I thought I'd write some notes to go along with the pictures Eva took to go in Special Edition, since while a lot of the images are pretty much self-explanatory - or better left mysterious - some others could maybe benefit from a little background info.

That said, I don't really have that much extra to say about the photos from Abbey Road that start the book, it's just some lovely shots of the Sigur Ros boys in an historic and photogenic setting, interspersed with the kids from the London Oratory boys choir being, literally, old school in their maroon striped blazers.

I really like the shot of Kjartan with his hand on his forehead, sat in the crook of someone's (Georg? Conductor Daniel?) arm. The way the staircase rises in opposition to the limb is most pleasing.

Actually while I'm musing on compositional elements, the strip lights seen in various reflections within Abbey Road also provide great zonal definition within the pictures. As does the arc of lights strung between Kjartan and Daniel in the photo of them poring over the score.

The last shot in this section, called "courtyard, abbey road" in the photo key, features Production Manager Derek McVay reflected in the window to Kjartan's left. Eva likes a nice reflected image, which is how we segue into the short section from Berlin.

I'll say a little bit about Berlin, because it could be construed as weird why there are any pictures from Germany at all, since we didn't do any recording or rehearsing there or anything. Well, that's true, but we did have the brilliant idea of collaborating with Icelandic-Danish art superstar Olafur Eliasson on all aspects of the presentation of 'Med sud…' and the associated videos and live shows, and his studios are in Berlin.

Thus, we went to Berlin a couple of times to see how things were progressing. In the end it was decided not to pursue this avenue, since Olafur was wrapped up in his first solo show at MOMA in New York and things just didn't come together. The images in this section of the book are taken from the second and last visit to Studio Eliasson. The photo labelled "after image presentation" is pretty cool, since it shows one way the stage show could have gone, with Olafur using strong colours on the retina to create effects that exist in-eye only, if you see what I mean. It's kind of subtle but interesting, and something you can see in his own art shows.

I think this time in Berlin was kind of stressful for everyone involved, since we were all running out of time to create artwork and a live show, and Olafur's very precise operational methods were not chiming with Sigur Ros's defiantly unscientific approach. The tension of the occasion can be seen across the following spread, with Olafur rubbing his eyes and Kjartan succumbing to the flu, unable to concentrate on what is being expressed to him any longer. He left the meeting a few moments after this picture was taken, while the rest of the band repaired to a café to talk about what to do next, given that it probably wasn't going to come together with Olafur.

The last picture in the Studio Eliasson is reproduced upside down in order to draw attention to the huge revolving mirror above our heads (another possible presentational idea that never happened). The shot called 'Kreutzberg' shows Georg in full flow explaining ideas for the live show that would eventually materialise as the snow and confetti blower carnival the band have been exhibiting on the road since the summer. It's a great moment of focus captured perfectly.

Next are a few shots from producer flood's studio in Willesden in North West London. Here the band were mixing and doing late vocals, as they finally bit the bullet and realised the songs needed to have words. Lyrics are always the last thing to come on a Sigur Ros song, and this was a pensive and slightly stressful time as we all wondered if they'd ever crack the problem of so many guide vocals and so little time.

You can see in the first picture Kjartan sitting at the console riding the faders, while Flood is glued to the screen on the left. There's an awful lot of close concentration at this stage, and they are constantly identifying miniscule fixes required that I can't spot when I know they are there. That said, the record was still rushed by band standards and there are many things they have had to live with on this album rather than correcting them to perfection (and maybe losing some of the life of the recording in the process).

The New York City pictures are centred around mastering the record with Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. He's done the last two albums and is pretty amazing. There's also some pictures of me and Jonsi twatting about with artwork ideas. Jonsi might well be handwriting the text eventually used on the sleeve in that picture, or maybe it was one of the many efforts that ended up in the bin. Hard to say. There's one shot there taken in the XL offices where we are explaining to the guy who is responsible for making the Cds what card weight and finish we are looking for, which might be why there's a Beck Cd on the desk in front of us. Is this interesting, or am I over the line and into boring the shit out of you?

The next sequence of pictures shows video directors Stefan and Siggi (aka Arni & Kinski) casting the models for the Gobbledigook video to be shot later the same week. Stefan and Siggi have shot Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa, Glosoli and Hoppipolla, and so we pretty much let them get on with it, once we've agreed a script. With the Gobbledigook video the ideas were all inspired by the photography of Ryan McGinley, who you obviously know shot the sleeve picture for 'Med sud…' (or rather we asked him if we could use one of his existing pictures as our sleeve picture).

Jonsi and Ryan had been friends for years, but all the same it was great that Ryan agreed so readily, especially since he had (apparently) previously turned down a similar request from Coldplay. Anyway, all the boys and girls you can see in the next 15 or so images are models borrowed from Ryan McGinley's various road trip shoots. It had been raining stupidly hard for days in New York, but unbelievably the skies cleared on the Saturday we went to Caumsett State Park on Long Island not far from Manhattan, and we had a blast.

We weren't allowed to drink in the park, but we smuggled some liquor in so folks felt less weird getting naked in front of a full film crew. Jonsi, I think it is fair to say, had his share of the bottle(s) to give him Dutch courage to lip-synch to camera, and I would guess slept pretty good that night… None of the rest of the band came on the video shoot, which as far as me and jonsi were concerned was their loss.

In the middle of this 'Gobbledigook' section is a shot of the actual 16mm file reel that was later cut up for inclusion in the inside front cover of each special edition. Oh, and Chris Doyle the director of photography seen in one of the shots is the guy who shot that amazing Wong Kar Wei movie 'In the Mood For Love' – so we knew we were in good hands.

After that it's over to Iceland for the mandatory 2 days rehearsals ahead of a world tour. Anyone who's seen the short 10 minute EPIK we made for this album will know Jonsi says one of the secrets of Sigur Ros is that they never rehearse – well, it's true. If you get 2 days out of them you are doing really well.

The fridge in this section is Jonsi's, as is the draining board, with Raw Food recipe books on the side as a dead giveaway. Sadly, Georg lost the cat seen with him in his back garden in the weeks after this shot was taken when he was away on tour. The shot of Kjartan with the drums is taken in Jonsi's living room, as we pick up early prototypes of what will become the marching drums used in Gobbledigook live.

I really like the shot of Jonsi with the eagle flying out of his head against the blue wall. This is taken on the roof of a bar called Boston, where he had just been for fitting with costume designer Raven (aka Hrafnhildur in Icelandic). I also like the lights stretching between Kjartan and Jonsi in the two-shot labelled First Rehearsal. The variety coloured t-shirts ranged across the next picture against the black backdrop is also most attractive, as are the variety of hand gestures.

After that it's Mexico, where we find trombone player Sammi worshipping the sun Gods in some half finished (and empty) resort in the mountains outside Mexico City. This to my mind is one of the best shots in the book, recalling ????. The shot of the boys pratting about with the brass instruments is obviously funny. While the following Amiina shot carries all of their don't-fuck-with-me attitude appeal, plus some great use of cerise.

We fought with Eva over the inclusion of the shot of Ingi with his Sousaphone behind the dressing room couch. Maybe the composition is too formal for her, but I find the symmetry and lazily angled trombone compelling. She loves the cow which follows, and which provides one of the only direct visual links to Nick Abrahams's 'Vid spilum endalaust' film, since the same cow gets screen time there too.

The picture of Helgi with the hose supposedly filling the swimming pool (it never actually got filled by anything other than rain water while we were there) is cool and brings back fond memories of having races round the edge of the pool on that narrow internal ledge you can see. That bourgainvillia bush at the back of the pool has got really sharp thorns if you run into it at great speed, I can tell you.

Orri had had a bad headache during the day and had been visited by a doctor for the same the night before. But all the same, none of us were prepared for what happened when we got to the festival site at Tepoztlan. When I look at his pallor and expression in the shot with the two caravans backstage at the festival, I can see the tension in his face, but at the time I thought he'd play through it and be fine. Of course, he couldn't and didn't, collapsing on stage after two songs, and being driven away in an ambulance for the brain scans you can see both here and later in the Omaha section, when he rejoined the tour after being deemed unfit to fly with the rest of the band to San Diego.

The scrawled over setlist from Tepoztlan tells its own story. In the end I think the band played another 5 songs without Orri, before running out of things-to-do-without-a-drummer. It was a sad and scary time with everyone very fearful for Orri's wellbeing.

Nevertheless, there are two shots in the Tepoztlan section I really like. The brass boys practising while fans climb the scaffolding and peer over the fence backstage, and the costumes hung from the tree at the hotel while we wait for the van to come and pick us up. Somehow the suit holders are reminiscent of huge fruit bats.

I wasn't around for the days in San Diego since I was hanging hospital side with Orri in Mexico City. Still, it looks like the boys weren't too concerned about us, since they are kicking back in the pool and watching the World Cup. They also took this time to rent the speedboat you can see in Nick's film.

Reunited in Omaha, you can see us on a tour of the city zoo, courtesy of local Kianna from the wonderful Tilly & The Wall. I think the shot of Georg and Orri looking at some desert brush-type enclosure is pure mystery, and probably my second favourite shot in the whole book.

Things got dramatic later when the tornadoes that had been cruising up and down Tornado Alley for the past couple of days came to Omaha. I confess to being kind of thrilled by this extreme weather, and the shot of the Amiina girls and Kjartan watching the skies as the wild wind begins to come in is my absolute favourite shot of all. You can see the vigour in their faces and the arrangement of bodies is exquisite.

Shortly after the shot outside, everyone was recommended to move not only inside the venue, but into the basement to be safe from weather that had already killed 3 on the outskirts of the city. During this time Orri was taken ill again, and the two of us had to go across town to the Emergency Room for another round of brain scans. In hospital we urged to keep away from windows as the weather worsened. Eventually after a surreal few hours we took our chances and skedaddled back across town through the blinding rain and howling wind.

When we got back to the Orpheum Theatre we found the rest of the band, strings and brass preparing to entertain the audience in the basement of the venue, while the tornado sirens screamed outside. A "spirit-of-the-blitz" feeling overtook proceedings and a kind of hysteria reigned as we sat out the storm, til everyone could finally take their seats. This feeling is perhaps best exemplified by the shot of Kjartan cramming his feet into Solrun's shoes, although Jonsi unloading champagne cork into Ingi's arse while Solrun cracks up is also a lot of fun.

Just after the shot of everyone looking at Orri's brainscans in the ceiling light panel, there's a really contemplative shot of Kjartan's bare back from Kansas City, where there was another tornado warning and the lighting was flashing wildly. I think this is a great shot, reminiscent of something taken by Philip Lorca Di Corcia. I like its casual mystery and it kind of makes me feel the way I feel when I read something by Raymond Carver, for some reason I can't put my finger on (the whole point of Raymond Carver perhaps). Wow, sorry for getting deep.

Anyway, shallowness return with full force in the black and white shot of Sammi poured into a pair of pink latex trousers, having (another) champagne cork aimed at his butt by Jon Thor Birgisson.

In St Louis Hildur gets a tattoo from Trevor Forever, and Edda gets debilitating vertigo as we go up the tiny elevator to the top of the city's famous arch. That look in her eyes is real and palpable fear. In the previous picture you can see Maria and Kjartan peering through the viewing windows right at the apex of the arch, a graphic representation of which can be seen just above their heads if you are in any doubt as to its vertiginous nature. It's really nice the way the kid to their left is lit by the glow of the focussing light of another camera.

Down at Bonaroo Festival things got a bit more relaxed, as you can probably detect. The show sucked, but everyone was chilled. We spent the day kicking around the site, and saw James Hetfield sitting on his own in a mosquito proof tent. I'm afraid there is yet another picture of Jonsi easing the cork from a champers bottle in his favourite initiation ceremony, this time at soon-to-be keyboard tech, Brian. Can you see the evil intent lurking in his eyes? That's me behind, looking fetching (and more than a tad camp) in pink plaid shirt.

The pizza shot next is another one Eva didn't really want in the book, but pizza after a show is such a habitual ritual than it seemed inevitable that it should be represented, and I like the mess of hands reaching over and around each other to get at the shitty junk food. The shot opposite shows Georg and Jonsi outside the dressing room trailer, looking like they've been possessed in a zombie takeover. Again, kind oif remind me of a Philip Lorca di Corcia shot.

The setlist spread shows that at this point in the touring process we were still very much making it up as we went along, with things crossed out, added and moved around. As the touring progresses this kind of recedes a bit as we find a rhythm that works, but at first at least, everything is kind of possible. I guess that's another function of not really rehearsing.

The next few shots of New York are all taken from our day playing at the Museum of Modern Art. We played just up the steps from those coloured striped lines, next to the statue of Balzac by Rodin. I like the way that Georg and sound guy Jelle are both wearing grey checked shirts and have one hand to their head across the grey-toned spread. Georg is on the phone to his wife Svanhvit, which is how he spends a lot of time (and money) on the road.

After the MOMA bow shot (with the roped off Balzac), you can see the Ryan McGinley models enjoying our backstage hospitality, this time with their clothes .. we left MOMA we went downtown to an all-nite Korean barbeque where strong drink was taken, and much carousing ensued.

London looks sober after Manhattan, and it kind of was. In the first shot of the section you can see the white trombone that Sammi bought to match his uniform back in Guadalajara. Overleaf, Orri has that just-got-up look even though it's nearly soundcheck time. There was what is known as buy-out in terms of catering at the London at Westminster Hall. This means instead of food you are given money to buy food. Except that there really isn't anywhere to buy food in that bit of town, so I walked for fricken ages to find the requested Indian meal, which you can see attractively arrayed around Hildur's person.

I think Westminster Hall might have been the first time we properly used confetti in any sort of cannon arrangement on this tour. The amount of confetti, what type you get and how far it goes varies wildly according to where you are in the world. A lot of places won't let you release any at all, which is a bit of bore. Other places you just can't get the handheld confetti wands we were using in the summer, and you can't take them with you across borders, because they contain explosive. Consequently there is little consistency in what we can present as one of the shows highlights. Here in this shot in London, it looks alright but a bit paltry by comparison with some later shows.

The final pictures in the book are taken in Iceland around the Nattura concert with Bjork. I love the first shot of my assistant, Clare, peering in the fridge in the hope of finding vodka to assuage a nervous Edda. I like the crowd spread, cos in my mind I can't help thinking the young men on the left are just older versions of the cool little dudes on the right. But you often see the same faces in Iceland's pure gene pool.

The two pics with Bjork and Olaf Arnalds are cool. Jonsi only asked them right before the show, and at that time neither of them had ever heard the song they were expected to play on. So full marks for throwing themselves into the fray without a safety net. I think that was the second time Orri had worn his newly acquired crown (he got given it in London), and he has subsequently become very superstitious about wearing it and keeping it safe. A fan nicked it further into the summer at Benicassim and he was pretty devastated. So leave off the crown all you souvenir hunters.

That's pretty much it. Except to say in the last shot you can see steam rising off the former public baths where the good burghers of Reykjavik used to come to do their washing, maybe only a couple of generations ago. The past is always close at 66 degrees North.

Enjoy the book and the films. We certainly enjoyed putting them together.

John x