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
Sing Along
múm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you'll never know until you sing along
Sing along to songs you don't know
And you'll never know until you sing along
You are so beautiful to us
We want to lock you in our house, so beautiful!
You are so beautiful to us
You are so beautiful to us, we want to lock you in our house
We want to feed you with our spoon, we want to make you sing along
Sing along to songs you don't know
And you'll never know until you sing along
You are so beautiful to us
We want to lock you in our house, so beautiful!
You are so beautiful to us
We want to keep you as our pets, so beautiful!
Lala lala lala, lalalala, lala lala lala, lalalala, lala lalala, lala
The lyrics of "Sing Along" by múm appears to express an innocent and almost childlike desire for togetherness with others. The song opens with a simple instruction - "Sing along to songs you don't know", suggesting that by allowing ourselves to embrace unfamiliar experiences, we open ourselves up to the possibility of new discoveries. The repetition of the phrase "you'll never know until you sing along" reinforces this idea - that we must take risks and try new things to truly understand and appreciate them.
The rest of the song takes on a more surreal and whimsical tone, with the singer expressing their admiration for the beauty of others. They playfully claim that the person they are singing to is so beautiful that they want to keep them as a pet and feed them with a spoon, lyrics that are both charming and creepy in equal measure. The repetition of the phrase "so beautiful" only adds to the dreamlike nature of the song, as if the singer is lost in a fanciful world of their own creation.
Overall, "Sing Along" by múm is a quirky and engaging song that encourages us to embrace new experiences and appreciate the beauty in others, no matter how unconventional our methods of admiration may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Sing along to songs you don't know
Join in and sing even if you're not familiar with the lyrics
And you'll never know until you sing along
You'll never fully understand the beauty and power of the song until you participate by singing along
You are so beautiful to us
We admire you greatly, and find you captivating and attractive
We want to lock you in our house, so beautiful!
We want to keep you all to ourselves, and never let you leave because we find you so lovely
We want to keep you as our pets, so beautiful!
We want to treat you like an animal and control your every move because we find you so desirable
Lala lala lala, lalalala, lala lala lala, lalalala, lala lalala, lala
Nonsense syllables that add to the dreamy, whimsical atmosphere of the song
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kaotik
[ Lyrics ]
Sing along to songs you don't know
And you'll never know until you sing along
Sing along to songs you don't know
And you'll never know until you sing along
You are so beautiful to us
We want to lock you in our house
So beautiful!
You are so beautiful to us
We want to keep you as our pets
So beautiful!
You are so beautiful to us
We want to lock you in our house
We want to feed you with our spoon
We want to make you sing along
Sing along to songs you don't know
And you'll never know until you sing along
You are so beautiful to us
We want to lock you in our house
So beautiful!
You are so beautiful to us
We want to keep you as our pets
So beautiful!
Lala lalala: lala
Sing along to songs you don't know
Sing along, sing along
You'll never know what could have been
If you don't sing along
Sing along to songs you don't know
Sing along, sing along
You'll never know what could have been
If you don't sing along
Victoria Sanchez
I love this song bc I think its depicting the different grieving processes that we go through. The mom in the beginning passes away so the deer comes and represents their love and grieving for the mom. That's why they go back and forth between loving and hating the deer. Then the father dies and the daughter releases the butterflys from the deer and runs away to burn the deer and release all those emotions. I'm not sure if that's what they intended or not but that's what I got from it. The other night while watching it i was laughing and crying bc it's a funny video but also has a deep meaning. My mom just recently passed away unexpectedly and it reminds me of her. My family used to listen to this song in the car together. I miss the good times 💓
Lotus Globe
And yet for this being a song about grief, it's got this popping, childlike melody and cheerful vocal chorale singing the lyrics. I seem to notice this exclusively with Icelandic artists: Bjork, Sigur Ros and yes even Mum. Mum's music though seems the most innocent and most fairytale like of the artists I mentioned above. Yet, like those artists, they don't make music about grief in such a heavy, brooding manner. They create a sort of inspiring contrast to the darkness with a playful, spontaneous celebration of life. And that's soulful. It doesn't have to be screaming, wailing vocals and loud metal/rock guitars. Even colorful IDM style electronic sounds and celebratory vocals are just as soulful.
Do you feel this way too?
I love your username btw. Victoria Sanchez is a gorgeous name :)
Victoria Sanchez
@Lotus Globe yes you are absolutely right. Icelandic music is a whole universe undiscovered by so many. Bjork reminds me so much of my childhood as well. Also thank you!!
Lotus Globe
@Victoria Sanchez I would seriously enjoy living there to immerse myself in the whole music scene there. Most musical artists conduct seances with fairies as rituals to write music. I'm sure of it. They live life like everyday is infused with magic and wonder. It makes me jealous. That's going to be my dream place to move to.
Lotus Globe
@Victoria Sanchez Another thing about mum's music: they often seem to make music to literally evoke my senses. It's like I can hear colors or taste sounds when listening to an album by them. It's an experience of synesthesia that goes really well with their pastoral setting in which their music beautifully paints a picture of the rich, Icelandic landscape.
Μιχάλης Κωνσταντινίδης
i have been listening to this since i was a teenager but it always felt nostalgic
Stuey B
yo same
Glimmer Phosphoresence
You cannot beat Icelandic Musicians. You simply can't.
Seriously, I think I'm actually addicted to this. I've watched it once a day, often more, for the last few weeks.
Múm is my life right now...
Sebastián Pizarro
Still it is?
Oid Mortales
Still it is?