Oscar-nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was, unfortunately, found dead in his Berlin apartment at the young age of 48. Jóhannsson was born September 19, 1969 in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. He remained there throughout his schooling, studying both literature and languages. He also played guitar and began to play with indie rock groups, starting his music career. Then, Jóhannsson began a music label called Kitchen Motors in 1999, designed to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. He also founded the Aparat Organ Quartet that same year.
Jóhannsson began his solo career in 2002 with the release of his album Englaborn - based on music written for a theatrical piece of his. On the album, Jóhannsson played string instruments and then processed them through digital filters. Two years later, he released two albums, and then one a year for the next four years. His next solo album would not be released until 2015, though Jóhannsson kept busy during the intervening years making a name for himself in Hollywood.
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Due to his career in Hollywood, Jóhannsson had a manager in Los Angeles - Tim Husom. It was Husom, on behalf of Redbird Music Management, announced Johannsson's death over the musicians official Facebook page earlier today.
The first film that Jóhannsson composed the score for was the Chinese movie Mystery. From there he moved to Hollywood and made a name for himself with the music to the Hugh Jackman lead thriller, Prisoners, in 2013. Just one year later he won a Golden Globe for Best Score for his work on the multiple award-winning movie, The Theory of Everything. Jóhannsson was also nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Grammy for his score to the film. He followed up his success with with the independent romance, Lovesong. Next, he wrote the score to Arrival, once more being nominated for the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for his music, and winning Composer of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards. Just last year he was the music and sound consultant on Darren Aronofsky's mother!.
After a six year break from solo albums, Jóhannsson released two more albums. His music can also be heard on numerous film soundtracks from around the world. And he worked on the music for three more films which have not been released yet but will be shortly: Mandy, The Mercy, and Mary Magdalene. At this time, the cause of Jóhannsson's death at such a young age is unknown. His talent for music heightened the experience for audiences of several films, and it's a tragedy that he was taken so soon.