The Apparat Organ Quartet is an Icelandic band founded in 1999 by Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hörður Bragason, Músikvatur and Úlfur Eldjárn.
[audio:Apparat organ quartet – the anguish of space-time.mp3]The sounds heard on the albums of AOQ come from a vast collection of antique synthesizers, Farfisas, Hammonds, home-organs, cheap portable keyboards and all sorts of malfunctioning machinery. AOQ use old discarded technology, home organs and cheap consumer cast-offs often salvaged from garbage dumps and then customized by the band for the rigors of live use.
Their passion for out-moded musical machines and ancient communication technologies is clearly reflected in their collaboration with TF3IRA, a trio of ham radio enthusiasts. This performance, documented on the Kitchen Motors CD “Motorlab 2”, featured an enormous electric sound sculpture involving shortwave receivers and morse code transmissions mixed in with the organ quartet’s ethereal soundscapes.
The band was originally conceived as part of a series of improvised concerts organized by Kitchen Motors, a record label and art collective founded by Jóhann Jóhannsson, Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir, and Hilmar Jensson.
Apparat Organ Quintet | Macht Parat Den Apparat
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=4hNMY8ZCSOY
Apparat Organ Quartet is also part of a collective of Reykjavik-based musicians that includes members of Sigur Rós, Múm, Kanada, Trabant, Funerals, Slowblow and others. A number of these acts share members, and have collaborated on other projects.
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Apparat Organ Quartet LIVE
12 Tónar Records
Dj: Falko Teichmann
Sunday, 18 September 2011 | 20:00 CET
Volksbühne | Linienstraße 227 | 10178 Berlin/Mitte
www.apparatorganquartet.com | www.12tonar.is | www.volksbuehne-berlin.de
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