Le mercredi 19 septembre, l’AB a rendu hommage à l’Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste-au Béguinage à Jóhann Jóhannsson, le célèbre compositeur (de musique de film) islandais, décédé inopinément au début de cette année. Une soirée unique préparée par amour pour l’artiste et en collaboration avec de nombreuses personnes de son entourage. Le concert était dirigé par Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie, ami proche du compositeur. 

“I am forever being asked to relate some sort of emotional resolution about JJ—almost always bittersweet. I remember this one time back on the Fordlandia tour, we were in Pittsburgh playing the Warhol Museum, and after soundcheck we were lucky enough to be perusing the gallery after closing hours and he made a reference to an old quote by Mr. Waits, something to the extent of "shite art is destroying the quality of our suffering."

This is something he always took very seriously, giving the world the essential soundtrack for suffering. This is also why I wanted to put on this particular concert for his 49th birthday. (Impossible without the love and support of L’Ancienne Belgique, a longtime supporter of JJ’s concerts over the years in Belgium.)

"Virthulegu Forestar" was one of his first recordings released. Beautiful minimalism—primitive yet effective. It had only been performed in Reykjavik and Oslo, but the last time was over 15 years ago. Mainly because of the expense of the production; JJ never cut corners when it came to his art, luckily for the rest of us….”