Artist: Johann Johannsson
Title: Fordlandia
Label: 4AD
Genre: Electronic
Bitrate: 168kbit av.
Time: 01:07:03
Size: 88.94 mb
Rip Date: 2008-09-17
Str Date: 2008-11-04
1. Fordlandia 13:42
2. Melodia (i) 1:56
3. The Rocket Builder (Io Pan!) 6:24
4. Melodia (ii) 1:48
5. Fordlandia - Aerial View 4:32
6. Melodia (iii) 3:12
7. Chimaerica 3:22
8. Melodia (iv) 2:45
9. The Great God Pan Is Dead 4:55
10. Melodia (Guidelines For A Propulsion Device Based 9:03
On Heim's Quantum Theory)
11. How We Left Fordlandia 15:24
Release Notes:
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.
J≤hann J≤hannsson's spellbinding new album draws these
tantalizing threads together, weaving a musical tapestry of
hypnotic richness and surprising emotional depth.
Englab÷rn was derived from music that Johann 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. Virthulegu Forsetar
was a one hour-long piece for eleven brass players,
percussion, electronics, organs and piano. It shares
Englab÷rn's quiet, elegiac beauty, but replaces the brevity of
the first album's exquisite miniatures with an extended sweep
of sound that reveals a long, slow process of evolution.
J≤hann is involved in many different projects in his native
Iceland, including the all-analog Apparat Organ Quartet and
Kitchen Motors, the art organization/think tank/record label
which specializes in instigating collaborations and art
projects across diverse art forms. Among many other things, he
has also recently composed scores for the award-winning
animator Marc Craste (Varmints, 2008) and the American
independent film Personal Effects (David Hollander, 2008).
After IBM 1401, A User's Manual, FordlΓndia is the second
installment in a proposed trilogy based on technology and
iconic American brand names. Whereas IBM 1401, A User's Manual
was a personal response to technology and its inevitable
obsolescence (inspired by his father's work with mainframe
computers in 1960s Iceland), FordlΓndia springs out of a far
more diffuse set of influences. It brings together the soaring
grandeur of its predecessor û some sections were recorded with
the same orchestra in Prague û and the intimacy of Englab÷rn,
moving between heady, melting cadences and crystalline motifs
with gorgeous, dreamlike logic.
In short, FordlΓndia is J≤hann J≤hannsson'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.