The Record That Changed My Life: Dave Gahan on Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun

Albums have to be vinyl for me, not cd’s or downloads. When I am writing songs for my own albums, I always imagine at which point the listener has to turn around the record. And when I think of the artwork, I always imagine a big gatefold cover. Because that’s how I listen to music: I open the packaging, read the textbook and liner-notes, I carry the record around with me and treasure it. Music is also a haptical experience. I have to be able to touch it, even when I digitalize it or stream it later. That’s why there’s nothing better than crate digging in record stores.

I love to browse through the shelves until I see a cover that appeals to me. I don’t have to know the band or artist, not at all. It was like that with Ágætis Byrjun from Sigur Rós. I didn’t know the band or music behind it, but kept seeing this artwork. No typography, just that image of an embryo. So I bought the record, and what I heard knocked me out. Not through force and noise, but through the simplicity of the songs and the understatement of the band. That hit a nerve with me. These mysterious musicians from Iceland spoke through their music (in their strange fantasy language) and gave me all these credos on the way: “Take yourself back. There is strength in serenity. Less can be more.” A few years later I felt ready to record my first solo album. It would sound different without Sigur Rós- if it would exist at all.

by Dave Gahan