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at a glance...
Hometown: Reykjavik, Iceland
Year Formed: 1995
Personnel:
Daniel Agust -vocals
Stefan Arni -arrangments
Hafdis Huld -vocals
Magnus Jonsson -vocals
Siggi Kjartansson -lyricist
Biggi Veira -programming
Herb Legowitz -programming
Alfred More -programming
Baldur Stefansson -manager
Steph -photographer
Bands In The Family:
Björk, Hooverphonic, Tricky, Happy Mondays, Paul Oakenfold, Lhooq, Massive
Attack
, Depeche Mode, Q Burns' Abstract Message, Sasha, Tim "Love" Lee, Roy Davis Jr.
Notes:
gus gus is a nine-person collective of Icelandic musicians, filmmakers,
photographers, actors, politicians, and other jacks-of-all trades. The group
came about through the filmmaker brothers in the group, Siggi and Stefan. In
between shooting short films, the brothers collected a few friends to make a record. The mix included the duo T-World (Herr and Biggi, both DJ's) and Daniel Agust, whose previous band Nydonsk had several gold records in Iceland. Within 11 days, an entrancing record called
Polydistortion had been completed. Only after the record was done was the group
("a happy accident" whose name is a misspelling of the side dish, cous cous)
signed to a record deal. Released only in their homeland in 1995, the record
was later picked up for worldwide distribution by the British indie label 4AD in
1997. Emphasizing a multimedia package of music, video, photography, and
performance art at their live shows, the group received much praise from critics and musicians alike, particularly for the
single "Purple." Touring coalesced the group: they collaborated on remixes and
singles for soundtracks and compilations, started their own fashion company
called Cry Lab, and began recording their
second album at their newly constructed studio and record label, Elf 19, in
Reykjavik. On the eve of their worldwide tour in 1999, Hafdis Huld was fired
(or quit, depending on whom you ask) from the collective, leaving the band
without a female member.
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