Sigur Rós have released a special version of their latest album ‘ÁTTA’. Titled ‘ÁTTA Heimr Edition’ – it is available now for members of the band’s online fan community.
The Icelanders describe the new release as a “high quality immersive digital album format” and it was made available exclusively through the membership group Heimr on September 29.
The original version of ‘ÁTTA’ was announced as a surprise by the band in June, marking their first new studio album in 10 years. It was described by band member Georg Holm as “sounding like a Sigur Rós album, but it’s more introverted than before. It’s very expansive with this sound of strings, but it looks within more than outside.”
In a four-star review, NME wrote that ‘ÁTTA’ is “a record that gives Sigur Rós plenty more reason to exist in adding some pure and natural soul to this cold and unfeeling world.”
In addition to ‘ÁTTA Heimr Edition’, there is an even more exclusive collectible version of the album: ‘ÁTTA Unique Heimr Edition’ includes a 1 of 1 digital artwork and it is limited to just 100 editions.
The Heimr community is a free digital membership for Sigur Rós fans, with members being the first to receive announcements, access to exclusive music and the chance to engage with other fans.
In July, Sigur Rós also announced an experimental video series to go alongside the new album, featuring a video for each track created by different directors.
Holm, who is the band’s bassist, disclosed earlier this year that he had considered leaving Iceland after the band was accused by the Icelandic government of evading 151m krona (£840,000) of tax between 2010 and 2014. Blaming an accounting error, the band repaid the debt plus interest, but then faced a second prosecution for the same offence in 2020, which froze their assets. They have since been acquitted.
Speaking to The Guardian, Holm said: “I really did feel like I can’t live in this sort of society. I felt violated, basically. It was a dark period of time for all of us. It was scarring, you know. But then you realise that things just happen and it doesn’t really matter where you are. I have come to the conclusion that I love living in Iceland.”
The band appeared at a number of festivals this summer, including Meltdown and Mad Cool, before embarking on a string of European dates, where they played alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra, who also feature heavily on the new album.
63