Englabörn, the genre-blurring debut album from the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, is getting an expanded vinyl reissue this fall. Out Oct. 25, Englabörn & Variations is a vinyl edition of the Icelandic composer’s first LP with a bonus disc of reworkings from a remarkable cast of contributors.
Upon its release in 2002 through the legendary Touch label, Englabörn was hailed for its brilliant merger of electronic and classical music. It was one of the first albums to receive a Best New Music designation on Pitchfork, with an 8.9 rating and a rave review proclaiming, “This first solo album from Jóhann Jóhannsson is absolutely beautiful, and it has only become moreso over the past few months, sustaining me for long periods of time when other music just wouldn’t do the trick.”
Originally released in 2018, Englabörn & Variations expanded on Jóhannson’s original vision with transformative takes on the Englabörn material from some of his peers and admirers. Ryuichi Sakamoto, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Paul Corley, Alex Somers, and fellow Icelanders Víkingur Ólafsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir were among the contributors to the project.
Born in Reykjavík and later based in Berlin, Jóhannson was among the most acclaimed composers of his generation. After getting his start as a member of the cult-beloved shoegaze band Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, he was a fixture of Iceland’s underground rock scene in the late 20th century before delving into classical music as a solo artist post-Y2K. His solo albums for labels such as Touch, 4AD, and Deutsche Grammophon were consistently beloved, as were his scores for films such as The Theory of Everything, Sicario, and Arrival. He was nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards twice and won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for his work on The Theory of Everything.
