Johann Johannsson - The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Turned Black

There's something rather unsurprising about modern music from Iceland being gorgeous and epic, subtle yet powerful, thunderous yet peaceful. Like a magnificent glacier. Johann Johannsson is one of the pivotal figures in the Icelandic scene, having worked with Barry Adamson and the Hafler Trio as well as composing for stage, film and documentaries. This single, lifted from 'IBM 1401, A User's Manual', matches a 60 piece string section with electronic vocals and the occasional glitch. Those more modern elements are subsumed into the deep ambience of the strings, which are based around an Icelandic hymn - originally programmed into the first computer in Iceland, in 1964. Delightful, and a perfect example of fusing classical music with avant-electronics. [Ali Maloney]