Valgeir Sigurðsson (born 18 June 1971) is an Icelandic

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, mixer, composer,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

and musician.

Biography

Coming from a musical background, Valgeir's fascination with recording technology led to a job in a small recording studio at the age of 16. He plays keyboards, bass, percussion, electronics/programming and studied classical guitar, graduating with a Tonmeister degree from London's

SAE Institute The SAE Institute (SAE) and SAE University College (in Australia), formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College and badged SAE Creative Media Education, is a network of colleges around the world that provides creativ ...

. In 1998 Valgeir was hired by fellow countrywoman

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

as engineer and programmer on the soundtrack for

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

's ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical psychological tragedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

''. A song from the film, ''

I've Seen It All "I've Seen It All" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk for the ''Dancer in the Dark'' soundtrack, '' Selmasongs'' (2000). It was written by the singer, along with Sjón and Lars von Trier (who also directed the film). It was released a ...

'' (a duet with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

) was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

but lost to

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's '' Things Have Changed''. Valgeir created the distinctive train-rhythm that runs through the song. His working relationship with Björk continued beyond the film project and was consistent from early 1998 until 2006, during which time Valgeir was one of her main studio collaborators. Valgeir is the founder of Greenhouse Studios, Iceland's top recording facility established in 1997, where in addition to Björk, he has collaborated with artists such as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Feist,

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

, Camille, CocoRosie, Ben Frost,

Sam Amidon Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s ...

múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in ...

Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors, and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemp ...

Hauschka Volker Bertelmann (born 11 October 1966) is a German composer, pianist and former rapper who mainly performs and records under the name Hauschka. He is best known for his compositions for prepared piano. He won an Academy Award and a British Ac ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

, Emel Mathlouthi, and many others. In 2005 he founded the

Bedroom Community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

record label launching the recording career of Nico Muhly and producing and releasing albums by Ben Frost and

. He has composed music for TV, film and theatre and his debut solo album '' Ekvílibríum'' was released by Bedroom Community in 2007, followed by a release of his soundtrack for Dreamland ('' Draumalandið'') in 2009. The score of Dreamland was performed live in 2011 by the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa (concert hall), Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution u ...

by the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...

in 2012, and the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

and Ilan Volkov, in 2013. His first conventional classical commission, ''Nebraska Quartet'' was premiered by the Chiara String Quartet at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

during NYC's Ecstatic Music Festival in 2011. Valgeir's third LP ''Architecture of Loss'' was released in September 2012 to critical acclaim. ''Ghosts'', for chamber ensemble, was the result of a commission the Crash Ensemble, and launched in Dublin in November 2013. The

and Alexander Mickelthwate premiered ''Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-Five'', for orchestra and electronics, as part of its annual New Music Festival in January 2014.

Selected works

Stage works

* 2009 ''Green Aria'', (co-composed with Nico Muhly), for chamber orchestra and electronics * 2012 ''Architecture of Loss'', ballet for chamber ensemble of 3 players and electronics * 2014 ''Wide Slumber for lepidopterists'', music-theatre piece for 3 singers, 4 musicians and electronics * 2018 ''Woman Undone'', music-theatre work for five singers/instrumentalists

Orchestral

* 2011 ''Dreamland'', for large orchestra and electronics * 2013 ''Dreamland'', for chamber orchestra and optional electronics * 2013 ''Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-Five'', for orchestra and electronics * 2014 ''No Nights Dark Enough'', for chamber orchestra and electronics

Ensemble

* 2011 ''Past Tundra'', for chamber ensemble of 9 players with electronics * 2011 ''Nebraska'', for string quartet * 2012 ''Architecture of Loss'', ballet for chamber ensemble of 3 players and electronics * 2013 ''Ghosts'', for chamber ensemble of 10 players with electronics * 2014 ''The Crumbling'' (from ''Architecture of Loss''), for chamber ensemble of 6 players * 2014 ''Raindamage'', for string trio and electronics * 2014 ''Dissonance'', for viola da gamba and electronics * 2015 ''Veej'', for chamber ensemble of 18 players * 2015 ''For Love of Her (do but kill me)'', for voice, chamber ensemble of 10 players and electronics * 2018 ''Remnant'', for viola and electronics * 2018 ''Dust'', for violin and electronics

Electronics Only

* 2016 ''Antigravity'', electronic track

Discography

Solo

* 2007 '' Ekvílibríum'' * 2010 '' Draumalandið'' * 2012 ''Architecture of Loss'' * 2017 ''Dissonance''

Production

Film and TV

Other

* 2009 ''Green Aria'', composed by Valgeir Sigurðsson and Nico Muhly for ''Scent Opera'', Guggenheim Museum, NYC

References

External links

*
Artist page
on

*
Myspace
''The Independent'', 21 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigurdsson, Valgeir 1971 births Living people Valgeir Sigurdsson Valgeir Sigurdsson