Apparat Organ Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Apparat Organ Quartet is an Iceland
ic band founded in 1999 by Jóhann Jóhannsson
, Hörður Bragason, Músikvatur and Úlfur Eldjárn.
Apparat Organ Quartet's debut album, simply entitled "Apparat Organ Quartet" was almost 3 years in the making. The Quartet's members say it took so long because they had to discover by themselves how to record an organ quartet. "We couldn't just go to the record-store and ask for an organ quartet album. We had to invent the genre." The album seems to have many layers. The oldest takes date back to 1999 while some of the songs underwent major changes during the last few days of mixing. The sounds heard on the album come from AOQ's vast collection of antique synthesizers, Farfisas, Hammonds, home-organs, cheap portable keyboards and all sorts of malfunctioning machinery.
AOQ use old discarded technology, home organs and cheap consumer cast-offs often salvaged from garbage dumps and then customized by the band for the rigors of live use.
Their passion for out-moded musical machines and ancient communication technologies is clearly reflected in their collaboration with TF3IRA, a trio of ham radio enthusiasts. This performance, documented on the Kitchen Motors
CD "Motorlab 2", featured an enormous electric sound sculpture involving shortwave receivers and morse code transmissions mixed in with the organ quartet's ethereal soundscapes.
The album cover art features oil paintings of the band as Playmo characters by the artist Markús Þór Andrésson.
Apparat Organ Quartet has been invited to numerous festivals and prestigious venues in Europe
before even releasing an album, including the Roskilde Festival
in Denmark
, London's ICA
, Batofar in Paris
, as well as performing in St. Petersburg and Helsinki
. The band have played New York's Central Park
Summer Stage, Denmark's Spot Festival, Stockholm's Kulturhuset
as well as Holland's Lowlands and the Belgian Pukkelpop
festival.
Apparat Organ Quartet's members include:
Músikvatur, who has collaborated with múm
and has released several solo singles.
Hörður Bragason, a former associate of Austrian
artist Hermann Nitsch
and an former organist in Reykjavik's largest church congregation.
Úlfur Eldjárn, also a member of the group Trabant and former member of Kanada.
Arnar Geir Ómarsson, who has worked with Magga Stina, Ham, Lhooq and others.
Jóhann Jóhannsson
.
The band was originally conceived as part of a series of improvised concerts organized by Kitchen Motors
, a record label and art collective founded by Jóhann Jóhannsson
, Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir, and Hilmar Jensson.
Apparat Organ Quartet is also part of a collective of Reykjavik-based musicians that includes members of Sigur Rós
, Múm
, Kanada, Trabant, Funerals, Slowblow
and others. A number of these acts share members, and have collaborated on other projects.
They were one of many Icelandic bands documented in Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon's 2005 film Screaming Masterpiece
(Gargandi Snilld in Icelandic).
In March 2010, Apparat Organ Quartet announced that they had begun recording their second album titled Pólýfónía
. The album was released on December 9, 2010.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic band founded in 1999 by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic musician, composer and producer. He is a co-founder of Kitchen Motors in Reykjavík, the art organization/think tank/record label which specializes in initiating collaborations, promoting concerts and exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films,...
, Hörður Bragason, Músikvatur and Úlfur Eldjárn.
Apparat Organ Quartet's debut album, simply entitled "Apparat Organ Quartet" was almost 3 years in the making. The Quartet's members say it took so long because they had to discover by themselves how to record an organ quartet. "We couldn't just go to the record-store and ask for an organ quartet album. We had to invent the genre." The album seems to have many layers. The oldest takes date back to 1999 while some of the songs underwent major changes during the last few days of mixing. The sounds heard on the album come from AOQ's vast collection of antique synthesizers, Farfisas, Hammonds, home-organs, cheap portable keyboards and all sorts of malfunctioning machinery.
AOQ use old discarded technology, home organs and cheap consumer cast-offs often salvaged from garbage dumps and then customized by the band for the rigors of live use.
Their passion for out-moded musical machines and ancient communication technologies is clearly reflected in their collaboration with TF3IRA, a trio of ham radio enthusiasts. This performance, documented on the Kitchen Motors
Kitchen Motors
Kitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows....
CD "Motorlab 2", featured an enormous electric sound sculpture involving shortwave receivers and morse code transmissions mixed in with the organ quartet's ethereal soundscapes.
The album cover art features oil paintings of the band as Playmo characters by the artist Markús Þór Andrésson.
Apparat Organ Quartet has been invited to numerous festivals and prestigious venues in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
before even releasing an album, including the Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, London's ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, Batofar in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, as well as performing in St. Petersburg and Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. The band have played New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
Summer Stage, Denmark's Spot Festival, Stockholm's Kulturhuset
Kulturhuset
Opened in 1974, Kulturhuset is a cultural centre to the south of Sergels Torg in central Stockholm. It is a controversial symbol for Stockholm and the growth of modernism in Sweden...
as well as Holland's Lowlands and the Belgian Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival which takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid-to-late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—between a dual carriageway called Kempische Steenweg—in the village of Kiewit, approximately 7 km north of Hasselt...
festival.
Apparat Organ Quartet's members include:
Músikvatur, who has collaborated with múm
Múm
múm are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.- History :...
and has released several solo singles.
Hörður Bragason, a former associate of Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
artist Hermann Nitsch
Hermann Nitsch
Hermann Nitsch is an Austrian artist who works in experimental and multimedia modes.Born in Vienna, Nitsch received training in painting during the time he studied at the Wiener Graphische Lehr-und Versuchanstalt. He is called an "actionist" or a performance artist...
and an former organist in Reykjavik's largest church congregation.
Úlfur Eldjárn, also a member of the group Trabant and former member of Kanada.
Arnar Geir Ómarsson, who has worked with Magga Stina, Ham, Lhooq and others.
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic musician, composer and producer. He is a co-founder of Kitchen Motors in Reykjavík, the art organization/think tank/record label which specializes in initiating collaborations, promoting concerts and exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films,...
.
The band was originally conceived as part of a series of improvised concerts organized by Kitchen Motors
Kitchen Motors
Kitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows....
, a record label and art collective founded by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic musician, composer and producer. He is a co-founder of Kitchen Motors in Reykjavík, the art organization/think tank/record label which specializes in initiating collaborations, promoting concerts and exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films,...
, Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir, and Hilmar Jensson.
Apparat Organ Quartet is also part of a collective of Reykjavik-based musicians that includes members of Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
, Múm
Múm
múm are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.- History :...
, Kanada, Trabant, Funerals, Slowblow
Slowblow
Slowblow is an Icelandic musical duo consisting of Orri Jónsson and Dagur Kári Pétursson. Their music is an aesthetic of home-made, lo-fi analog tinkerings, which often slips into both electronic and folksy terrain. They began recording in the mid 1990s and have made several albums together...
and others. A number of these acts share members, and have collaborated on other projects.
They were one of many Icelandic bands documented in Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon's 2005 film Screaming Masterpiece
Screaming Masterpiece
Screaming Masterpiece is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon about the music scene in Iceland...
(Gargandi Snilld in Icelandic).
In March 2010, Apparat Organ Quartet announced that they had begun recording their second album titled Pólýfónía
Pólýfónía
Pólýfónía is the second album by Icelandic Apparat Organ Quartet, released on 9 December, 2010. A digital version was released on 3 December 2010. The cover was designed by . According to the band, the album is "more accessible and more suited to the musical tastes of the masses...
. The album was released on December 9, 2010.
Albums
- Apparat Organ QuartetApparat Organ Quartet (album)Apparat Organ Quartet is an album by icelandic Apparat Organ Quartet, released in 2002. The cover and liner notes contain several paintings of figures resembling those of Playmobil.-Track listing:#"Romantika" — 4:44#"The Anguish Of Space Time" — 6:10...
(12 Tónar12 Tónar12 Tónar is a small record shop in Reykjavík, Iceland, and also a record label for Icelandic indie bands. It is located on Skólavörðustígur 15, in downtown Reykjavík....
, 2002) - PólýfóníaPólýfóníaPólýfónía is the second album by Icelandic Apparat Organ Quartet, released on 9 December, 2010. A digital version was released on 3 December 2010. The cover was designed by . According to the band, the album is "more accessible and more suited to the musical tastes of the masses...
(12 Tónar12 Tónar12 Tónar is a small record shop in Reykjavík, Iceland, and also a record label for Icelandic indie bands. It is located on Skólavörðustígur 15, in downtown Reykjavík....
, 9 December 2010)
Compilations
- Nart Nibbles (Kitchen MotorsKitchen MotorsKitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows....
, 1999) — Contributed "Nafnlaust uppklapp" - Motorlab #2 (Kitchen MotorsKitchen MotorsKitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows....
, 2001) — Contributed three songs featuring TF3IRA: "Charlie Tango no. 2," "Ondula Nova," and "Sálmur" - Screaming MasterpieceScreaming MasterpieceScreaming Masterpiece is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon about the music scene in Iceland...
(2005) — Appeared in the documentary and contributed "Romantica" - Kitchen Motors Family Album/Fjölskyldualbúm TilraunaeldhússinsKitchen Motors Family Album/Fjölskyldualbúm TilraunaeldhússinsKitchen Motors Family Album a compilation album released in 2006. It came into being two years after the celebration of Kitchen Motors' 5 year anniversary at May 1st 2004. The album features mostly previously unreleased songs by the artists and bands who have worked with Kitchen Motors since it...
(Kitchen MotorsKitchen MotorsKitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows....
, 2006) — Contributed "Stylophonia"
Singles
- "Romantika" (2003) from Apparat Organ QuartetApparat Organ Quartet (album)Apparat Organ Quartet is an album by icelandic Apparat Organ Quartet, released in 2002. The cover and liner notes contain several paintings of figures resembling those of Playmobil.-Track listing:#"Romantika" — 4:44#"The Anguish Of Space Time" — 6:10...
— Also includes "Macht parat den Apparat" and "Romantika (premix)" - "Cargo Frakt" (GogoyokoGogoyokogogoyoko.com is an online music store and social networking music website where artists can sell directly to their fans. The site offers free streaming of all tracks, which is subsidized with advertisements in the music store. The focus of the site is on independent music both from independent...
, 29 November 2010) from PólýfóníaPólýfóníaPólýfónía is the second album by Icelandic Apparat Organ Quartet, released on 9 December, 2010. A digital version was released on 3 December 2010. The cover was designed by . According to the band, the album is "more accessible and more suited to the musical tastes of the masses...
External links
- Apparat at Tonlist.com Includes a brief biography of the band.