Johann Johannsson
is one of the most active participants in the new Icelandic music scene. He´s
one of the founders of Kitchen Motors, 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. (www.kitchenmotors.com)
Johann founded Apparat Organ Quartet in 1999, who have played various European
festivals in the last two years to great acclaim and which will release their
debut album later in the year 2002. "Apparat Organ Quartet is a band as
innovative and meticulous as Sigur Ros, but who sound nothing like it. This
year it has grown into a phenomenal force, playing soul-stirringly portentous
mechanical music, equal parts progressive rock and horror film soundtrack, reminiscent
of older acts like Goblin and Kraftwerk and newer ones like Stereolab and Trans
Am" – Neil Strauss, New York Times
Johann has also produced and written music with artists as diverse as Marc Almond
("Stranger Things" album), Barry Adamson and Pan Sonic, The Halfer
Trio, Magga Stina and many others. He´s also written music for the theatre,
documentaries and soundtrack music for 3 feature films.
Englaborn is Johann´s first solo album.
It is derived from music he wrote for an Icelandic play of the same name. For
the cd release on Touch, the music was revised and restructured to make it stand
as a work on its own and not simply function as a collection of cues. The music
is written for string quartet, piano, organ, glockenspiel and percussion. These
elements were processed and manipulated, adding delicate electronic backgrounds
to the otherwise entirely acoustic recordings. One song, "Odi et Amo",
is a setting of Catullus´s famous poem. "This was a happy accident,
I'd written the music and wanted a computerized counter-tenor vocal singing
a Latin text and was looking through a collection of Latin poetry when I remembered
this poem from college and it did fit the melody perfectly and was also thematically
perfect for the play. It´s in the final scene. What I really like about
it is the harsh contrast of the computer voice and the strings, the alchemy
of total opposites, the sewing machine and umbrella on a dissecting table."
"In reality I was thinking of something entirely unrelated to the play
most of the time I was writing the music, almost as a distancing technique,
to create the total antithesis of what was happening on stage."
"The plays is extremely violent and disturbing and basically when faced
with the script I decided to work against it as much as possible and just try
to write the most beautiful music I could. That approach seems to have worked,
at any rate, the music got really good reviews, the leading drama critic calling
it "the most beautiful I´ve heard in Icelandic theatre." I must
say I´ve never had such a strong reaction to anything I´ve done
before, strangers have actually stopped me in the street and hugged me because
of it...! Bizarre.. It is gratifying though, because it´s probably the
most personal thing I´ve done, this stuff is very very close to me. I
think it´s probably completely devoid of irony (rare for me); I was almost
embarrassed to play it to people at first."
Selected works:
Feature Film soundtracks:
Íslenski Draumurinn by Robert Douglas (2000)
Óskabörn _jó_arinnar by Jóhann Sigmarsson (2000)
The End of St. Petersburg (soundtrack for the Soviet silent film by Pudovkin
2001)
Ma_ur Eins og Ég by Robert Douglas (2002)
Documentary soundtracks:
Corpus Camera (Stö_ 2, (Channel 2) 1999)
Leyndardómar Íslenskra Skrímsla (Sjónvarpi_ (Channel
1) 2000)
Erró- Nor_ur, su_ur, austur, vestur (Stö_2 (Channel 2) 2000)
Installations etc:
"Já", music written for Sigur_ur Gu_mundsson’s installation
"Duet" performed at the Icelandic National Gallery, october 2000.
"Chairmen of the board", music for Ari Alexander Magnússon’s
installation at the 30/60 exhibition, Kjarvalssta_ir Art Museum 1998 (with Óttarr
Proppé), also at Akureyri Art Museum 1998
Music for an installation by Ari Alexander Magnússon at Gallery Mokka
1997.
Music for Snorri Ásmundsson’s installation "XXX-reyri"
at the "Orgasm 2000" exhibition At Akureyri Art Museum, January 2000.
Music for the performance "We are the world" by the Icelandic Love
Corporation at Batofar, Paris 2000.
Music for the installation "Fjörfiskar" by Finnur Arnar at the
Epal showroom, March 2001.
Music for plays (Composer):
"Vitleysingarnir" by Ólafur Haukur Símonarsson (Hafnarfjör_ur
Theater 2000)
"Margrét Mikla" by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
(Icelandic Take-away Theatre 1996)
"Fireface" by Marius Von Mayerberg (RÚV 2000)
"Englabörn" by Hávar Sigurjónsson (Hafnarfjö_ur
Theater 2001)
Other Music (Composer):
Völuspá: Music for a radio art piece by Jón Hallur Stefánsson
(with composer Haukur Tómasson)
Theme music for the TV program "Femin" (Channel 2 2001)
As producer/arranger:
Magga Stina: An album (One Little Indian 1998)
Megasarlög (POP 1997)
Siggi Ármann: Mindscape (Smekkleysa 2001)
The Hafler Trio: La Chanson Dada (These Records 2002)
Barry Adamson & Pan Sonic: The Hymn of the Seventh Illusion (Kitchen Motors/Ómi
2001)
Miscellaneous:
Member of the selection committee for ART2000, the first Icelandic International
Computer and Electronic music festival which was held at Salurinn in Kopavogur.
Musical Director for the Icelandic Dance Company´s performance of "Milli
Heima" by Katrín Hall
Tought a course on the creative use of sound in art, film and multimedia at
Borgarholts College in Reykjavik.
As composer, performer, producer (selected works):
Ham: Saga Rokksins 1988-1993 (Nordisk Musik Disk 1993)
Ham Lengi Lifi (Smekkleysa 1994)
Ham: Dau_ur Hestur (Skífan 1995)
Lhooq: Lhooq (Echo 1998)
Dip: Hi Camp Meets Lo Fi (Smekkleysa 1999)
Emiliana Torrini: Love in the time of Science (One Little Indian 1999)
Works by Hljó_múrinn on Kitchen Motors 1999: Nart Nibbles (Kitchen
Motors 1999)
Hilmar Jensson, Úlfar Ingi Haraldsson, Jóhann Jóhannsson
and the CAPUT-ensemble: Veltipunktur on Motorlab 1 (Kitchen Motors/Smekkleysa
2000)
Andrew Mckenzie and Jóhann Jóhannsson with Curver: "Telefónía"
on Motorlab 1 (Kitchen Motors/Smekkleysa 2000)
"Nafnlaust Uppklapp" by Apparat Organ Quartet on Nart Nibbles (Kitchen
Motors/Ómi 2001)
3 songs by Apparat Organ Quartet on Motorlab II (Kitchen Motors/Smekkleysa 2000)
Ham: Skert Flog (Hitt 2001)
Marc Almond: "Stranger Things" album. (IIIX Bis Records/Universal
2001)