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So here we are at the Nine Lives coal face, with Issue 02 straining to get out of the traps. Following on from Colleen's spot on first edition, and not wanting to suffer from the dreaded 'follow-up' syndrome, it was decided the Nine Lives chalice should be passed into the capable charge of Icelandic troubadour Johann Johannsson - whose gorgeous new record 'IBM 1401, A User's Manual' has been charming the orchestrated pants off us this past few weeks. Having upped sticks from Touch, Johannsson is now ensconced over with the delicious folk at 4AD - a label that seems to happily indulge his love of all things grand, burnished and epic. Blessed with an ability to tease personal themes from an unbelievably broad palate of sound and emotion, the chance for a shelf shufty in Johannsson's collection proved impossible to resist - with the nine choices listed below adding yet further texture to his already vast sound. Ranging from Goblin to Handel, Johannsson gets chatty on the records which impacted his life most fully - even taking a snap of his collection for you to get snooping on... Oh, and before you start we know there's ten again. Why? Because we want to!

Like the mutant offspring of Elvis Presley chanting space age mantras of alienation and despair

1. 'Suicide' by Suicide

The minimal driving, relentless riffs powered only by electric organs, spring reverbs and tape delay. The demonic, vocals, like the mutant offspring of Elvis Presley chanting space age mantras of alienation and despair. I discovered this when I was 16 and it taught me that minimal is truly maximal.

2. 'Cantus' by Arvo Part

I was absolutely floored by this piece when I heard it first. The emotional impact was so strong I found it hard to listen to at first. It´s so simple, more a process than a composition; just an A minor scale descending over and over again in endless cascades of sound, but the emotion that´s created by it is devastating.

In David Lynch films the soundtrack is often just as, if not more, important than the picture

3. 'Vertigo' soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann

Almost any of Herrmann´s 1960´s and 70´s soundtracks could be mentioned here; they are all stunningly beautiful and amazingly inventive. His melodies are so strong, his orchestrations are so precise and his relentless use of repetition was so daring and innovative, almost a precursor of minimalism. Watching Vertigo for me is as much a musical as a visual experience. It´s so operatic in scale and the images and music work perfectly together. Vertigo is the highpoint of the Hitchcock/Herrmann collaboration.

4. 'I Am Sitting In a Room' by Alvin Lucier

A piece for voice and two tape recorders. It´s basically a slow process that, once set in motion, reveals itself over an extended period and turns very simple material into something complex, beautiful and profound. It was very influential on my piece 'Virthulegu Forsetar' in the way that it reveals the complexities that are inherent in seemingly very simple material.

The two composers were worlds apart in time and style, but for me this music comes from the same dark place

5. 'Floating Into the Night' by Julee Cruise, Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch

I first heard this music in Twin Peaks, which had a big impact on me. I love the way David Lynch and his sound designers work with sound. In David Lynch films the soundtrack is often just as, if not more, important than the picture and the sound is treated as a very important layer of the film with its own rules and principles. I later discovered this album Badalamenti and Lynch had made with Julee Cruise; it´s not a soundtrack and I guess it was meant as their idea of a perfect pop album. I love how the mood stays the same throughout, the relentlessness of it. Just pure atmosphere. I love Lynch´s lyrics which are naive and knowing at the same time, creating this mood which is both dark and innocent at the same time. Badalamenti´s music is just sublime and Cruise´s voice sends chills down my spine.

6. 'Nu Vil Eg Enn I Nafni Thinu' by Hamrahlid choir

An old Icelandic folk tune in a beautiful and ethereal arrangement for choir. Stunningly simple and evocative like a lot of old Icelandic folk songs. My grandfather used to sing music like this to me, accompanied on his old harmonium, in a raw and fragile voice. His harmonium is in my studio now and appears on most of my records.

Pure atavistic, primal energy

7. 'Late String Quartets' by Beethoven and Shostakovich

In his last two quartets, which were the last thing he wrote, Beethoven abandoned all conventions and just wrote some of the most intense and beautiful music ever written. Part 3 of quartet # 15 is just devastating. Shostakovich's last quartets are also very intense experiences; powerful, fragile and bleak. The two composers were worlds apart in time and style, but for me this music comes from the same dark place.

8. 'Largo' from Xerxes by Handel

I could put just about anything by Handel here, you just can´t go wrong with him. The most direct and straightforward of composers but also one of the most emotionally complex and intense.

It´s so rich: one of those songs that contain whole novels

9. 'Suspiria' by Goblin

Another soundtrack, for the Italian horror meister Dario Argento. I saw this in the cinema a long time ago and I have never been as affected by the combined power of music and images. Just amazing. Pure atavistic primal energy.

10. 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen

I´ve spent whole evenings listening to this song over and over again. It´s so rich: one of those songs that contain whole novels. Truly an epic. It's covered a lot because I don´t think a definitive version exists yet, although maybe Jeff Buckley´s comes closest...

Johann Johannsson's Nine Lives in brief:

Suicide - 'Suicide'

Arvo Part - 'Cantus'

Bernard Herrmann - 'Vertigo Soundtrack'

Alvin Lucier - 'I Am Sitting In a Room'

Julee Cruise, Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch - 'Floating Into the Night'

Hamrahlid choir - 'Nu Vil Eg Enn I Nafni Thinu'

Beethoven and Shostakovich - 'Late String Quartets'

Haendel - 'Largo' from 'Xerxes'

Goblin - 'Suspiria'

Leonard Cohen - 'Hallelujah'

Links

www.4ad.com - Johann Johannsson's label, 4AD

www.johannjohannsson.com - Johann Johannsson's official site

www.ausersmanual.com - Official site for new album 'IBM 1401, A User's Manual'

www.myspace.com/johannjohannsson - Johann's Myspace Page

www.touchmusic.org.uk - Touch Music

Banner image used courtesy of David Kristian