múm er íslensk tilraunapoppsveit. Hér er smá umfjöllun á ensku til að undirstrika það að þau eru frekar heit í útlöndum, sem og á Íslandi.

múm is an experimental Icelandic pop group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, eccentric beats and colorful effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. múm have never walked the well trodden path. Since the the beginning of múm, they have always gone their own way, the way their creativeness and their music has been excessively difficult to pin down and anticipate. Originally a duo, the band has expanded and contracted like a beating mammalian heart in the 12 years of being and has counted15 – 20 people along the way.

The band was formed in 1997 by original members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, their first release was a split 10″ with the girl-band Spúnk and saw light in the summer of ‘98. They were joined a year later by twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir and released two albums as quartet. Following a number of collaborative projects, the group’s celebrated debut album ‘Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK’ (reissued by Morr Music in October 2005) gained a wealth of glowing press and widespread praise. A remix project followed. ‘Please Smile My Noise Bleed’, also released on the Morr Music label in November 2001.

In 2002, after the release of ‘Finally We Are No One’ and the extensive first world tour, Gyða left the band to return to her studies in Reykjavík. Shortly after, the third sister Ásthildur Valtýsdóttir joined for singing duties temporarily and Serena Tideman replaced Gyda on cello, for a single European tour. The band’s third album, ‘Summer Make Good’, a darker and foggier, nautically themed work was released in May 2004, flanked by two singles, ‘Nightly Cares’ and ‘Dusk Log’. By then the ensemble had evolved to include Eiríkur Ólafsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir (who had guest appearances on múm recordings from the beginning) and Ólöf Arnalds. In early 2006, Kristín also left the band after releasing and heavily touring the album ‘Summer Make Good’.

The start of 2006 saw the bands creativity start to blossom once again, starting with two remixes Goldfrapp of the tracks ‘Number One’ and ‘Never Know’. They followed this with two legendary DJ sets at the FatCat Festival in Belgium in February and SXSW in Austin Texas 2007. With a combination of decks, effects, laptops, toy microphones, old cassette player recordings and vocals, coupled with their own recorded material, strange electronic covers by friends, gypsy folk music and general craziness on stage. They were also subsequently invited to DJ at Summer Sonic Festival in Japan as well as be headline act as DJ’s in Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank tent at Bestival on the Isle of Wight. In September 2007 múm released ‘Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy’ which turned out to be the bands last release for he Fatcat label.