Jóhann Jóhannsson: NPR song of the day

Late last year Iceland's Jóhann Jóhannsson released Fordlândia, the second instalment in a proposed trilogy based on technology and iconic American brand names.

Featuring on the album is instrumental epic Melodia (Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device based on Heim's Quantum Theory) . You can listen to the track over at NPR.

4AD Download Sampler

4AD have released a new download sampler giving listeners a taste of their best releases of 2008. The tracks featured range from 4AD favourites such as The Breeders and Mountain Goats right through to the labels newer artists such as Anni Rossi and It Hugs Back.

Download the 12 track sampler by signing up to the mailing list on the
4AD website.

1. TV On The Radio Golden Age (from Dear Science)
2. Deerhunter Nothing Ever Happened (from Microcastle)
3. Department Of Eagles No One Does It Like You (from In Ear Park)
4. Anni Rossi Ecology (from Afton)
5. Stereolab Neon Beanbag (from Chemical Chords)
6. Atlas Sound Rivercard (from Let The Blind...)
7. It Hugs Back Work Day (from Work Day)
8. Minotaur Shock My Burr (from Amateur Dramatics)
9. Johann Johannsson Melodia (i) (from Fordlândia)
10. Bon Iver Skinny Love (from For Emma, Forever Ago)
11. The Breeders Bang On (from Mountain Battles)
12. The Mountain Goats Sax Rohmer #1 (from Heretic Pride)

New track from Jóhann Jóhannsson

An American magnate builds a doomed utopia in the depths of the Brazilian rainforest. A Victorian poetess laments the death of Pan. A pagan rocket scientist blows himself up in his Californian garage. A crippled German physicist draws up the equations which can make faster than light travel possible, unseen by the rest of the world.

Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic composer and musician. His spellbinding new album, Fordlândia, draws these tantalising threads together, weaving a musical tapestry of hypnotic richness and surprising emotional depth.

The first glimpse of the album is the cinematic track The Rocket Builder:

The Rocket Builder [mp3]


His music is stately, slow-building and hauntingly melodic music, frequently combining electronic processing with classical orchestrations, that has been quietly bewitching listeners for the last few years.

His first solo album Englabörn was originally released in 2002 and re-released on 4AD last year, getting an 8.0 review on Pitchfork. The album was derived from music that Jóhann wrote for an Icelandic play using string quartet, piano, organ, glockenspiel and percussion. These elements were processed and manipulated, adding delicate electronic accents to the otherwise entirely acoustic recordings.

Jóhann's first release for 4AD, IBM 1401 - A User's Manual (2006), involved a sixty-piece string orchestra recorded at Prague's legendary Barrandov sound stage and incorporated electronics and vintage reel-to-reel recordings of a 1960's IBM 1401 mainframe computer and its accompanying instruction manual.

Fordlândia is Jóhann Jóhannsson's most complete and beautiful piece of music to date; a fascinating, immersive and deeply rewarding web of ideas and melodies, which is sure to win him a legion of new listeners. The album is due out November 1.

You can hear more tracks from the album on his myspace: myspace.com/johannjohannsson