Jóhann Jóhannsson drops a new video from his first solo album for 6 years

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Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson makes minimal electronic, modern classical and ambient music. He has also composed numerous film scores such as the Theory of Everything and Sicario. He has just announced his forthcoming solo album, Orphée, his first in six years, that will be released on Deutsche Grammophon in September.

This from the label:

“Orphée traces a path from darkness into light, inspired by the various re-tellings of the old story of the poet Orpheus, from Ovid’s to Jean Cocteau’s. A many-layered story about death, rebirth, change and the ephemeral nature of memory, the myth can also be read as a metaphor for artistic creation – about the elusive nature of beauty and its relation to the artist, as well as the idea that art is created through transgression – by the poet defying the gods who forbade him, to turn back towards his beloved as he leaves the Underworld.”

“Orphée’s sonic palette is varied, combining acoustic instruments both solo and in ensemble with electronics and the mesmeric sounds of shortwave radio ‘numbers stations’. It draws on many facets of his previous albums, incorporating music for solo cello, organ, string quartet, string orchestra and unaccompanied voices.”

You can read an interview we did with Jóhannsson last year, where he talks about composing the score to Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario here.

Jóhann Jóhannsson: piano, electronics, pipe organ, electric organs
Hildur Guðnadóttir: cello
American Contemporary Music Ensemble
AIR Lyndhurst String Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Weeden
Theatre of Voices, conducted by Paul Hillier

This is our first taste of the album:

Live dates:
Oct 16th 2016, US, Chicago – Thalia Hall
Oct 18th 2016, US, Minneapolis – The Cedar
Oct 19th 2016, US, Toronto – Danforth Music Hall
Oct 20th 2016, US, Montreal – Cinquième Salle
Oct 21st 2016, US, Boston – David Friend Recital Hall
Oct 23rd 2016, US, Brooklyn – Cathedral of St. Joseph
Dec 1st 2016, DE, Berlin – Funkhaus – tickets on sale Aug 20th
Dec 2nd 2016, NL, Nijmegen – Doornroosje
Dec 3rd 2016, DK, Copenhagen – Bremen Theater
Dec 4th 2016, NL, Amsterdam – Paradiso
Dec 5th 2016, BE, Leuven – 30CC
Dec 6th 2016, FR, Paris – L’alhambra
Dec 7th 2016, BE, Hasselt – CCHA
Dec 9th 2016, UK, London – Barbican
Feb 10th 2017, DE, Hamburg – Elbphilharmonie
Mar 25th 2017, US, Durham – Baldwin Auditorium
Apr 17th 2017, US, Los Angeles – Walt Disney Concert Hall – tickets on sale Aug 21st 2016
Apr 18th 2017, US, San Francisco – Regency Ballroom
Apr 20th 2017, US, Seattle – Nordstrom Recital Hall

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Bob is the features editor of Cyclic Defrost. He is also evil. You should not trust the opinions of evil people.

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