Kjartan Sveinsson
Encyclopedia
Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson (ˈcʰar̥tan ˈsveinsɔn; born 2 January 1978) is a keyboardist
of the Iceland
ic post-rock
band Sigur Rós
. He joined the band in 1998. Being something of a multi-instrumentalist
, he has also played such instruments as the flute
, tin whistle
, oboe
and even the banjo
, as well as many of the unorthodox instruments that contribute to Sigur Rós
's distinctive sound. He also plays the guitar
.
Kjartan has performed under the pseudonym "The Lonesome Traveller" with Sigur Rós band-mate Orri Páll Dýrason
and Amiina
violin
ist María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (whom Kjartan married in 2001). "The Lonesome Traveller" covered Sigur Rós
songs acoustically in an alt-country
style.
Kjartan also composed the score for the 2005 Academy Award
nominated short film Síðasti bærinn
(The Last Farm), for award winning director Ramin Bahrani
's 2009 short film Plastic Bag
which features the narration of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog
, and for the 2009 film Ondine
directed by Neil Jordan
. Kjartan also contributes to Sigur Rós
's orchestra
l and string arrangements, along with the group Amiina
. He is also featured heavily on The Album Leaf
's album, In a Safe Place
, playing a wide variety of instruments.
Kjartan is a member of the advisory board for Kraumur Music Fund
, which aims to "strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."
On November 16, 2010, Kjartan Sveinsson performed in The Whitelight Festival, along with Jonsi & Alex and The Hilliard Ensemble. Kjartan composed Sonnets of his own, as well as the world premiere of his new piece entitled Credo. Credo is Latin for "I believe". The performance was streamed live on NPR
's website.
On 17 April 2011, Q2
- a listener-supported, New York City-based Internet stream devoted to the music of living composers - along with NPR named Kjarten Sveinnson in a list of "100 Composers Under 40".
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
of the Iceland
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 post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
band 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...
. He joined the band in 1998. Being something of a multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, he has also played such instruments as the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and even the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, as well as many of the unorthodox instruments that contribute to 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...
's distinctive sound. He also plays the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
.
Kjartan has performed under the pseudonym "The Lonesome Traveller" with Sigur Rós band-mate Orri Páll Dýrason
Orri Páll Dýrason
Orri Páll Dýrason is the drummer for Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1999, shortly after the recording of the studio album Ágætis byrjun, when the previous drummer, Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson, left the band. He married Lukka Sigurðardóttir in Hawaii in 2005. They have a son together born in January...
and Amiina
Amiina
Amiina is an Icelandic band composed of Hildur Ársælsdóttir , Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir , Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir , and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir . They frequently perform live and in the studio along with Sigur Rós...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (whom Kjartan married in 2001). "The Lonesome Traveller" covered 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...
songs acoustically in an alt-country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
style.
Kjartan also composed the score for the 2005 Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominated short film Síðasti bærinn
The Last Farm
The Last Farm is a live action short film. The film's runtime is approximately 20 minutes. It was directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson, and stars Icelandic actor Jón Sigurbjörnsson. The film was scored by Kjartan Sveinsson, the keyboardist for Sigur Rós.The film is about a farmer who lives in the last farm...
(The Last Farm), for award winning director Ramin Bahrani
Ramin Bahrani
Ramin Bahrani is an American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert listed Bahrani's film Chop Shop as the 6th best film of the decade and hailed Bahrani as "the director of the decade." Bahrani was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was the subject of...
's 2009 short film Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag (film)
Plastic Bag is a short film by award winning director Ramin Bahrani. The film features the voice of renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog and an original score by Kjartan Sveinsson of the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós...
which features the narration of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
, and for the 2009 film Ondine
Ondine (film)
Ondine is a 2009 Irish romantic drama film directed and written by Neil Jordan and starring Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda.The film mixes themes from Irish mythology into contemporary settings.-Plot:...
directed by Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
. Kjartan also contributes to 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...
's orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l and string arrangements, along with the group Amiina
Amiina
Amiina is an Icelandic band composed of Hildur Ársælsdóttir , Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir , Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir , and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir . They frequently perform live and in the studio along with Sigur Rós...
. He is also featured heavily on The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf is an American solo musical project founded in San Diego, California in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer and Rhodes piano...
's album, In a Safe Place
In a Safe Place
In a Safe Place is an album by The Album Leaf, released in 2004. Recorded in Sigur Rós' Sundlaugin studios, it features collaborations in the recording from Sigur Rós' members and quartet Amiina....
, playing a wide variety of instruments.
Kjartan is a member of the advisory board for Kraumur Music Fund
Kraumur
Kraumur Music Fund is an independent Icelandic music fund and operation established by the in the beginning of 2008 to "to strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."...
, which aims to "strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."
On November 16, 2010, Kjartan Sveinsson performed in The Whitelight Festival, along with Jonsi & Alex and The Hilliard Ensemble. Kjartan composed Sonnets of his own, as well as the world premiere of his new piece entitled Credo. Credo is Latin for "I believe". The performance was streamed live on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's website.
On 17 April 2011, Q2
WQXR-FM
WQXR-FM is an American classical radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and serving the New York City metropolitan area. It is the most-listened-to classical-music station in the United States, with an average quarter-hour audience of 63,000...
- a listener-supported, New York City-based Internet stream devoted to the music of living composers - along with NPR named Kjarten Sveinnson in a list of "100 Composers Under 40".