Von | ||||
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Studio album by Sigur Rós | ||||
Released | June 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1995–1997 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 71:59 | |||
Label | One Little Indian/Smekkleysa SM67 | |||
Sigur Rós chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (68/100) |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Pitchfork Media | (7.8/10) |
Uncut | |
musicOMH | |
Rock Sound | |
Drowned in Sound |
Von (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈvɔːn], Hope) is the debut album of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.
The production of the album took a long time, and the end result sounded significantly different from the original recordings. The band considered scrapping the final result and starting all over again, but decided not to because it would have made the process too long. In exchange for recording time, Sigur Rós painted the studio they recorded in.
Von was originally released in Iceland to moderate critical acclaim, but went relatively unnoticed abroad. In the first year following the release, Von sold only 313 copies in Iceland. Following the band's popular international releases, Ágætis byrjun and ( ), it was re-released in the United Kingdom in September 2004, and in the United States a month later. In December 2005, Von and Ágætis byrjun were declared platinum albums in Iceland, signifying domestic sales of over 5,000.
The sixth track consists of 18 seconds of silence, and gave name to Sigur Rós's official website, 'eighteen seconds before sunrise'. The last track starts with six minutes and fifteen seconds of silence, then consists of a portion of "Myrkur" played backwards, hence the name of "Rukrym."
The cover depicts Jónsi's sister Inga Birgisdóttir as a baby.
The tracks "Hafssól" and "Von" were later re-recorded with very different arrangements, the former released as a B-side to the Hoppípolla single and both appearing on 2007's Hvarf/Heim.