Track of the Moment: The Sun’s Gone Dim and the Sky’s Turned Black by Jóhann Jóhannsson

When I chose Jóhann Jóhannsson’s IBM 1401, A User’s Manual as one of my top 42 albums, there were a lot of “huh?”s and “who’s that?” floating around the room, but I didn’t answer them, mostly because Steve threw me into the Writer’s Cellar for picking an artist he didn’t know (Steve likes to think he knows every band and artist in existence). After a few weeks of being deprived of sunlight and human contact, Steve thought I should go back into the Writer's Cellar to actually write an article about this Icelandic dude (that joke is a grower, not a shower).

Being in Iceland must be like living in a time machine; the IBM 1401 computer was discontinued in 1971, and yet it took until 2006 until it was used to create music. Well, featured in music. Also, Icelandic  people must be living in wooden houses, cooking over a campfire in handmade parkas, reading this article via Morse Code. Luckily I don’t know Morse Code, so I can’t read their hate mail. But anyway, Jóhannsson is a modern orchestral composer who kicks a lot of ass (mostly because of his name, but his music is good too). He’s in the same vein as Soap&Skin, in that he takes classical instruments and adds an electronic element to them. It’s hard to tell where the classical starts and the electronic ends, mostly because it’s all so beautifully composed and integrated together. His music is also very sad, but open and slightly ambient, perfectly replicating the feeling of living in Iceland.

Probably his most well known song is “The Sun’s Gone Dim and the Sky’s Turned Black”; it was featured in the teaser trailer for Battlefield: LA, which, given how bad the movie turned out, seems to be the least likely source to have introduced me to such beautiful music. As for the song itself, it features the recording that inspired this album, a tune created by Jóhannsson’s dad on the IBM 1401 computer, which he did maintenance on back in the day (which was 2006, no matter what the internet tells you). Bringing together a 60 piece orchestra, he created an open, beautiful piece featuring the mournful voice of the IBM 1401 singing. The music slowly builds, and the short vocal recording fades away, bring the song into a sad, but hopeful tune as the music peaks. Finally, it ends with an almost happy resolution. The last few minutes remind me of the end of an Indiana Jones-esque film, where evil has been vanquished, the hero got the girl, and everyone is smiling and watching the sun set as the camera slowly pulls back into the sky. It’s a fantastic song from a great composer, and is definitely worth your time.

Track of the Moment: Wonder by Soap&Skin

I know, I already talked about Soap & Skin, but if Steve can post something by Twin Sister twice, I can do another post on Soap & Skin. She’s that damn good to get a 2^nd post, especially given her making my top 42 list. If I had to rank them, she’d be pretty high up there, if not top 3.

Since I already talked about her music, I’ll focus a bit more on “Wonder”, and include a few fun facts. For instance, ever since her father passed away, she has ditched the heroin addict look and is now a classy redhead with fancy, but not avant-garde or flashy, clothes. Also a fun fact, the song “Voyage, Voyage” is actually a cover of a French pop song, which makes it pretty damn impressive that she was able to make a happy pop song that has already been covered into a forlorn, depressing ballad. Also a fun fact? She, for some reason, won’t tour in America, which makes me sad. It’s understandable – because people like you don’t listen to people like me who tell you to listen to people like her. And you totally should.

Anyway, “Wonder” is a great song. It’s a good mix of sad and hopeful, with the gentle arpeggios and a wonderful backup chorus that can seems to have the same emotions as Anja. And the repetition of the same 2 verses only reinforces the song’s title; Anja just keeps wondering about the same thing, over and over again. And the reversing of the chorus’s chorus would sound creepy, but it only intensifies the beauty of the song. It’s the perfect song to end a sad day on, as you drift off to sleep, or bow your head in the rain as you kneel next to the hero/sidekick who just died (this latter option is best done with a slow, retreating, tracking high angle shot. Film nerds will know what I’m talking about, won’t you).