Jóhann Jóhannsson

Overview

Born
September 19, 1969 · Reykjavík, Iceland
Died
February 9, 2018 · Berlin, Germany (heart failure)

Biography

Family

Parents

Trivia

Was the first Icelandic person to win a Golden Globe Award.
Was found dead in his Berlin apartment after missing several work-related appointments. Although the cause of his death was never officially divulged, a toxicology report surfaced later, which stated that he had taken a fatal combination of anti-flu medication and cocaine, which had caused cardiac failure.
Denied suffering from depression; he called his condition 'melancholia', but didn't necessarily regard this as a bad thing, comparing it to purposely watching a sad movie.
Preferred to be called a composer who also scores movies, rather than movie composer.
Lived in Berlin, Germany.

Quotes

[if music in films should be noticeable] It depends on the approach and it depends on the film. There are some films where a more kind of invisible sound works better. And then there are some films where you need a more aggressive approach. [2015]
It is amazing how music can actually improve a performance. [2015]
Mother! (2017) is a film where half measures have no place and after Darren [Darren Aronofsky] and I had explored many different approaches, my instinct was to eliminate the score entirely. Erasure is a big part of the creative process and in this case, we knew we had to take this approach to its logical extreme. [2017]
[on Sicario (2015)] I made a very conscious choice to avoid anything that was evocative of the region, or evocative of the culture of the region south of the border. [2015]
[on influences] I tend to use references and influences from outside of film music, and I think for this one [Sicario (2015)], there's the percussive approach and the power of the percussion and this kind of relentless pulse, and also this kind of slow, mournful beat. For example, in this cue, which is called "The Beast," - and all throughout the score, really - I was influenced by industrial music of the '80s, groups like Swans, Test Dept., and even Throbbing Gristle. In terms of the orchestra, the writing was influenced by certain spectral composers like Gerard Grisey and Badulescu, for example. In terms of film scores, one of my all-time-favorites is Planet of the Apes (1968) by Jerry Goldsmith, and I think there may be some influence there. I think there's a little bit of Jaws (1975) in there somewhere as well. [2015]