When I Found Sigur Ros

The second time I went to Iceland, I asked some locals ahead of time about what Icelandic music I should know. I was told about this new band, who at the time was really only known at home, and two of their CDs were put aside for me at a Reykjavik record shop. In those days, I carried a Sony Discman when I travelled, and I put one of them on just as the plane was taking off from Keflavik, rising up over the snow and ice and frozen ocean. And that’s the first time I listened to “Svefn-g-Englar.”