Takk...

Takk... ([ˈtʰaʰkː], Thanks...) is the fourth studio album by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, first released in America 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.

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
( ) (2002) Takk... (2005) Hvarf/Heim (2007)
Singles from Takk...
"Glósóli" Released: 15 August 2005 "Sæglópur" Released: 16 August 2005 "Hoppípolla" Released: 28 November 2005

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]

Media usage

The BBC has frequently used tracks from Takk... in its programmes. "Hoppípolla" was employed 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[15]	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.[16]

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)[17] Gold 25,000^* Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[18] Platinum 20,000 Iceland[19] Gold 5,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 300,000^* United States (RIAA)[21] N/A 202,000[22] Summaries Worldwide N/A 800,000[19] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments 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. "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 Denmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2018 to obtain certification. "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. "American album certifications – Sigur Rós – Takk". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.  Hasty, Katie (28 June 2008). "The Fast And The Furious" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 15 July 2019. 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)