Named in part after a sister of one of the band members, Sigur Ros ("Victory Rose") were formed in Reykjavik, Iceland by guitarist and vocalist Jon Thor Birgisson, bassist Georg Holm, and drummer Agust. Formed while each of the members were teenagers in early 1994, the trio immediately cut a track that earned them a deal with Iceland's Bad Taste label. Their debut LP, Von ("Hope"), was released in 1997, followed the next year by a collection of remixes from that album, Recycle Bin. After Kjartan Sveinsson joined the band on keyboards, the band recorded -gµtis Byrjun ("Good Start"), which earned them numerous accolades in their homeland, charting significantly. Agust then departed, who was quickly replaced by Orri Pall Dyrason. The Svefn-G- Englar EP, their first release to be distributed outside of their native country, was hailed as NME's Single of the Week in September of '99. Another EP, N² Battery, followed in early 2000. British independent Fat Cat began distibuting the band's records in the U.K. later in the year, raising awareness significantly in critic circles.