The Sugarcubes

The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic rock-pop band that formed in 1986 and broke up in 1992. They were met with critical and popular acclaim in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

Their first album was Life's Too Good for which they became known worldwide with the single "Birthday" thanks to the voice of the singer Björk.

After the Sugarcubes broke up, singer Björk continued her solo career in London and became one of the most innovative singers in her genre.

Components

Björk, already soloist, in 1998.

• Björk Guðmundsdóttir (voz, keyboards)
• Sigtryggur Baldursson (battery)
• Einar Örn Benediktsson (voice, trumpet)
• Einar Melax (technical)
• _
• Bragi Ólafsson (low)
• Margrét Örnólfsdóttir (plated)

History

June 8, 1986 is the date that is cited as the official birth of Sykurmolarnir, which would eventually be translated into its English equivalent: The Sugarcubes. Björk gave birth to Sindri Eldon Þórsson that same day. At that time, Einar Örn and Þór Eldon were running a new organization called Smekkleysa or officially known as Bad Taste, a countercultural record label that encouraged the artistic work of young Icelanders. Briefly after Sindri's birth, Björk had a role in the film The Juniper Tree (1987) and two years later, Björk and Þór split up, but remained friends.

Also in 1987 she participated in Glerbrot, a play by Matthias Johannsen for Icelandic television, she played a troubled teenager. In the same year, Björk's sister, Inga Hrönn, participated in the new wave band Blatt Afram, who only recorded two songs on their only cassette album released under the name Snarl 2.

Bad Taste spawned the formation of a pop group with Björk, Siggi Baldursson, KUKL's Einar Örn and Einar Melax, with Þór Eldon, Bragi Ólafsson and Purrkur Pillnikk guitarist Friðrik Erlingsson; Einar Melax would later be replaced by Margrét Örnólfsdóttir on keyboards.

Life's Too Good

The Sugarcubes' first single Amæli (Birthday, in its English version), became a great success in England, leaving a good impression with surrealism expressed with the lyrics and the extravagant general sound concept.

Melody Maker is the most enthusiastic media outlet choosing Birthday as Single of the Week and adding complimentary comments about its sonic architecture. Other media also featured the Sugarcubes on the cover, such as New Musical Express and the now-defunct Sounds.

In this way they gained significant popularity in the United Kingdom and the United States and offers from record companies began to pour in. The band then signed to One Little Indian and recorded their first album, Life's Too Good, an album that brought them worldwide fame - the first Icelandic band to achieve such success. The reviews were even better because the album featured a wide mix of references from pop, rock, funk and even jazz making it a rarity on the indie scene of the late 1980s. the album managed to sell 150,000 copies in the difficult UK market and close to 500,000 in the US.

Meanwhile, there are some upheavals within the band: after parting ways with Björk, Þór Eldon marries keyboardist, Magga Örnólfsdóttir. Siggi Baldursson and Bragi Ólafsson marry twin sisters and later the same year the news breaks that Einar Örn and Bragi got married in Denmark under the law in favor of gay marriage, when in fact it was a conversation jokingly between the two of them and which was accidentally distributed by the One Little Indian press office.

Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week! and the final journey of the band

The Sugarcubes' luck began to decline when in 1989 they released their second album called Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!, a title that comes from a phrase from the book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graeme.

The album did not serve to consolidate the international position of the group, the increasing intrusion of Einar Örn and the continuous character of songs like “Speed Is The Key”, “A Day Called Zero” or “Water” produce a stagnation in The Sugarcubes, despite standout songs like "Planet" and "Tidal Wave."

While the success of the Sugarcubes was waning, Björk was involved in other additional projects: under the name Betula Jónasson she played clarinet in Hljómsveit Konráðs B (The Konráð B Band, in Icelandic), a group derived from Caviare, the duo of Siggi Baldursson and Magga Örnólfsdóttir.

In 1990 he recorded Gling-Gló, a collection of popular jazz and original work with the bebop music group that became known as Björk Guðmundsdóttir & She trió Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, released in Iceland.

The album, produced by the group's guitarist Stuðmenn Tómas Tómasson, contains tracks in Icelandic and three covers: “Ruby Baby” by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and the jazz standards “I Can't Help Loving That Man ” (by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern) and “Þad Sést Ekki Sætari Mey” (Icelandic version of "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun"), adapted by Irving Berlin.

The group disappeared shortly after the album's release, when pianist Guðmundur Ingólfsson died of cancer; he also contributed vocals for the recording of & # 34;Ooops & # 34; and "Qmart", from the album Ex:El by the band 808 State, led by Graham Massey; a collaboration that cultivated his interest in house music.

Meanwhile, The Sugarcubes go on a dormant period.

Stick Around For Joy

The Sugarcubes meet again in New York with producer Paul Fox to prepare their next album Stick Around For Joy, which was released in February 1992 and preceded by the single “Hit”. Stick Around For Joy is the most famous album with which Björk would definitively make herself known on the British music scene, but despite the success achieved, tensions rose between Björk and Einar Örn and by the end of That year, a remix album titled It's-It was released, the last release before the band broke up. This album has the collaboration of DJs like Todd Terry, Justin Robertson and Marius De Vries.

Discography

Albums

Simple

Vinyl and CD cases

• 1989 - 12.11 (Elektra Records)
• 1989 - 7.8 (Elektra Records)
• 1989 - CD.6 (Elektra Records)

Collaborations

• 1987 - Snarl 2 (Erðanumúsik), Icelandic compilation. Under the name of Sykurmolarnir.
• 1987 - Luftgítar (Smekleysa), Johnny Triumph's album.
• 1987 - Skytturnar (Gramm), soundtrack of the film directed by Friðrik CHEór Fríðriksson.
• 1988 - One Little Indian - Greatest Hits Volume One (One Little Indian), greatest hits (volume 1) launched by One Little Indian.
• 1990 - Hættuleg Hljómsveit " Glæpakvendið Stella (Megas), Megas album.
• 1990 - World Domination or Death Volume 1 (Smekleysa/Workers Playtime PLAY), compilation.
• 1990 - One Little Indian - Greatest Hits Volume Two (One Little Indian), greatest hits (volume 2) released by One Little Indian.
• 1990 - Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary (Elektra Records), The Sugarcubes version the theme "Motorcycle Mama" of the Sailcat group published in 1972.
• 1993 - Welcome to the Future (One Little Indian), compilation.

Other releases

• 1988 - Sugarcubes Interview Disc (One Little Indian)
• 1998 - The Great Crossover Potential (One Little Indian)
• 1998 - Avengers (Soundtrack) (WEA/ATLANTIC)
• 1998 - Music Inspired by the Motion Picture: The Avengers (BIG EAR)