Some drummers don’t need an introduction, and some might. Let me introduce everyone to Sigtryggur Baldursson. In the late 70s, 80s and into the early 90s there was some extremely creative pop music being made. Bands like Jellyfish, XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Sugarcubes, Japan, The Creatures, Big Country, and Level 42 never became as big as they should have. But many of these bands had great drummers (and musicians) that went on to other gigs and other successes.

The Sugarcubes didn’t sound like any other band. Their success introduced us to Bjork, but the drummer in the band was equally as exciting and creative. Sigtryggur Baldursson was that drummer. His playing was quirky, and he didn’t sound like any other drummer at the time. However, (in time) I had forgotten about The Sugarcubes and their unique drummer.
In the early 2000s someone told me about a record called Dialog by a band called Steintryggur. It was a band of two drummers recorded in Iceland and Holland with all sorts of special guest musicians. The drummers were Steingrimur Gudmundsson playing mostly Tabla, and Sigtryggur Baldursson playing drums, percussion, and programming. I adored and devoured Dialog and jumped back into my “Siggi” (as he is known) obsession. I bought many of the other records he had been playing on and was equally as excited by his drumming as I had been back in the 80s and 90s. His playing was still very special and uniuely quirky.

Eventually I wondered if I could find him for an interview, I had no luck. In a recent conversation with Butch Vig, Siggi’s name actually came up in passing. Then when Peter Erskine sent me some pictures of a recent session in Iceland, one of the people in the picture was listed as Sigtryggur Baldursson. I asked Peter if he had any contact info for this person from the session, and within a day or so Siggi and I were in a Zoom conversation. Advertisement

Sigtryggur Baldursson is much, much more than the old drummer from The Sugarcubes. After they disbanded, he became a respected session drummer, loop creator, producer, soundtrack composer, and a solo artist. Today, he holds a highly respected job as the Managing Director of the Icelandic Music Offices under the direction of the Icelandic Ministry of Culture and Business. If that sounds important, it is!!! Iceland (and the other Nordic countries) do a great deal to support the arts, and Sigtryggur Baldursson is in the middle of it all.

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