Johann Johannsson, with Hildur Guðnadóttir & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe – End of Summer

Jóhann Jóhannsson has for you the accompanying soundtrack to your edge-of-earth sea burial. Cello, voice, synthesizer, and electronics (from guests Hildur Gudnadottir & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe) comprise the measured, mournful, ambient drone. End of Summer finds the Icelandic composer Jóhannsson staring at the edges of the earth; literally. These soundscapes are built out of and accompany Jóhannsson field recordings and Super 8 film footage of the Antarctic Peninsula. The sound design to this soundtrack impresses with its subtle layers and unique tones, at times rife with tension, and at others bubbling over with warmth, and if not joy, then deep contentment. Part I sweeps in with a Gudnadottir cello drone and methodical layers, but Parts II and III are remarkable. Part II’s relaxing, warm repetition is unmistakably a Stars of the Lid-ean Aurora Australis wash of bliss. Drama builds on manipulated voices and expands in Part III to a lush, solitary swan song or penguin song of pure exploration that is simultaneously ancient-sounding and anthemic. It’s a stunning piece and the highlight of this album. Part IV is a more ominous, minimal ending to the record, oriented around a synthesizer, the tone of which sounds somewhere in between a railroad horn and a windstorm. The music on End of Summer may be desolate, slow, and at times, minimal, but it is certainly as much a love letter to nature as it is a reflection upon the fragility of existence on Earth.

This subtly haunting album was released December 4th via the Berlin-based label, Sonic Pieces. The CD contains the soundtrack, and includes a DVD of the film. LP edition features the soundtrack as well as the film’s sound design on the B-­‐Side.