"Johannsson excels at painting silver clouds with very dark linings"
- Richard Henderson, The Wire
"Easily one of the most compelling composers working today"
- Discquiet.com
The album Dis (TWI-2) is based on music written for the Icelandic film
of the same name. Like his previous album Englaborn (released on
Touch in 2002), which was based on music originally written for the
theater, Dis elaborates and expands on the musical themes used in the
film. He has created an album which stands on its own, but has certain
qualities of soudntrack music, including repeated motifs and themes
presented in different versions and contexts. For the recording,
Johann asked members of Reykjavik bands Funerals, Singapore Sling,
Slowblow and Trabant to join him, as well as renowned Icelandic
guitarist Hilmar Jennsson and one of Iceland's most beloved singers,
Ragnheidur Grondal. This gives the album a loose and intricate feel,
with the mood veering from joyous to sad, on the surface buoyant and
playful, but revealing a strong melancholic undercurrent.
Johann writes" For the Film and album, Dis, I wanted to write purely
electric music, removed from the string and prchestra based music I
had been writing recently. I resolved to use only instruments I had in
my studio and whatever my friends would bring to the studio. I wanted
a loose, toy-like feel, I was trying to create a strange sort of
melancholy, almost naïve bubbl-gum pop, seen through a mechanical,
motorik prism. Much like the film captures quite well the zeitgeist of
early 21st century Reykjavik, I tried to do the same with my music."
Johann may be currently known for his two incredible albums on Touch,
Englaborn and Virthulegu Forestar", but he is also one of the founders
of the Icelandic music collective Kitchen Motors. He is also a member
of the 4 keyboard group Apparat Organ Quartet and will have an album
out soon on 4AD based on the first supercomputer the IBM 1401. |
