Sigur Rós release their first single in seven years

Ahead of their performance on Friday (16 June) at the Royal Festival Hall, London, as part of Christine and the Queens’ Meltdown Festival, Sigur Rós have returned with "Blóðberg" – their first single in seven years.

The song is the first in a decade to feature multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson back in the fold – having left the band in 2012 – alongside frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm. "Blóðberg" features the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames. It is mixed and co-produced by another frequent collaborator Paul Corley, alongside the band.

"Blóðberg" is an orchestral piece that unfurls itself across seven minutes. It arrives alongside a video by Johan Renck, director of the HBO miniseries Chernobyl and music videos by Madonna, Robyn and Beyoncé.

He says of the video: “I feel as nihilistic as one could regarding the future. We are powerless against our own stupidities. Some aspects of this came to merge with my impressions of the themes of "Blóðberg". The music becoming a score to my own miserable thoughts, giving them beauty as only music can.”