Takk...

Takk...
Takk...
Studio album by Sigur Rós
Released	12 September 2005
Recorded	2004–05
Studio	Sundlaugin
Genre	Post-rock
Length	65:32
Label	Geffen (US); EMI
Producer	Sigur Rós, Ken Thomas
Sigur Rós chronology
Singles from Takk...
	"Glósóli"; Released: 15 August 2005; "Sæglópur"; Released: 16 August 2005; "Hoppípolla"; Released: 28 November 2005;

Takk... ([ˈtʰaʰkː], Thanks...) is the fourth studio album by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, first released in the United States by Geffen Records on 12 September 2005. The album debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200, selling 30,000 copies in its first week.

Music and lyrics

Unlike its predecessor ( ), the album's lyrics are mostly in Icelandic, with occasional elements of Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"), a scat-like form of gibberish. The songs "Andvari", "Gong" and "Mílanó" are sung entirely in Vonlenska. Moreover, the song "Mílanó" was written together with the string quartet Amiina.^[1]^[2]

Rhythmically, Takk... makes extensive use of changing time signatures. In the track "Andvari" for example, the main melody repeats itself every 27 beats, with stress on beats 1, 5, 9, 11, 16, 20 and 25. This could be rendered as seven bars of 4, 4, 2, 5, 4, 5 and 3 beats respectively. Against this there is a steady counter-rhythm of triple time, which could be rendered as eighteen bars of 3/8 time per 27-beat cycle, also known as a phrase.

Release and promotion

"Glósóli" and "Sæglópur" were released on 15 and 16 August 2005 as the first and second singles respectively, the former worldwide and the latter only in the United States. "Hoppípolla" was released in the UK on 28 November 2005 as the third single. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart in May 2006. All three singles were accompanied by a music video.

1,000 copies of Takk... on vinyl were manufactured and arrived in UK and US stores as of January 2006. It is composed of a gatefold sleeve housing two 12 inch records, with a single die cut page that houses a 10-inch record with a design by Olivia De Bartha etched on one side.

An extended Sæglópur EP was released, featuring three new songs. The EP also included a DVD with all three music videos.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100^[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Blender	^[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[6]
The Guardian	^[7]
Los Angeles Times	^[8]
NME	8/10^[9]
Pitchfork	7.8/10^[10]
Q	^[11]
Rolling Stone	^[12]
Spin	A^[13]

Sigur Rós received three awards at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2006: Best Album Design (along with Ísak Winther, Alex Somers and Lukka Sigurðardóttir), Best Alternative Act and Best Rock Album for Takk....^[14] In December 2005, American webzine Somewhere Cold ranked Takk... No. 4 on their 2005 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame list.^[15]

Media usage

The BBC has frequently used tracks from Takk... in its programmes. "Hoppípolla" was used as the backing music to trailers for the highly acclaimed nature series Planet Earth and for the end credit of Match of the Day broadcasting the FA Cup Final. "Sæglópur" has been used as a backing tune for the BBC's advertising campaign for the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, while snips of "Sæglópur", "Milanó", "Gong", and "Svo hljótt" appeared in Top Gear. "Sæglópur" was also notably used in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia E3 2008 gameplay debut trailer as well as their televised commercials for the game. The FIA also used "Hoppípolla" at the end of their review for the Formula One Season, aired during the 2009 FIA Gala.

"Hoppípolla" has also been used in multiple films such as the end of We Bought a Zoo, the end of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, and during the closing credits of Penelope.

In 2009, British electronic music artist Chicane produced a progressive trance remix of "Hoppípolla", titled "Poppiholla" which has been on rotation on BBC Radio 1's B list in June 2009.

Track listing

No.	Title	English translation^[16]	Length
1.	"Takk..."	"Thanks..."	1:57
2.	"Glósóli"	"Glowing sole"	6:15
3.	"Hoppípolla"	"Hopping into puddles"	4:28
4.	"Með blóðnasir"	"With a nosebleed"	2:17
5.	"Sé lest"	"I see a train"	8:40
6.	"Sæglópur"	"Lost at sea"	7:38
7.	"Mílanó"	"Milan"	10:25
8.	"Gong"	"Gong"	5:33
9.	"Andvari"	"Zephyr"	6:40
10.	"Svo hljótt"	"So quietly"	7:24
11.	"Heysátan"	"The haystack"	4:09
Total length:			65:32

On vinyl, "Milanó" is featured on the single-sided 10" included with the set and is labelled as the final side, effectively moving "Milanó" to the end of the album, after "Heysátan" (indicated by the label which has the album's last tracks on side 2B but features "Milanó" on side 3A. Also on the inside of the sleeve. The track listing has "Milanó" on its original place).

Personnel

Credits adapted from the band's official website.^[17]

Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós – production, composition, cover design
Jón Þór Birgisson – vocals, guitar
Kjartan Sveinsson – keyboards
Georg Hólm – bass guitar
Orri Páll Dýrason – drums

Additional musicians

Amiina – strings, string arrangement (track 7)
Kristín Lárusdóttir – cello
Júlía Mogensen – cello
Stefanía Ólafsdóttir – violas
Eyjólfur Bjarni Alfreðsson – violas
Ingrid Karlsdóttir – violins
Gréta Salóme Stefánsdóttir – violins
Matthías Stefánsson – violins
Ólöf Júlía Kjartansdóttir – violins
Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson – trumpets
Snorri Sigurðarson – trumpets
Helgi Hrafn Jónsson – trombones
Samúel Jón Samúelsson – trombones
Össur Geirsson – tuba
Frank Aarnink – percussion
Álafosskórinn – choir (track 3)

Additional personnel

Kenneth Vaughan Thomas – engineering, mixing, co-production
Birgir Jón Birgisson – additional engineering
Ted Jensen – mastering
Ísak Winther – cover design
Alex Somers – cover design
Lukka Sigurðardóttir – cover design

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)^[18]	Gold	25,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[19]	Platinum	20,000^‡
Iceland^[20]	Gold	5,000
United Kingdom (BPI)^[21]	Platinum	300,000^*
United States (RIAA)^[23]	—	202,000^[22]
Summaries
Worldwide	—	800,000^[20]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "sigur rós – discography " takk... tracklist and credits". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
^ "sigur rós – discography " takk... documentary". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
^ "Reviews for Takk... by Sigur Rós". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
^ Kellman, Andy. "Takk... – Sigur Rós". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
^ Harrison, Andrew (October 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk". Blender (41): 143. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ Greenblatt, Leah (12 September 2005). "Takk". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ Clarke, Betty (9 September 2005). "Sigur Ros, Takk..." The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ Cromelin, Richard (4 September 2005). "Directions, lost and found". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ Jam, James (12 September 2005). "Sigur Ros : Takk". NME. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
^ Petrusich, Amanda (11 September 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
^ "Sigur Rós: Takk...". Q (233): 116. October 2005.
^ Walters, Barry (22 September 2005). "Sigur Ros: Takk..." Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
^ Hermes, Will (October 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk..." Spin. 21 (10): 140–42. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ "eighteen seconds before sunrise – sigur rós news " 2006" January" 25". sigur-ros.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
^ Lamoreaux, Jason T. (December 1, 2005). "Somewhere Cold Awards 2005". Somewhere Cold. Archived from the original on September 30, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2005. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 30, 2020 suggested (help)
^ "sigur rós – lyrics". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
^ "sigur rós - discography » takk..." sigur rós. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
^ "Danish album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". IFPI Danmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2018 to obtain certification.
^ ^a ^b "Sigur Rós go platinum in Iceland". Sigur Ros. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ "British album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Takk in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ Hasty, Katie (28 June 2008). "The Fast And The Furious" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ "American album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

sigur-ros.is Mini-site dedicated to Takk... at the Wayback Machine (archived January 28, 2007)
Takk... album credits at the Wayback Machine (archived November 29, 2006)
Takk... at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

[1] "sigur rós – discography " takk... tracklist and credits". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.

[2] "sigur rós – discography " takk... documentary". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-08.

[3] "Reviews for Takk... by Sigur Rós". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

[4] Kellman, Andy. "Takk... – Sigur Rós". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

[5] Harrison, Andrew (October 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk". Blender (41): 143. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[6] Greenblatt, Leah (12 September 2005). "Takk". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[7] Clarke, Betty (9 September 2005). "Sigur Ros, Takk..." The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[8] Cromelin, Richard (4 September 2005). "Directions, lost and found". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[9] Jam, James (12 September 2005). "Sigur Ros : Takk". NME. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.

[10] Petrusich, Amanda (11 September 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

[11] "Sigur Rós: Takk...". Q (233): 116. October 2005.

[12] Walters, Barry (22 September 2005). "Sigur Ros: Takk..." Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

[13] Hermes, Will (October 2005). "Sigur Rós: Takk..." Spin. 21 (10): 140–42. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[14] "eighteen seconds before sunrise – sigur rós news " 2006" January" 25". sigur-ros.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-02-16.

[15] Lamoreaux, Jason T. (December 1, 2005). "Somewhere Cold Awards 2005". Somewhere Cold. Archived from the original on September 30, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2005. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 30, 2020 suggested (help)

[16] "sigur rós – lyrics". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2013.

[17] "sigur rós - discography » takk..." sigur rós. Retrieved September 26, 2013.

[BelgiumSigur_RósTakkalbumCertRef-18] "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien.

[DenmarkSigur_RósTakkalbumCertRef-19] "Danish album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". IFPI Danmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2018 to obtain certification.

[sigurros-20] "Sigur Rós go platinum in Iceland". Sigur Ros. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

[United_KingdomSigur_RósTakkalbumCertRef-21] "British album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Takk in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

[22] Hasty, Katie (28 June 2008). "The Fast And The Furious" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

[United_StatesSigur_RósTakkalbumCertRef-23] "American album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". Recording Industry Association of America.

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