Did Hollywood Kill Jóhann Jóhannsson?

About this episode

The episode explores the life and work of composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, focusing on his solo music and the impact of Hollywood on his life and death.

We don't often cover classical or neoclassical music, as it’s a wee bit out of our wheelhouse. But that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy it—often, our entry into that world is via film soundtracks. Jóhann Jóhannsson is a perfect example, having scored some of the most iconic films of the last 20 years. However, that’s only part of the story. Jóhannsson also released a series of acclaimed solo records; this week, we’re focusing almost exclusively on that solo output, while also providing an account of his life, his key cinematic works, and his tragic passing in 2018. We chart his path from early days in indie bands to the cross-genre think tank Kitchen Motors, and his meteoric rise as a composer for films like Prisoners , Sicario , Arrival , and The Theory of Everything (for which he won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination). From there, we take a closer look at his solo discography, including IBM 1401: A User’s Manual (built from his father’s vintage computer recordings), Fordlandia, and the short-film soundtrack And in the Endless Pause There Came the Sound of Bees, as well as posthumous releases like Gold Dust. We cap things off with a discussion regarding his death and the…

Topics covered

• Jóhann Jóhannsson
• film soundtracks
• solo discography
• classical music
• Hollywood pressures
• musical influences

Keywords

• Jóhann Jóhannsson
• film composer
• neoclassical music
• solo records
• Hollywood
• musical career
• film soundtracks

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kitchen Motors

Books & works: Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, The Theory of Everything, IBM 1401: A User’s Manual, Fordlandia, And in the Endless Pause There Came the Sound of Bees, Gold Dust, Orphée

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