Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun - A Good Beginning (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2019)

Sigur Rós is commemorating the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album, 1999’s sublime Ágætis byrjun (A Good Beginning), with a massive reissue. Demos, early song versions and live recordings comprise six sides of the vinyl box set. The band dove into its personal archive for the source material, surfacing long-ago forgotten recordings. Guided voice versions of “Svefn-g-englar” and the title track, an original speed version of “Staralfur,” an extended version of “Vidrar vel til loftarasa” and an oboe-featuring “Olsen Olsen” are among the variations found in the set. It also features then-untitled songs and B-sides.

The package includes a live recording of their June 12th, 1999 concert at Íslenska Óperan (Icelandic Opera House), which has been remixed by former keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson with Birgir Birgisson who originally recorded the performance. The 90-minute set also marked the final time their original drummer, Águst Gunnarsson, would perform with the band. The band released “Flugufrelsarinn” from this set to coincide with the release.