OMG… IT’s a miracle
This film takes the viewer on an intimate, guided introduction to the vibrant Icelandic music scene, focusing on composers and performers who have crossed the line from popular music to the world of concert halls, opera houses and classical labels such as Deutsche Grammophon. Iceland is hot-house of musical innovation and while Björk is without doubt it best-know representative, many other have followed in her footsteps, fearlessly erasing all boundaries to make new music that is now performed and hailed around the world.
Anna Þorvaldsdóttir
“With her music’s humbling vastness and depth of colour, [Thorvaldsdottir] is a force to be reckoned with.” – Gramophone
Anna Thorvaldsdottir trained as a cellist and began composing at a young age. She studied composition at Iceland Academy of the Arts, and later at the University of California, San Diego. Her compositions have been performed by orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Recordings of her work have been released by Deutsche Grammophon and Sonos Luminus.
Hildur Guðnadóttir
“An artist who defies classification and disregards traditional generic boundaries, Icelandic cellist, singer and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir has earned a unique place on the contemporary music scene thanks to her virtuosity, versatility and originality.” – Deutsche Grammophon
Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir is a classically trained cellist and a composer. She has received various accolades, especially for her film scores, including an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards, two Critic’s Choice Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Recordings of her work are released by Deutsche Grammophon.
“Iceland’s composers and musicians are busy breaking down the barriers between classical and popular genres.”
Ben Frost
“The influential Bedroom Community label: a lightning rod at the juncture where the ambition of classical music meets the aesthetics of indie music.” – Pitchfork
Ben Frost is an Australian-Icelandic musician, composer, record producer, sound designer, and director. He founded Bedroom Community, a Reykjavík-based record label and a global collective of artists from different musical and cultural backgrounds, working in new classical, alternative and experimental music.
Bára Gísladóttir
“She does to the double bass what Hendrix did to the electric guitar, using it to coax out thrillingly strange new sounds.” – The Guardian
Composer and double bassist, Gísladóttir has released several albums, most recently SILVA via Sono Luminus. She is an active performer and regularly plays her own music, solo or with her longtime collaborator Skúli Sverrisson. Her music has been performed by ensembles and orchestras such as The Danish National Symphony Orchestra, The Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Gyða Valtýsdóttir
Gyða crosses and bridges the gap between musical genres in a unique way, not least by dismissing any notion of their differences. – Jury of the Nordic Council Music Prize
Gyða Valtýsdóttir is an Icelandic musician and multi-instrumentalist and winner of the 2019 Nordic Council Music Prize. She was an original member of the experimental music group Múm and has released four full length solo albums, created music for films, installations, theater and dance.
Jónsi
“There's nothing remarkable or weird or special about how we do things. I think we just maybe see things differently from other people.” Jónsi, interview in The Guardian
Jónsi gained international recognition as the lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic experimental rock band Sigur Rós, whose unique sounds have been equated with the sublime. Jónsi’s unequivocal vocal and instrumental approach have expanded the boundaries of musical genres, rendering him one of the leading musical artists of our time.
Kjartan Sveinsson
Kjartan Sveinsson is a composer, musician and performer, who first came to prominence as a member of Sigur Rós. He played keyboards and guitar in Sigur Rós, as well as being responsible for the band’s frequent arrangements for strings, brass, choir and orchestra. He has also composed orchestral and choral works that have been released as sheet music as well as film scores, and has collaborated with artists such as Ragnar Kjartansson.
Daníel Bjarnason
Daníel Bjarnason’s music has been described as “coming eerily close to defining classical music’s undefinable brave new world” – Time Out New York
Conductor and composer Daníel Bjarnason has been artist in residence with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips Eindhoven, and co-curator of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Reykjavik Festival. He has been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Rambert Dance Company, Britten Sinfonia, Jennifer Koh, So Percussion, Calefax and the Calder Quartet. His versatility has also led to collaborations with a broad array of musicians outside the classical field including Sigur Rós, Brian Eno and Ben Frost. His first opera, Brothers is based on a film by Susanne Bier. It was premiered by the Danish National Opera and has also been performed by the Icelandic Opera.
Meet THe MAKERS
Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon
Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon’s first documentary was broadcast in 1993 and he has since directed or produced dozens more and collaborated with artists such as Sigurður Guðmundsson, Erró, Lars von Trier and Yoko Ono. His second feature film will premier in the spring of 2023.
Ari has a long-standing interest in modern and contemporary music and has made documentaries on the Icelandic composers Jórunn Viðar and Magnús Blöndal. In 2005 he released a feature-length documentary film on the Icelandic music scene, Screaming Masterpiece, with producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson. Many of the artists that appeared in that film are also featured in their current collaboration, OMG … It’s a Miracle, showcasing their development in the two decades since.
Sigurjón Sighvatsson
Sigurjón Sighvatsson is a seasoned film producer, director, musician and visual artist. has worked with some of the most successful filmmakers in the industry, including David Lynch, Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Sheridan and Julian Schnabel. Among his films are Brothers, Z for Zachariah and Killer Elite, as well as classics such as Wild at Heart, Arlington Road, and Basquiat, and he recently produced the biopic on Hilma af Klint, the Swedish artist discovered 20 years after her death who is now understood to be the earliest abstract painter. His cooperation with Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon on the current film, OMG … It’s a Miracle, is the follow-up to their earlier film, Screaming Masterpiece.
