Valgeir Sigurðsson is an Icelandic composer and producer. His music blends contemporary classical writing and esoteric electronic production, sometimes to a point where one is indistinguishable from the other.

Valgeir worked closely with fellow Icelander Björk, a collaboration which began with her Oscar-nominated score for Lars Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark. He founded the Bedroom Community label in 2006 with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, where he cemented his sonic signature with his own solo work on the label, in addition to albums with Muhly, Frost, Sam Amidon and Daníel Bjarnason, and an extensive collaboration with viola da gamba player, Liam Byrne. His 4th LP DISSONANCE won Album of The Year at the 2018 Iceland Music Awards. Valgeir has performed his work internationally at festivals, concert halls and clubs, and The New York Times named Dissonance Live among the top shows of the 2017 Sónar Barcelona Festival. At Greenhouse Recording Studios, founded by Valgeir in 1997, he has been a collaborator with artists from all over the world, including the likes of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Feist, Tim Hecker, Anohni, CocoRosie, Hilary Hahn & Hauschka, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Víkingur Ólafsson and many others, as producer, engineer and arranger.

Valgeir has composed orchestral and chamber music for the likes of the City of London Sinfonia, Winnipeg Symphony, Crash Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Nordic Affect and the British violinist, Daniel Pioro. His scores frequently incorporate the use of electronics and have also been performed by the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra,, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony and many others. He has written music for stage, dance and screen. His film scores include An Acceptable Loss and the Icelandic feature The County, and his score for the environmental documentary Dreamland (Draumalandið) was nominated for best score at EDDA, the Icelandic Film Academy Awards. His collaborations with German director Falk Richter include SAFE at Stockholm’s Dramaten, and Zwei Uhr Nachts at Schauspiel Frankfurt. He produced the music for Robert Wilson’s Edda and has composed for contemporary dance productions by Ballet National de Marseilles / ICK Amsterdam and The Stephen Petronio Company. He lives in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Valgeir’s music is published byFaber Music Ltd, and his recordings are released onBedroom Community.

His name contains the Icelandic character Ð (ð) and should alternatively be spelled “Sigurdsson”.

“Long before there were any Valgeir Sigurðsson albums in the world, many records bore the mark of his masterful production and engineering. […] Sigurðsson owns Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, which is also his home. He finds it important to share space and connect with the musicians who record there. He serves as producer, mixer, engineer, programmer, and composer for artists who record there. […]

Greenhouse Studios is also the nerve center for artists on the Bedroom Community label that Sigurðsson started in 2006. The Bedroom Community roster is a tiny but eclectic grouping of artists, all of whom Sigurðsson works with intimately. The label has fostered the careers of such critically acclaimed musicians as Nico Muhly, Ben Frost, and Sam Amidon. […]

Though Sigurðsson’s genius as a producer/engineer is staggering, the incredible depth of his vision best emerges in his own music. Whether he is crafting solo albums or writing commissioned pieces for orchestras, his works are all as carefully considered as they are deeply felt.”

Drowned in Sound – Erin Lyndal Martin

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“Dissonance embodies, almost by definition, the idea of things falling apart, a feeling of unrest, of issues unresolved, of disagreement. Sigurðsson offers that and more over the course of three symphonic works that are by turns dense and bleak yet magisterial. […]

Sigurðsson applies his engineer credentials […] to the way he composes, and how he meticulously records the Reykjavik Sinfonia. He divides the orchestra up section by section — even instrument by instrument — and records the parts separately; then, like a jigsaw puzzle, puts it all back together in the studio.

With this technique, one could argue Sigurðsson actually conquers the unresolved unrest of dissonance. By harnessing complete control over his soundworld (like Goya did in oils with his disturbing “Black Paintings“), Sigurðsson possesses the power to wield darkness into a singularly mesmerizing art.”

NPR – Tom Huzienga

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