Alex Somers is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is currently living in Reykjavík, Iceland with his partner, Jón (Jónsi) Þór Birgisson, the vocalist and guitar player for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.[1] Somers is a founding member of the now defunct band Parachutes. He has also collaborated with Jónsi Birgisson, producing visual art & music under the title Jónsi & Alex and they have released an album called Riceboy Sleeps. He has played instruments on the album and on tour for his boyfriend's solo album, Go Live. Icelandic Music Export reported in their newsletter that Alex is now working with local post-rock band Rökkurró, recording and producing their second album. He also drew the design of the artwork of the Colombian group Sismo for their second album La Magia Existe And he's currently helping producing an album of the icelandic musician Sin Fang. Alex Somers is a raw food vegan. [2]
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Parachutes was a band formed in 2003 as a duo consisting of Alex Somers and Scott Alario, and later expanded to eight members, Þórdís Björt Sigþórsdóttir, Tinna Jóhanna Magnusson, Björn Pálmi Pálmason, Kári Hólmar Ragnarsson, Brendan Glasson, and Aaron Borucki. The band was named after a common term for dandelion seeds. They recorded in Alex's kitchen, and commonly experimented using household objects as instruments. The band has collaborated with Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur Rós, as well as Amiina.[3] On November 13, 2009 the band announced on their MySpace page that they would no longer be recording or touring together while also giving away free audio downloads of their entire discography (the albums "Parachutes", "Suzy" and their EP "Tree Roots").[4]
Alex Somers has worked on the designs of many Sigur Rós album covers. His most acclaimed cover is Takk..., which received Best Album Design at the 2006 Icelandic Music Awards.[5] Alex Somers and Lukka Sigurðardóttir, wife of Orri Páll Dýrason (drummer for Sigur Rós), form the Toothfaeries, who make all of the official hand-made merchandise for Sigur Rós. He attended Berklee College of Music, Boston, and Listaháskóli Íslands, Reykjavík.