Jónsi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jónsi
Jónsi at the Citadel Festival, Victoria Park, London, 2016
Background information
Birth name	Jón Þór Birgisson
Born	(1975-04-23) 23 April 1975 (age 50)
Origin	Iceland
Genres	Experimental rock ambient worldbeat contemporary classical
Instruments	Guitar bass guitar vocals keyboards banjo ukulele harmonica sampler
Years active	1992–present
Associated acts	Sigur Rós Jónsi & Alex Dark Morph Alex Somers Carl Michael von Hausswolff Klive A. G. Cook

Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (born 23 April 1975) is a musician from Iceland. He is best known as the singer and multi-instrumentalist for the band Sigur Rós. Jónsi is famous for his unique way of playing guitar with a cello bow. He also has a special high singing voice called a falsetto or countertenor.

Jónsi released his first solo album, Go, in 2010. Ten years later, he released his second album, Shiver, in 2020. His third album, Obsidian, came out in 2021. He has also worked with his friend Alex Somers and created music for movies like How to Train Your Dragon and We Bought a Zoo.

Jónsi's Musical Journey

Jónsi started playing guitar when he was 13 years old. The first song he learned was "Wrathchild" by the band Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden is still one of his favorite bands today.

In 1995, Jónsi was the lead singer of a band called Bee Spiders. He used the stage name 'Jonny B' and wore sunglasses during their shows. Bee Spiders won an award for 'most interesting band' in a music competition. Their music was compared to bands like The Smashing Pumpkins. Jónsi also uses another name, Frakkur, for some of his solo music.

Since 1994, Jónsi has been the singer and guitarist for the band Sigur Rós. They have released eight studio albums so far.

Besides his work with Sigur Rós, Jónsi has teamed up with his friend Alex Somers. They released an album together called Riceboy Sleeps in 2009, under the name Jónsi & Alex. In 2010, Jónsi released his first solo album, Go. He then went on a big tour in North America and Europe to share his new music.

Jónsi's song "Around Us" was used in the trailer for the movie The Secret World of Arriety. It was also featured in the video game FIFA 11. His song "Tornado" was in the 2012 film Disconnect.

Jónsi also wrote the music for the 2012 movie We Bought a Zoo. Other songs like "Boy Lilikoi" and instrumental versions of "Tornado" and "Around Us" were used in the 2011 documentary This Is What Love in Action Looks Like.

In 2017, Jónsi's song "Grow Till Tall" was used by the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. It was also in the trailer for the movie Allegiant.

In 2018, Jónsi wrote a song called "Who Are You Thinking Of?" for the movie Boy Erased. He also worked with singer Troye Sivan on the song "Revelation" for the same movie.

Music for How to Train Your Dragon

Jónsi recorded "Sticks and Stones" for the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon. A music video for the song was released in December 2010. His song "Tornado" was also used in the live show based on the film.

In 2014, Jónsi helped write "Where No One Goes" for the sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2. He worked with the film's music composer John Powell. He also helped create the melody for "For the Dancing and Dreaming". For the final movie in the series, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Jónsi wrote and performed "Together from Afar". He also sang on the track "The Hidden World".

Dark Morph Project

In 2019, Jónsi and Swedish composer Carl Michael von Hausswolff started a new music project called Dark Morph. Their first album, also called Dark Morph, came out in May 2019. This project explores sounds related to the environment and oceans. The music is mostly ambient, meaning it creates a mood with sounds of animals and nature, rather than strong melodies.

Jónsi's Albums

Riceboy Sleeps (2009)

Jónsi and Alex Somers finished their first album together, Riceboy Sleeps. This album is mostly instrumental, meaning it doesn't have many vocals. It was recorded in Iceland using only acoustic instruments. The Icelandic string quartet Amiina and the Kópavogsdætur choir also performed on the album.

The album has nine songs and was released on 20 July 2009.

Go (2010)

Jónsi performing live in Ferrara, Italy (22 July 2010)

In 2009, Jónsi announced he was working on a solo album. It would feature acoustic music and string arrangements by classical composer Nico Muhly. The album was produced by Peter Katis.

On 4 December 2009, a free song called "Boy Lilikoi" was shared online. This song announced the album's title, Go. It was released worldwide in April 2010. Most of the songs on Go are sung in English. This was a change from Jónsi's earlier work, which was mostly in Icelandic or "Vonlenska" (a made-up language). The album was popular, reaching No. 20 on the UK album charts.

The special limited edition of Go included a 45-minute film called Go Quiet. This film shows all nine songs from the album performed acoustically at Jónsi's home in Reykjavík.

Jónsi started his Go tour on 6 April 2010. His touring band included Alex Somers, Thorvaldur Thór Thorvaldsson, Ólafur Björn Ólafsson, and Úlfur Hansson.

Shiver (2020)

Jónsi did not release solo music for ten years after Go. On 3 April 2020, he announced his new music. The first song, "Exhale", was released as the lead single for his second album, Shiver. A music video for "Exhale" was directed by Jónsi and Giovanni Ribisi.

Jónsi worked with English music producer A. G. Cook on this album. Jónsi released another song, "Swill", for the album on 24 June 2020.

Musical Collaborations

Jónsi has worked with many other artists:

• He appeared as 'Frakkur' on the song "Skyscraper Heart" by Dip in 1999.
• He provided vocals for three collaborations with The Hafler Trio between 2004 and 2005.
• Jónsi was featured on Tiësto's song "Kaleidoscope" in 2009.
• He also appeared on the song "Over the Pond" by The Album Leaf in 2004.
• In 2018, Jónsi worked with Troye Sivan on the song "Revelation" for the Boy Erased movie soundtrack.

Instruments Jónsi Plays

Jónsi at UCLA, promoting the film Heima

Jónsi often plays variations of the Les Paul guitar. He also uses Ibanez Les Paul copies. One of his main guitars, called "The Bird", was made for him by his guitar technician. It has bird designs on the neck. Jónsi also plays other instruments, including:

• Piano
• Acoustic guitar
• Electric bass guitar
• Harmonium
• Mellotron
• Baritone ukulele
• Banjo

Activism

In 2003, Jónsi protested against the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant in Iceland. He was asked to leave the area because of his protest.

Jónsi is a vegetarian. He became vegetarian because he cares about animals. He has said it would be hard for him to be with someone who eats meat. He briefly tried a raw food diet, but found it difficult to maintain, especially when touring.

Visual Arts

Besides his music, Jónsi also creates visual art. He has shown his artwork in galleries in Los Angeles and New York.

In 2023, he displayed a large art piece called FLÓÐ at the National Nordic Museum. His exhibit Jónsi: Hrafntinna (Obsidian) was shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2022 and the Museum of Old and New Art in Australia in 2023.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

Jónsi and Alex (with Alex Somers)

Dark Morph (with Carl Michael von Hausswolff)

Other collaborative albums

Soundtrack albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Film albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

See also

In Spanish: Jón Þór Birgisson para niños