Riceboy Sleeps is the debut studio album by ambient duo Jónsi & Alex,[16] released on 20 July 2009.[17] The album is a collaboration between Sigur Rós vocalist Jón Þór Birgisson and partner Alex Somers which features acoustic instrumental music alongside a string quartet, Amiina, and the Kópavogsdætur Choir.

Riceboy Sleeps
Studio album by
Released20 July 2009
Recorded2009
GenreAmbient
Length68:00
LabelParlophone, EMI
ProducerJónsi & Alex
Jónsi chronology
Riceboy Sleeps
(2009)
Go
(2010)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(73/100) [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Arts Section(Positive)[3]
Rockfeedback[4]
The A.V. Club(B)[5]
Drowned in Sound(6/10)[6]
Metro[7]
NME(2/10)[8]
OMM[9]
Pitchfork Media(5.3/10)[10]
Planet Sound(5/10)[11]
Spin[12]
The Sunday Times[13]
The People's News[14]
The Independent(Positive)[15]

Song information

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"Happiness" first appeared on the 2009 AIDS benefit Album Dark Was the Night,[18] produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Videos exist for "All the Big Trees" and "Daníell in the Sea" which can be found on the duo's official website,[19] along with an electronic press kit that includes making-of information and recipes.

"Boy 1904" uses a recording of the last known castrato singer.[20]

Track listing

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  1. "Happiness" – 9:18
  2. "Atlas Song" – 8:30
  3. "Indian Summer" – 9:10
  4. "Stokkseyri" – 7:08
  5. "Boy 1904" – 5:09
  6. "All the Big Trees" – 5:51
  7. "Daníell in the Sea" – 6:54
  8. "Howl" – 8:22
  9. "Sleeping Giant" – 6:41

Charts

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgium (Flanders) Ultratop[21] 13
Belgium (Wallonia) Ultratop[21] 100
UK Albums Chart[22] 66
Billboard Top Independent Albums 47[23]
Billboard Heatseekers 13[23]
Billboard Top New Age Albums 1[23]

Special editions

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A limited edition of 3500 sets was released, containing the full CD album Riceboy Sleeps, the All Animals bonus CD, MP3 downloads of both Riceboy Sleeps and All Animals, a Riceboy Sleeps art book, a 40 pages coloring book with 6 pencils and a badge. Despite the limited edition selling out at the end of 2009, a few were still sold in the spring of 2011 via the duo's official website.[24]

All Animals EP
No.TitleLength
1."Chapter One"20:19
2."Chapter Two"1:41
3."Chapter Three"11:04

References

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  1. ^ Critic Reviews for Riceboy Sleeps. Metacritic. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Riceboy Sleeps Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved on 21 July 2009.
  3. ^ The Arts Section review
  4. ^ Rockfeedback review
  5. ^ Battaglia, Andy (21 July 2009). "Riceboy Sleeps". avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  6. ^ Pott-Negrine, David (24 July 2009). "Jónsi and Alex: Riceboy Sleeps". drownedinsound.com. Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  7. ^ East, Ben. "Review: Jónsi & Alex: Riceboy Sleeps, EMI". metrolife (20 July 2009). Associated Newspapers: 24.
  8. ^ O’Keeffe, Niall (15 July 2009). "Album review: Jonsi and Alex - 'Riceboy Sleeps'". NME.com. IPC Media. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  9. ^ Llewellyn Smith, Caspar. "Mahler Meets the Man from Iceland". Observer Music Monthly (July 2009). London: Guardian News & Media: 71.
  10. ^ Cohen, Ian (20 July 2009). "Review: Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps (XL / Parlophone; 2009)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  11. ^ Earls, John. "Review: Riceboy Sleeps/Riceboy Sleeps". Teletext. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  12. ^ Modell, Josh (13 July 2009). "Riceboy Sleeps, 'Riceboy Sleeps' (XL)". Spin. Retrieved on 14 July 2009.
  13. ^ Edwards, Mark (19 July 2009). "Jonsi and Alex: Riceboy Sleeps". The Sunday Times. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 5 August 2009.[dead link]
  14. ^ Maier, George (17 September 2011). "Jonsi and Alex: Riceboy Sleeps". The People's News. London. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  15. ^ The Independent review
  16. ^ Twitter status
  17. ^ "riceboy sleeps press release". sigur-ros.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  18. ^ "eighteen seconds before sunrise - sigur rós news » 2009 » February » 27". sigur-ros.co.uk. 2009-02-27. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  19. ^ "Jónsi & Alex » Videos". jonsiandalex.com. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  20. ^ "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Riceboy Sleeps". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  21. ^ a b "Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps (Album)" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  22. ^ "Riceboy Sleeps". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  23. ^ a b c [1]
  24. ^ "Riceboy Sleeps Special Edition Box". jonsiandalex.com. Retrieved 29 May 2011.