Daniel Wohl & Máni Sigfússon: drift
World premiere music video
Wed, Jan 26, 6–8:30 pm projected onto Highlight Tower & available Jan 27–Feb 6 on The Great Northern’s YouTube channel
In partnership with New Amsterdam Records
Featuring the iSing Silicon Valley Choir
The Great Northern presents the world premiere music video, drift—a collaborative work between “sorcerer of electroacoustic music” (NPR) composer Daniel Wohl and Icelandic director/videomaker Máni Sigfússon. drift is a multilayered exploration of breath and air: breath as a primal, life-sustaining function and air as the element that unites all of us alive today, expressed in a five-minute multimedia combination of treble choir, electronics, acoustic instruments, and video.
“Given what we all experienced these past few years, this piece could have been very somber. But I wrote Drift during a period of some hope, as people seemed to be emerging somewhat from the pandemic. Even so, I did want to recognize the intense sadness and the melancholy of this time, and wanted the music to reflect the idea of constantly being tossed between hope and despair.” —Daniel Wohl
Featuring performers iSing Silicon Valley Choir (vocals), Viktor Orri Árnason (violin/viola), Timothee Loo (cello), Garth Neustadter (saxophone), and Jon Lloyd (additional production).
About the artists:
Máni Sigfússon is a Reykjavik-based video artist who has created work for artist such as Sigur Rós, the Rolling Stones, and Ólöf Arnalds. His work has a trademark of dark aesthetics and ranges from films to music clips and live visuals.
Daniel Wohl's music blends electronics with acoustic instrumentation to often "surprising and provocative effect" (NPR). He has produced albums, orchestral and chamber works, film, television and ballet scores, and has received critical praise as one of his generation’s "imaginative, skillful creators" (New York Times) making music that is "beautiful and original" (Pitchfork). His music has been programmed by the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The London Contemporary Orchestra, among others.