Jóhann Jóhannsson

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Strings

Recordings of music by composer Jóhann Jóhannsson

String Quartets XX Century

Classic

Johannsson

The new album 'Spaces' out now on CD/2xLP/Digital via Erased Tapes.

EU order link: http://www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP055
US order link: http://www.midheaven.com/item/spaces-by-frahm-nils-cd

9/10 Drowned In Sound · 9/10 Clash · 4.5/5 Fact · 4.5/5 Resident Advisor · 9/10 Popmatters · 9/10 The Line Of Best Fit · 8.5/10 Under The Radar · 8/10 Exclaim! ★★★★1/2 Music Omh · ★★★★ The Irish Times · ★★★★ Arts Desk

‘Frahm truly excels’ 9/10 Uncut 
‘Frahm works his magic’ ★★★★ Mojo
‘The infinite elasticity of sound’ 7.8 Pitchfork 
‘Improvisatory, wild, heartfelt’ Interview Magazine
‘A fantastic record’ The Guardian Album of the Week 
‘Frahm creates something mesmerising’ ★★★★ The Observer
‘My favourite new piece of music this year’ Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music

erasedtapes.com · nilsfrahm.com

Spaces

Says

Buy 2xLP/CD/DL

Nils Frahm - Says

TUCU-TUCU SUPERSTAR

Bela Bartok  Rumanian Folk Dances, Jocul Cu Bata

Philip Glass, Company III

Jonathan Besser, Zesty IV

Jade String Quartet
"Snapshots"
Miranda Adams- violin
William Hanfling- violin
Robert Ashworth- viola
Claudia Price- cello
www.jadestringquartet.co.nz

Philip Glass, Company I

Philip Glass, Company II

Abel Korzeniowski "Stillness of the Mind" From A Single Man

￼
The first full track stream from Nils Frahm's new album 'FELT' which will be released worldwide via Erased Tapes on October 10, 2011.



￼
ORDER it on CD/LP/DL here: http://erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP033
and receive 2 exclusive outtakes and a limited edition postcard.

LIKE and FOLLOW Nils Frahm here: http://facebook.com/nilsfrahm



￼
★★★★ – MOJO | ★★★★ – CLASH | ★★★★★ – MUSO | 9/10 – Drowned In Sound
★★★★ - ROLLING STONE (Germany) | ★★★★★ – WESTZEIT


￼
CONTEXT: Berlin-based pianist Nils Frahm is already a firebrand in the modern classical world, collaborating with contemporaries such as Peter Broderick, Ólafur Arnalds and Anne Müller. His unconventional approach to an age-old instrument, played contemplatively and intimately, has won him many fans around the world.

As announced by Drowned In Sound, he finally returns on October 10th 2011 with the successor to his highly acclaimed solo piano works Wintermusik and The Bells. Released on Erased Tapes Records and entitled FELT, the album will coincide with a European tour in November 2011 – a truly memorable and magical live experience.


CONTENT: Having recorded his last album live in a large, reverberant church, Nils Frahm now invites you to put on your headphones and dive into a world of microscopic and delicate sounds – so intimate that you could be sitting beside him.

Recorded late at night in the reflective solitude and silence of his studio in Berlin, Frahm uncovers a new sound and source of inspiration within these peaceful moments:

'Originally I wanted to do my neighbours a favour by damping the sound of my piano. If I want to play piano during the quiet of the night, the only respectful way is by layering thick felt in front of the strings and using very gentle fingers. It was then that I discovered that my piano sounds beautiful with the damper.’

Captivated by this sonic exposition, he placed the microphones so deep inside the piano that they were almost touching the strings. This brought a host of external sounds to the recordings which most producers would try their hardest to hide:

‘I hear myself breathing and panting, the scraping sound of the piano's action and the creaking of my wooden floorboards – all equally as loud as the music. The music becomes a contingency, a chance, an accident within all this rustling. My heart opens and I wonder what exactly it is that makes me feel so happy.’

FELT creates its own personal microcosm, offering a refuge of tender and honest beauty.

A video for the pre-release single UNTER can be watched here:
http://vimeo.com/13833500


￼

Press reactions to his last album THE BELLS:

'The Bells is a record of astonishing beauty' (8/10) – Drowned In Sound  

'Nils Frahm is poised to become something of a sensation' – The Economist's Intelligent Life  

 ‘Emotionally charged piano music which always errs toward the melodic side of melancholy' **** – Mojo  

 ‘If there’s any justice The Bells, along with his recently released Wintermusik set, will expose Frahm to a wider audience, a demographic with a seemingly insatiable appetite for more prime neo-classicism’ – BBC Music  


TRACK LISTING:       1. KEEP 2. LESS 3. FAMILIAR 4. UNTER 5. OLD THOUGHT 6. SNIPPET 7. KIND 8. PAUSE 9. MORE

OFFICIAL WEBSITES:          

WWW.DURTONSTUDIO.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NILSFRAHM
WWW.ERASEDTAPES.COM 


Felt

Nils Frahm - Snippet

Taken from the album Zorya. Mixed and mastered by Matouš Godík (www.zka4t.com). Double bass Petr Tichý. Released by Minority Records in cooperation with Amanita Design. 

10 Mecholup

FREE DOWNLOAD AT http://official.fm/tracks/300709

Thirteen Thirtyfive. Taken from Dillon's upcoming debut album out on Bpitch Control on the week of 11th of November. 

Thirteen Thirtyfive

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (a.k.a. Forbidden Colours) by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983)

Live video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_v_pbd-O8U

Soundtrack from the movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (戦場のメリークリスマス), a.k.a. Furyo in Europe, directed by Nagisa Oshima, and starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Takeshi Kitano.

The instrument is a Kawai VPC1 controlling a Clavia Nord Stage 2, using a sampled Yamaha C7 grand piano, and... straight from the 80's a sampled preset named "Touch Perco" from the Yamaha DX7 mk2 synth.

Spotify

Ryuichi Sakamoto 坂本龍一 Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence [live cover]

Vitamin String Quartet Performs Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
Available at iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vsq-performs-lady-gaga/id380215812

Vitamin String Quartet Performs Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"

Local Sauce

hello sweet friends out there. i got a little nostalgic and listened to the tapes from my portable tape recorder. i record my ideas on there and everything i like to remember when i am traveling. i found my first scratch tracks from the song "familiar" from my album "felt". i had to laugh so hard when i listened to it...enjoy!

The Making of Familiar

Beach II

Miracle, Mystery and Authority

Tu non mi perderai mai

A03 - Johann Johannsson - Glima

B03 - Johann Johannsson [w/ The Formalist Quartet] -  The Cause Of Labour Is The Hope Of The World (Live On KCRW)

El tanguro

We are thrilled to announce a very special podcast update for today - a start-to-finish live performance of Jóhann Jóhannsson's stunning Miners Hymns LP  featuring NYC's Wordless Music Orchestra. Presented by WYNC and ArtsWorld Financial Centre in January of this year, the performance saw a very rare combined screening of Bill Morrison's archive-footage documentary on the ill-fated mining communities of North East England, The Miners' Hymns and a live, large-scale brass ensemble arrangement of Jóhann's score of the same name - the same instrumentation with which the score was written and originally recorded.

Miners Hymns LP available to buy at http://fatcat.sandbaghq.com/index.php/johann-johannsson-the-miners-hymns.html

Tracklist:
1. Johann Johannsson - They Being Dead yet Speaketh (live)
2. Johann Johannsson - An Injury To One Is The Concern Of All (live)
3. Johann Johannsson - Freedom From Want and Fear (live)
4. Johann Johannsson - There is No Safe Side but the Side of Truth (live)
5. Johann Johannsson - Industrial and Provident, We Unite to Assist Each Other (live) 
6. Johann Johannsson - The Cause of Labour is the Hope of the World (live)

Johann Johannsson live at Winter Gardens - FatCat Records Podcast

A track from our upcoming album featuring Photomat's new member the vocalist Niousha Kiarashi.

Vague (Demo)

Verdi - String Quartet in e minor     Scherzo Fuga (4th movement)

Johann Johannsson - Corpus Camera

Dvorak - 'The American' Quartet, Lento

September 20th marks the 30th birthday of Berlin pianist Nils Frahm, but also the day he has chosen to give his fans a special gift in the form of 9 songs he recorded with 9 fingers, entitled 'Screws'.

Nils experienced an unfortunate accident which saw him fall from his bunk bed located directly above his studio, which resulted in a broken thumb. But through inspiration from his fans and after a gentle walk and talk through the park with a close friend, he decided to deal with the situation in the only way he knew – playing his piano.

With four screws surgically placed inside his thumb, he started recording with his remaining 9 fingers, what later resulted in 9 intimate piano recordings.

Fans can download 'Screws' as mp3s or in full 24-bit 44.100 kHz audio quality here (http://screws.durtonstudio.com), and pre-order a Vinyl/CD edition from the Erased Tapes online store (http://erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP046), which will be released later this year.

'I am sitting in front of a sheet of paper. My right hand is bending over my left thumb. The first day I got out of my cast I could bend it by 15°. Now I am already at 50° and that makes me happy. Things are going uphill...

As you can imagine, it is really bad news for a pianist when he gets diagnosed with a broken thumb. That day I was sitting in the emergency room, feeling rather dizzy while thinking of a zillion shows coming up and all the people involved around it. I realised in that moment how busy things have become. It is hard to turn down interesting projects and opportunities, since I surely love my work. It actually never felt like work. Playing piano and playing it for wonderful people is the greatest joy I can imagine.

For a couple of days I felt like this all could be over. How pathetic. But hey – also feeling sorry for yourself has its place somewhere. All of a sudden I had so much time, an unexpected holiday. I cancelled most of my schedule and found myself being a little bored. Even though my doctor told me not to touch a piano for a while, I just couldn't resist. I started playing a silent song with 4 fingers on my left and the remaining 5 on my right hand. I set up one microphone and recorded another tune every other night before falling asleep.

The day I got rid of my cast I had recorded 9 little tunes. They have helped me feel less annoyed about my accident and reminded me that any good is something I can only achieve, when I am making the most out of what I've got.

Thank you all for listening!

With lots of love,

Nils


9FINGERS North American Tour 2012

09/16 New York (US) – West Park Presbyterian Church 
09/21 Boulder (US) – Cherryvale Studios
09/22 Colorado Springs (US) – The Mesa
09/23 Santa Fe (US) – O'Shaughnessy Performance Space @ Santa Fe Uni
09/24 San Fransisco (US) – private show (RSVP only)
09/29 Seattle (US) – Decibel Festival @ Broadway Performance Hall
09/30 Portland (US) – Classic Pianos
10/03 Mexico City (MX) – Mutek

ERASED TAPES 5th Anniversary Tour w/ Ólafur Arnalds & A Winged Victory For The Sullen

10/08 HAMBURG (DE) – Fliegende Bauten
10/09 PRAGUE (CZ) – Palac Akropolis
10/10 BUDAPEST (HU) – Trafo
10/11 MANNHEIM (DE) – Alte Feuerwache
10/13-14 BERLIN (DE) – Radialsystem
10/15 AMSTERDAM (NL) – Paradiso
10/16-17 LEUVEN (BE) – Stuk
10/18 LONDON (UK) – Hackney Empire
10/19-20 ISTANBUL (TR) – Salon IKSV

PREVIOUS PRESS:

'No. 42 Best Albums Of 2011' -The Guardian
'Felt is a transportative album, a balm for troubled minds.' BBC Music
'Frahm’s hyper-intimate recording technique for the album makes Felt a captivating listen' (9/10) DIS

★ ★ ★ ★ – Popmatters ★ ★ ★ ★ – Uncut ★ ★ ★ ★ – Clash ★ ★ ★ ★ – Mojo

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: screws.durtonstudio.com · facebook.com/nilsfrahm · twitter.com/nilsfrahm · erasedtapes.com

Screws

Buy CD/LP/DL

Nils Frahm - You

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Odi Et Amo featuring Iskra String Quartet (Brussels, April 2009)

Nils Frahm - Do

Nils Frahm - Re

FREE DOWNLOAD of 'Rainlight' composed by Max Richter for Random International's 'Rain Room'.

Installation now open to the public in The Curve at London's Barbican Centre. 

Visitors are invited to control the rain and walk through perpetual rainfall without getting wet. 

The installation runs until March 3, 2013. Admission is free.

Full details: http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=13723

Max Richter website: http://www.maxrichtermusic.com/en/index.php

Photo Credit: Rain Room, rAndom International 2007, photography by James Harris


Max Richter - Rainlight - Random International's 'Rain Room' - Barbican

BEAK> Mono

Stones Throw & Leaving Records presents DUAL FORM | coming 1.22.2013
http://stonesthrow.com/leavingrecords

The Cyclist - Visions

This London four-piece are recording their debut album at the minute; they sent us this dreamy, reverb-soaked track a while ago and we'd like you to hear it. 

Fans of Wild Nothing, Beach House or My Bloody Valentine will particularly love the wistful vocals, dubby production and and subtle dynamic shifts.

Their most recent self-titled EP from 2011 is available for free download on their bandcamp site. 

http://incagoldmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/incagoldmusic

https://twitter.com/incagoldmusic

http://www.youtube.com/incagoldmusic




Inca Gold - Atom

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englaborn feat. Iskra String Quartet (Live at The Reich Effect Festival, Cork)

Iskra means 'a spark' to ignite. 

Iskra is a collaborative group of string players who enjoy making music together regardless of genre. The quartet has travelled extensively across Europe with Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson, performing at various prestigious concert halls and festivals, including the Steve Reich 75th Birthday celebrations for the Barbican, London and Cork Opera House, Ireland. A highlight includes performances of 'The Miners' Hymns' collaboration with American artist film maker Bill Morrison.

Iskra has also enjoyed working closely with pianist/composer Olafur Arnalds. A concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and European tour led to an invitation to perform at the sold out launch of the album “For Now I Am Winter’ (Mercury Classics 2013) at the Barbican Concert Hall accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Andre de Ridder.

The quartet’s work with producer Jamie xx featured on the No. 1 best selling album by The xx entitled ‘Coexist’ (Young Turks/XL 2012). Recently Iskra contributed strings to Jamie's score for Tree Of Codes, a contemporary ballet created with choreographer Wayne McGregor and visual artist Olafur Eliasson for the Manchester International Festival.

Iskra’s collaborations with composer Alex Baranowski have featured on the soundtracks to the twice BAFTA nominated film McCullin (David Morris and Jacqui Morris, 2013) and for Sir Nicholas Hytner’s production of Hamlet at the National Theatre, London starring Rory Kinnear.

In 2007 Iskra were commissioned by Radiohead and XL Recordings to create a string quartet remix of their song ‘The Reckoner’ as part of the promotion of the album ‘In Rainbows’ (XL 2007).

Other highlights include collaborations with artists such as Vampire Weekend, Sufjan Stevens, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Katie Melua, Duke Special, My Brightest Diamond and composers Dustin O'Halloran and David Julyan. Recently Iskra performed as a trio alongside The Lone Bellow on Later...with Jools Holland (BBC Two).

Their forthcoming album celebrates their 10th anniversary and includes contributions from composers Johann Johannsson, Olafur Arnalds, David Julyan, Peter Gregson, Alex Baranowski, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Luke Anthony and Paul Frith.