When I first heard the Dark Was The Night compilation, I was really taken with the track by Riceboy Sleeps, but unlike most of the other artists on the record, I had no idea who they were. After a little investigation, I found out that Riceboy Sleeps is actually the side project of Jonsi Birgisson (of Sigur Ros) and his boyfriend Alex Somer and until now the “band” had only existed as a series of gallery shows, video installations and as a limited edition book. All of that is about to change however, when on July 21 Riceboy Sleeps release their debut record on XL Recordings. You can pre-order the deluxe edition of the album on their website, you can also download the first single off of the album, “Boy 1904”, below:
More press blurbage and album tracklisting after the jump.
“A yearning, almost devotional quality… file alongside Talk Talk’s Spirit Of Eden and Henryk Gorecki’s Third Symphony.“ – Mojo
Jonsi & Alex’s gorgeous ‘Riceboy Sleeps’ album will be released around the world the week of July 20, and you can get a free download of the track ‘Boy 1904’ right now by clicking here.
Several years in gestation, the Riceboy Sleeps project was first conceived as an outlet for Jonsi and his boyfriend Alex’s visual art, resulting in the highly covetable 1,000 limited edition A6 book, printed in Iceland to highly exacting spec. Gallery shows and video installations followed, and with them the creation of the first dream-like soundscapes towards what would become this album.
Recorded at home in between Sigur Rós commitments, the music took shape slowly, and suffered a near fatal setback when the computer on which it was all stored was dragged from the kitchen table in the days before Apple had magnetic power leads. Fortunately some nifty and painstaking keyhole surgery effected during a sojourn in Hawaii resulted in complete recovery of the splendid specimen soon to be before you.
We will send you details of the different formats available in due course, but for now immerse yourself in ‘Boy 1904’, which features the buried treasure of the only known recording of the last ever castrato singer. No wonder this music seems beamed in from another time and place.
Riceboy Sleeps Tracklisting:
Happiness
Atlas Song
Indian Summer
Stokkseyri
Boy 1904
All The Big Trees
Daniell In The Sun
Howl
Sleeping Giant