Johann Johannsson
Englaborn
4AD/Remote Control



Originally released on the Touch imprint in 2002, Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson's 'Englaborn' is here re-reissued by 4AD, a move which, above all else, should encourage many more listeners to revel in its mastery.

The 16 miniatures that comprise 'Englaborn' were developed from Johannsson's score for Havar Sigurjonsson's stage play of the same name, and the music itself written for string quartet, piano, harmonium, organ, glockenspiel and percussion. Johannsson deftly combines the resonance of the acoustic instruments with subtle electronic cushioning, repeating and rearranging key phrases as he goes. The result is a set of exquisitely crystalline productions, spacious, full-bodied, and imbued with effect. Johannsson casts a chilly hand over the pieces, but for all its glassy melancholia, there is intense beauty instilled in 'Englaborn'.

The album is bookended by Odi Et Amo, which is split into two sections. On the first track, a lone computerised voice sings mournful Latin verse, while the strings tow utterly beautiful long strokes behind. When a piano-derived bass resonance enters, the strings slowly turn to staccato, the piece moving like a lonely ocean liner through ice. The closing Odi Et Amo - Bis - deeper, darker, and slower still - is all of 'Englaborn's beauty trapped inside that very ice, frozen by a Nordic kiss, and preserved for all eternity. This is stunning collection, a modern classic, and one of this year's finest reissues.

Lenin Simos