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Jóhann Jóhannsson (born 1969) is an Icelandic-born musician, composer and producer. He also runs the record label Kitchen Motors in Reykjavík, the art organization/think tank/record label which specializes in instigating collaborations, promoting concerts and exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows based on the ideals of experimentation, collaboration and the search for new art forms. His stately, slow-building and hauntingly melodic music has been quietly bewitching listeners for the last few years - and IBM 1401, a User´s Manual, his most ambitiously-orchestrated and appealing composition to date, is sure to expand his audience still further.
Johann Johannssons first two solo records Englabörn (2002) and Virthulegu Forsetar (2004) were released by the singular British independent Touch label. Despite limited promotional resources, both found plenty of fans, receiving glowing reviews in music media around the world; Virthulegu Forsetar found its way onto many critics end-of-year lists.The Englabörn album was derived from music that Johann wrote for an Icelandic play of the same name, written for string quartet, piano, organ, glockenspiel and percussion. These elements were processed and manipulated, adding delicate electronic accents to the otherwise entirely acoustic recordings. One song, "Odi et Amo", is a setting of the famous poem by Catullus.
Johannsson’s many other projects include membership of the group Apparat Organ Quartet - hailed by Neil Strauss in the New York Times as being “as innovative and meticulous as Sigur Ros, but who sound nothing like it”. Although Apparat Organ Quartet formed as far back as 1999, they only released their debut album internationally in 2006. Johann has also produced and written music with other artists; he’s worked with Marc Almond (on the Stranger Things album), Barry Adamson, Pan Sonic, The Hafler Trio, Jaki Liebezeit and many others. After the success of IBM 1401, A User’s Manual, Johann’s collaboration with the internationally renowned choreographer and dancer Erna Omarsdottir continued in 2005 with a new piece entitled Mysteries Of Love.
In 2008 he released Fordlandia a second installment (after IBM) in a series of works documenting human hunger for ideals, technological progress, doomed failures, and the beauty of nature reclaiming itself. Such it is still, music for the born and the departed. A year later he released, And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees, this mini album, limited to just 1000 copies, was only sold while Jóhann Jóhannsson was on his US tour. At under 37 minutes, the eleven tracks are taken from the Jóhannsson’s award-winning score for Marc Craste’s animated film Varmints. Earlier this year Johann working with a brassband released another ambitious project, The Miners' Hymns.
Music for films and theatre figure prominently in Johann’s work. Johann has composed music for no fewer than 5 feature films in his native Iceland. His most recent, for the film Blodbond (2006) by Arni Olafur Asgeirsson, features (like IBM 1401, A User’s Manual) a symphonic score for a 60 piece string orchestra. Johann´s soundtrack album for the film Dis was released in 2005 in the US and in 2006 in Japan.In addition to the feature films, Johann has written music for numerous documentaries, theatre productions and several contemporary dance works.
Jóhann Jóhannsson – IBM 1401, A User's Manual (06 210mb)
01 IBM 1401 Processing Unit 8:32
02 IBM 1403 Printer 9:33
03 IBM 1402 Card Read-Punch10:23
04 IBM 729 II Magnetic Tape Unit 7:15
05 The Sun's Gone Dim And The Sky's Turned Black 7:09
Jóhann Jóhannsson @ 'Home'
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Einóma is a collaboration between two Icelandic friends and studio partners, Bjarni and Steindór. Prior to the genesis of Einóma and their intriguing, mysterious strain of experimental electronica, Bjarni and Steindór initially collaborated on short films, writing scripts and playing with sound and camera techniques. As Bjarni and Steindor's interest in film diminished, the duo began composing their own recordings somewhere between the experimental electronic music, that they say they had been listening to and the ambience that they had hoped to attain with their short films. The first year, almost everything they wrote was without beats - ambient pieces with a lot of vocal samples and distorted sounds.
Einoma's subsequent experiments with rhythm prompted the release of their debut EP, Floating Point By Zero, via the frequently intriguing Icelandic label Uni:form. A year later the pair singed to Vertical Form and released their debut album the same year. Undir feilnótum was a deeply atmospheric album, incorporating eight tracks and clocking in at 38 mins in length. Each cut firmly demonstrated their obsessive skill for programming, intricate sequencing and rhythmic construction providing a body of work consisting of varying themes, moods and tempo's.
After having spent months meticulously sculpting new tracks, Milli Tónverka was released. The album's title roughly translates to "Music that lies in-between" and indeed, Einóma does reach into the firmament and pull from their electronic husksan essence and soul of great weight and darkness. This is music created with the heart of high technology and the soul of a spirit world not usually seen with human eyes. The albums nine tracks collectively characterize Einóma's music as severe, majestic, glacial, and unsettling.
Having released two highly acclaimed albums as well as various 12", remixes and compilation tracks, the pair recently teamed up again in the Netherlands. The first impressions of the new meetings can be found on the recent ep´s 'Tvenna' and 'Lost&Found'. The duo is now working on a third album.
Einóma – Undir Feilnótum ( flac 203mb)
1 Beltral Square 6:07
2 Glerborgir 4:26
3 Hringlögun 5:31
4 Amonie 6:15
5 En Route 2:09
6 Celvoir 5:36
7 Brot 2:34
8 Undir Engu 6:16
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elsewhere
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englabörn (01 ^ 95mb)
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Virðulegu Forsetar (04 ^ 152mb)
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