After a long absence that lasted four years, Jóhann Jóhannsson finally got home to perform for his fellow Icelanders in a special concert as a part of this year’s Reykjavík International Film Festival. The austere Hallgrímskirkja for the evening turned into a metaphysical setting, resounding with notes. Jóhannsson, with an accompaniment of a five-piece orchestra, played music from three of his previous albums: Englabörn, IBM 1401, a User´s Manual and Fordlândia. New music was also performed during the concert.
The highly stylized images by Magnús Helgason, especially made for Jóhannsson’s music, offered an enigmatic visual counterpart to the sublime atmosphere created by sounds. As the clamor of the Friday night disappeared among the thundering reverberation of the music, lulled by the mesmerizing sequences of images, the mind was free for a moment in time to space out in a peaceful remoteness.