Glossolalia and the "Hopelandic" Language of Sigur Ros

 

Post-rock as a genre often wrestles with its relationship to vocals. Bands such as This Will Destroy You and Do Make Say Think exclude vocals almost entirely, while other post-rock acts such as Mogwai use lyrics and vocals as an integral component of the music. The Icelandic band Sigur Ros implements a strikingly unconventional approach to vocals: glossolalia. Defined commonly as "speaking in tongues," glossolalia is a fluid vocalization of nonsensical syllables, gibberish. Strangely enough, glossolalia is practiced by both the schizophrenic and the religiously devout. To many Christian followers, glossolalia is an expression of the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, psychologists have recorded the phenomenon of glossolalia as a characteristic trait of schizophrenic patients. A fascinating article surrounding glossolalia can be found here: Glossolalia- Speaking In Tongues Article 

Sigur Ros' artistic choice to sing with glossolalia simultaneously amplifies their music's indeterminacy while providing a vocal cue for listener appeal.

Sigur Ros' 2002 release "( )" is exclusively characterized by vocalized glossolalia, which the band terms "hopelandic." On their website's "frequently asked questions" section (which can be found here: Sigur Ros' Frequently Asked Questions Section), "hopelandic" is described as "the 'invented language' in which Jónsi sings before lyrics are written to the vocals." That being said, the band uses glossolalia in its early writing stages before actual words enter the music. The vocals act as another instrument, bridging the depersonalized gap often characteristic of voiceless music such as Explosions In The Sky's early work.
 
For a band already bilingual, sharing both Icelandic and English lyrics, Sigur Ros' "hopelandic" enables audiences of all languages to access the same degree of "meaning." For English-speaking listeners, "hopelandic" is more than gibberish; it is both a compromise and a tool. After listening to an album like "( )" that features only glossolalia, a future listening experience of a language beyond one's knowledge becomes somehow more beautiful. The foreign words take less precedence and the listener absorbs the vocals in terms of its musical qualities versus its morphemic meaning. Sigur Ros' glossolalia, though nonsensical, provides monolingual listeners with experiential practice to later formulate meaning out of a foreign language, whether that be Icelandic or English. In effect, the glossolalia in Sigur Ros' music functions as it does for its schizophrenic and religious speakers: a medium through which the individual interprets the void.