long, long, long ago, long, long, long, long ago

You've dreamt this all before, you've sang this song before
You've seen it all before, it was in another world, that's all
You've dreamt this all before, you've dreamt this all before
You've dreamt this all before, it was in another bed, that's all

Long, long, long, long ago, long, long, long, long ago
(Prophecies of memories of prophecies, my love)

You've dreamt this all before, you've dreamt this all before
You've dreamt this all before, it was in another bed, that's all
(Prophecies of memories of prophecies, my love)
You've dreamt this all before, you've dreamt this all before
You've dreamt this all before, it was in another bed, that's all

Long, long, long, long ago, long, long, long, long ago

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of múm's song Prophecies and Reversed Memories seems to describe a sense of deja vu or a feeling of having experienced a particular moment or event before. The repetition of phrases such as "you've dreamt this all before, you've sang this song before, you've seen it all before" emphasizes this idea of familiarity and the feeling of having been in this same situation previously. However, the slight variations in the description, such as "it was just a little different" or "it was in another world" suggest that although the experience may seem familiar, it is not exactly the same as before. This repetition and variation creates a dreamlike and surreal quality to the song.

The phrase "long, long, long ago" adds to the sense of timelessness and reinforces the idea that this all feels like a distant memory. The repetition of the phrase "prophecies of memories of prophecies" at the end of the song creates a cyclical and recursive feeling, implying that this familiarity and repetition will continue on endlessly.

Overall, the song creates a dreamlike and surreal mood with its repetition, variation, and cyclical phrases, touching on themes of memory, time, and the uncanny.

Line by Line Meaning

You've dreamt this all before, you've sang this song before
You have already experienced this exact event and have already expressed your feelings about it.

You've seen it all before, it was just a little different, that's all
Although this experience appears to be different, it is essentially the same as a previous experience.

You've seen it all before, it was in another world, that's all
This experience may appear to be occurring in a different reality or dimension, but it is still familiar to you.

You've dreamt this all before, you've dreamt this all before
This experience is not just a repeat of a previous one, but you have actually dreamed about it beforehand.

You've dreamt this all before, it was in another bed, that's all
This experience is not a simple repetition of a previous one but occurred in a different context or circumstance.

(Prophecies of memories of prophecies, my love)
This experience is not new and has been predicted or prophesied in the past.

Contributed by Zoe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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