GusGus is an electronic music band from

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland. Although initially a film and acting collective, the group is mostly known for its

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. The group's discography consists of twelve studio albums.

History

GusGus was initially formed in 1995 as a film and acting collective. The band's name refers to the 1974 German film '' Ali: Fear Eats the Soul'' () by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

, where a female character is cooking

couscous Couscous () is a traditional North African dish a quote: “Couscous or seksu (Image 1) in Berber language or kuskus in Arabic is by origin a Numidian (the Berber population of Numidia) dish…” of small steamed granules of rolled semolina ...

for her lover, pronouncing it ''Gusgus''. GusGus' music is eclectic, and although primarily classified as

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

, and

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

, the band has experimented with other styles. They have remixed songs of popular artists such as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

Moloko Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...

, and

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

. Membership in the band has varied, and included: *

Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson (born 26 August 1969) is an Icelandic singer and producer. He is the lead singer of the bands GusGus, Nýdönsk, and Esja. Biography Daníel has been part of the local and international music scene since he started ...

* Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir * Magnús Jónsson (aka Blake) * Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir * Urður Hákonardóttir (aka Earth) * Högni Egilsson * Birgir Þórarinsson (aka Biggi Veira or Biggo) * Magnús Guðmundsson (aka Maggi Lego, Herb Legowitz, Hunk of a Man, Buckmaster De La Cruz, The Fox, Fuckmaster, or Herr Legowitz) * Stephan Stephensen (aka President Bongo, Alfred More, or President Penis) * Sigurður Kjartansson (aka Siggi Kinski) * Stefán Árni Þorgeirsson * Baldur Stefánsson (Director of Financial Arts, aka DJ Tekno Jörgensen) * Ragnheiður Axel * Páll Garðarsson In 1997, the band performed in Toronto. They returned for a second visit as part of a tour supporting their second album, ''

Polydistortion ''Polydistortion'' is the second studio album by Icelandic electronic music band GusGus. The album was released on 7 April 1997 on 4AD, serving as their first release on the label. The songs "Why?" and the band's cover of Slowblow's "Is Jesus Y ...

''. In 1998, a remix of the track "Purple" appeared on

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (; born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ma ...

's trance compilation '' Tranceport''. After the group's third album, '' This Is Normal'' (1999), the filmmaking arm of GusGus (Kjartansson and Árni Þorgeirsson) split off to form the production company Celebrator, now known as Arni & Kinski, which has produced advertisements and videos. In January 2004, they released the song "Desire" with

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he be ...

. As of 2011 the band had sold over 700,000 copies worldwide. Its 2015 incarnation consists of four members (President Bongo, Biggi Veira, Urður Hákonardóttir and Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson). A few former members such as Hafdís Huld, Blake, and Daníel Ágúst have gone solo;

Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. Her works include the 2009 single "Jungle Drum (song), Jungle Drum" and the 1999 album ''Love in the Time of Science''. She performed "Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film ' ...

provided a song for the soundtrack of

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''.

Band members

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1200 height:800 PlotArea = left:200 bottom:120 top:0 right:25 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1996 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1996 Colors = id:act value:red legend:Years Active LineData = at:01/01/1995 layer:back at:01/01/1995 width:1.5 layer:front PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Baldur Stefánsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Birgir Þórarinsson from:start till:end color:act bar:Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson from:01/01/2008 till:end color:act bar:Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir from:start till:31/03/2000 color:act bar:Högni Egilsson from:01/01/2011 till:31/12/2016 color:act bar:Magnús Guðmundsson from:start till:31/12/2007 color:act bar:Magnús Jónsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Páll Garðarsson from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Ragnheiður Axel from:start till:31/12/1995 color:act bar:Sigurður Kjartansson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Stefán Árni Þorgeirsson from:start till:31/12/2000 color:act bar:Stephan Stephensen from:start till:31/12/2013 color:act bar:Urður Hákonardóttir from:01/01/2001 till:31/12/2007 color:act bar:Urður Hákonardóttir from:01/01/2011 till:31/12/2013 color:act bar:Margret Rán Magnúsdóttir from:01/01/2021 till:end color:act

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

* '' Mixed Live at Sirkus, Reykjavik'' (2003)

Compilations

* '' 15 ára'' (2010)

Singles

* "Polyesterday" (1996) — UK No. 55 (as ''Purple EP: Polyesterday'') * "Believe" (1997) — UK No. 154 * "Standard Stuff for Drama" (1997) * "Ladyshave" (1999) — UK No. 64 * "V.I.P." (1999) — UK No. 86 * "Starlovers" (1999) — UK No. 62 * "Dance You Down" (2002) — UK No. 141 * "Desire" (2002) — UK No. 95 * "David" (2003) — UK No. 52 * "Call of the Wild" (2003) — UK No. 75 * "Lust / Porn" (2005) * "Need in Me" (2005) — BG No. 24 * "Forever Sampler" (2006) * "Moss" (2007) * "Hold You" (2007) * "Add This Song" (2009) * "Thin Ice" (2009) * "Within You" (2011) * "Over" (2011) * "Deep Inside" (2011) * "Crossfade" (2014) * "Obnoxiously Sexual" (2014) * "Mexico" (2014) * "Airwaves" (2014) * "Featherlight" (2017) * "Don't Know How to Love" (2018) * "Lifetime" (2019) * "Out of Place" (2020) * "Higher" feat Vök (2020) * "Stay the Ride" (2021) * "Our World" (2021) * "Love is Alone" feat John Grant (2021) * "Simple Tuesday" (2021) * "Bolero EP" feat John Grant (2022) * "Into the Strange" (2023) * "Eða?" feat Birnir (2023) * "When we Sing" (2023) — UA No. 55

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gusgus Trance music groups Icelandic electronic music groups 4AD artists Musical groups from Reykjavík