Takk...

Takk...
Studio album by Sigur Rós
Released September 12, 2005
Recorded 2004–05, Sundlaugin
Genre Post-rock, ambient, art rock
Length 65:32
Label Geffen, EMI
Producer Sigur Rós, Ken Thomas
Sigur Rós chronology

( )
(2002)		 Takk...
(2005)		 Hvarf/Heim
(2007)
Singles from Takk...
  1. "Glósóli"
    Released: 15 August 2005
  2. "Sæglópur"
    Released: 16 August 2005
  3. "Hoppípolla"
    Released: 28 November 2005

Takk... ([ˈtʰaʰkː], Icelandic for Thanks...)[1] is the fourth studio album by the Icelandic band Sigur Rós. It was released on September 12, 2005, though EMI. The album debuted at 27 in the U.S., selling 30,000 copies in its first week of release. On 7 April 2006, Takk... was certified gold by the BPI, marking 100,000 copies sold in the UK. In total, it has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.

Overview

Unlike its predecessor ( ), the album's lyrics are mostly in Icelandic, with occasional elements of Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"), a scat-like form of gibberish. The songs "Andvari", "Gong" and "Mílanó" are sung entirely in Vonlenska. Moreover, the song "Mílanó" was written together with the string quartet Amiina.[2][3]

Rhythmically, Takk... makes extensive use of changing time signatures. In the track "Andvari" for example, the main melody repeats itself every 27 beats, with stress on beats 1, 5, 9, 11, 16, 20 and 25. This could be rendered as seven bars of 4, 4, 2, 5, 4, 5 and 3 beats respectively. Against this there is a steady counter-rhythm of triple time, which could be rendered as eighteen bars of 3/8 time per 27-beat cycle.

Release and promotion

The first singles, "Glósóli" and "Sæglópur", were released on August 15, 2005, and August 16, 2005 respectively, the former worldwide and the latter only in the United States. The single "Hoppípolla" was released in the UK on 28 November 2005 and entered the singles chart at #35 on 4 December. In May 2006 it reached #24 in the UK chart.

1,000 copies of Takk... on vinyl were manufactured and arrived in UK and US stores as of January 2006. It is composed of a gatefold sleeve housing two 12 inch records, with a single die cut page that houses a 10-inch record with a design etched on one side.

Sigur Rós also released music videos for "Glósóli", "Hoppípolla" and "Sæglópur".

An extended Sæglópur EP was released, featured three new songs, which are said to be somewhere in between Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do, untitled #9 from the Vaka EP, and the end of "Glósóli". The EP also includes a DVD with all three music videos.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (84/100) [4]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [5]
Entertainment Weekly (A−) [6]
Pitchfork Media (7.8/10) [7]
The Guardian [8]
The Independent [9]
NME (8/10) [10]
Rolling Stone [11]
Uncut [12]
Blender [13]
Q Magazine [14]

Sigur Rós received three awards at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2006: Best Album Design (along with Ísak Winther, Alex Somers and Lukka Sigurðardóttir), Best Alternative Act and Best Rock Album for Takk....[15]

Media usage

The BBC has frequently used tracks from Takk... in its programmes. "Hoppípolla" was employed as the backing music to trailers for the highly acclaimed nature series Planet Earth and for the end credit of Match of the Day broadcasting the FA Cup Final. "Sæglópur" has been used as a backing tune for the BBC's advertising campaign for the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, while snips of "Sæglópur", "Milanó", "Gong", and "Svo hljótt" appeared in Top Gear. "Sæglópur" was also notably used in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia E3 2008 gameplay debut trailer as well as their televised commercials for the game. The FIA also used "Hoppipolla" at the end of their review for the Formula One Season, aired during the 2009 FIA Gala.

In 2009, British electronic music artist Chicane produced a progressive trance remix of "Hoppípolla", titled "Poppiholla" which has been on rotation on BBC Radio 1's B list in June 2009.

Track listing

No. TitleEnglish translation[16] Length
1. "Takk..."  "Thanks..." 1:57
2. "Glósóli"  "Glowing sole" 6:15
3. "Hoppípolla"  "Hopping into puddles" 4:28
4. "Með blóðnasir"  "With a nosebleed" 2:17
5. "Sé lest"  "I see a train" 8:40
6. "Sæglópur"  "Lost at sea" 7:38
7. "Mílanó"  "Milan" 10:25
8. "Gong"  "Gong" 5:33
9. "Andvari"  "Zephyr" 6:40
10. "Svo hljótt"  "So quietly" 7:24
11. "Heysátan"  "The haystack" 4:09

On vinyl, "Milanó" is featured on the single-sided 10" included with the set and is labelled as the final side, effectively moving "Milanó" to the end of the album, after "Heysátan" (indicated by the label which has the album's last tracks on side 2B but features "Milanó" on side 3A. Also on the inside of the sleeve. The tracklisting has "Milanó" on its original place).

Personnel

Sigur Rós
Additional musicians
  • Amiina – strings
  • Kristín Lárusdóttir – strings
  • Júlía Mogensen – strings
  • Stefanía Ólafsdóttir – strings
  • Eyjólfur Bjarni Alfreðsson – strings
  • Ingrid Karlsdóttir – strings
  • Gréta Salóme Stefánsdóttir – strings
  • Matthías Stefánsson – strings
  • Ólöf Júlía Kjartansdóttir – strings
  • Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson – brass
  • Snorri Sigurðarson – brass
  • Helgi Hrafn Jónsson – brass
  • Samúel Jón Samúelsson – brass
  • Össur Geirsson – brass
  • Frank Aarnink – percussion
  • Álafosskórinn – choir on "Hoppípolla"
Additional personnel[17]
  • Kenneth Vaughan Thomas – engineering, mixing, co-producing
  • Birgir Jón Birgisson – additional engineering
  • Ted Jensen – mixing

References

  1. ↑ "eighteen seconds before sunrise – sigur rós news » 2005 » July » 10". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  2. ↑ "sigur rós – discography » takk... tracklist and credits". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  3. ↑ "sigur rós – discography » takk... documentary". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  4. ↑ "Takk... – Sigur Rós". Metacritic Music Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Takk... at AllMusic
  6. ↑ At times Takk almost rocks—as much as tiny ice-crystal elves from the magical land of Narnia can rock, but still. [16 Sep 2005, p.88]
  7. ↑ Amanda Petrusich (11 September 2005). "Sigur Ros: Takk review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Betty Clarke (9 September 2005). "Sigur Ros, Takk... Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  9. ↑ Andy Gill. "Album: Sigur Ros review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  10. ↑ James Jam (12 September 2005). "Sigur Ros : Takk". NME. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  11. ↑ Barry Walters. "rolling stone review of 'takk...'". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Sigur Ros' alien beauty prescribes its own definition. [Oct 2005, p.112]
  13. ↑ On [Takk...], the band opens up emotionally, warming up their lengthy jams to a slow burn to create intoxicating, meditative rock. [Oct 2005, p.143]
  14. ↑ Takk... [is] a thing of... supple, muscular beauty, throwing off the stultifying air of reverence that has sometimes surrounded them. [Oct 2005, p.116]
  15. ↑ "eighteen seconds before sunrise – sigur rós news » 2006» January» 25". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  16. ↑ "sigur rós – lyrics". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "discography >>takk...". sigur ros. Retrieved September 26, 2013.

External links