Valgeir Sigurðsson: Draumalandið (Bedroom Community)

Valgeir Sigurðsson

Draumalandið

Bedroom Community

May 05, 2010 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

Draumalandið (or Dreamland, in English) offers an entrancing juxtaposition between lush beauty and encroaching drama, which perfectly complements its visual inspiration. The 2009 documentary of the same name focused on the Icelandic government’s plan to build the biggest dam in Europe to provide cheap energy for Alcoa’s aluminum smelter in Iceland’s fjords, all of which eventually led to that country’s uncertain future.

Iceland’s Valgeir Sigurðsson established an international presence in 1998, when Björk brought him in to serve as an engineer and programmer for the soundtrack to Dancer in the Dark. Their working relationship continued through 2006, at which point Sigurðsson formed the Bedroom Community label, through which he has released his own work along with other Icelandic artists.

For Draumalandið, Sigurðsson deployed a small orchestra that varied its approach for each of his compositions, from moving string arrangements to fractious exercises. Some moments of minimalist repetition, as with the ever-shifting “Past Tundra,” add a welcome, dynamic element. As the tension builds to a staggering peak during the closing “Helter Smelter,” one might feel equally reluctant and eager to finally reach the soundtrack’s climax. (www.valgeir.net)

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