Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Síða 20

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
20
Jóhann Jóhannsson emerges blinking
from the dark doorway of the studio
into the brightness of a late-sum-
mer Reykjavík afternoon. He’s look-
ing fresh and relaxed, jacketed and
bristly-bearded, enjoying the sun as
he beckons me inside with a friendly,
scholarly bearing.
Jóhann is currently based in Berlin,
but his workplace today is an airy,
comfortable practice space, usually
used by Sigur Rós, in a converted ware-
house in the ex-industrial harbour
area, Grandi. “I haven’t spent longer
than ten days in Iceland for years,” he
says, as sunbeams stream through the
room, catching swirls of dust. “But this
weather is making me think twice...”
He’s earned some summer. Over
the past couple of years, Jóhann’s long,
steady ascent as a musician and com-
poser has steepened to a near vertical
trajectory. After over a decade of band
projects, solo albums, collaborative
audio-visual projects and film work
that began with Icelandic documen-
taries, then Danish and American
feature films, his score for the hit
biopic ‘The Theory Of Everything’
earned him a Golden Globe award and
an Oscar nomination, catapulting him
onto the world stage as one of the most
in-demand screen composers around.
Let me tell you about
my mother
His success shows no signs of slowing.
In August, Jóhann hit the headlines
when it was announced he’d be creat-
ing the score for the follow-up to the
80s sci-fi classic ‘Blade Runner’. It’ll be
his fourth collaboration with director
Denis Villeneuve.
“ T hey ’re shoot i ng now, a nd I
started sending material to Denis
already,” says Jóhann. “That’s how
we tr y to work—we star t a dia-
logue about the music very early on.
I send him ideas while he’s fi lm-
ing. He’l l react strongly to some
things, and refer to them for mood
and atmosphere while he’s filming.”
It’s a working method the two de-
veloped working on the successful
thriller ‘Sicario’. But Jóhann notes
that such close collaboration is not
always a given in the film world, where
many productions use temporary mu-
sic that’s replaced later with the score.
While he stresses that he’s happy to
work flexibly, Jóhann seems happy
working with Denis in their organic,
flowing fashion. “I send him iPhone
videos of sessions and works in prog-
ress,” he says. “Sometimes he’ll re-
spond strongly or say: ‘Hey, you have
to send me that track.’ Those pieces
can become central to the mood of the
score, very early on.”
Jóhann sees filmmaking as a deeply
collaborative art form. “For me, the
score should be treated in the same
way as set design, sound or costumes,”
he says. “It shouldn’t be an after-
thought. You need a confident director
to do that. You don’t always know what
kind of film you have when you start
making a film. But a director with a
strong vision, and belief in the team he
assembles… it makes the music an in-
tegral, organic part of the film’s DNA.
The music grows as the film grows,
and they feed each other.”
Not a strange world
When the ‘Blade Runner’ sequel was
announced, fans responded with a
mixture of delight and dread—after
all, film culture is littered with un-
loved reboots and lesser sequels. But
this time, the signs seem promising.
Jóhann speaks at length about his love
of the original film and, especially, its
seminal score, by Vangelis.
“We’re aware that we’re handling a
delicate, precious object,” he says. “It’s
something that has to be approached
Words
JOHN ROGERS
Photos
TIMOTHÉE
LAMBRECQ
FEATURE
DOES JÓHANN
DREAM OF
ELECTRIC
SHEEP?
The Rise & Rise Of
Jóhann Jóhannsson