Musicien, producteur et ingénieur du son islandais. Depuis Utopia, il a participé à trois tournées. Il joue du clavier, de la flûte et du violon.
Il a également son propre studio en Islande. En plus de travailler régulièrement avec Ólafur Arnalds, il a fondé un groupe : HUGAR.
our musical director bergur thorisson !
Bergur Thorisson is the musical director for Cornucopia as well as playing various keyboards, trombone, bass clarinet, magnetic harp and electronics on stage. Bergur is an Icelandic recording engineer and producer who recorded both Utopia and Fossora. His musical background was cultivated in his native Iceland where he spent his formative years starting out as a trombone player but eventually working his way into recording studios. He has worked with a big variety of artists including Björk, Sigur Rós, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnars, Damien Rice and more as well as being a part of the touring band for Björk and Ólafur Arnalds. Bergur is also a member of the contemporary classical duo Hugar.
Collaboration avec Björk
- Participation à l’enregistrement d’Utopia
- Tournée Utopia : Trombone et machines
- Tournée Cornucopia : directeur musical et présent aussi sur scène
- Participation à l’enregistrement de Fossora
A propos de son travail avec Björk
How did you get started working with Björk ?
"I actually just got a phone call like, ‘Hey, are you available to work with Björk tomorrow ?’ and I’m like ‘Wow, sure, I can probably move stuff around’.
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She came to me back in 2016 and she said that she wanted some flutes. I said, ‘Sure, how many flutes do you want ?’ and she said, ‘Can we get 12 Icelandic girls (who are) professional flute players ?’ There are 300,000 (girls) that live here, so that’s a pretty tough one, but I managed to find 12 for the album, and we did a bunch of rehearsals in a cabin. It was a really beautiful experience and she made the most beautiful music for the flute players and we rehearsed and recorded it. We called them ‘Flute Fridays’ and we’d go to the bakery to pick up some baked goods. Later, we did a bit of experimenting with fewer flute players and it turned out seven was the perfect number for tour. ”
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Can you tell me about the 50-man Hamrahlid Choir ?
“I used to be in that choir actually, and Björk too. It’s a legendary choir that’s been going on for 50 years, with the same conductor. She’s this amazing, now-old woman who’s kind of like Björk. She has this power over people and you instantly just know she knows what she’s doing. I had experience working with the choir so it was kind of smooth sailing. But, of course, we were taking 50 kids on tour.
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When I took the choir to New York, we only had a month’s notice. We had to buy the flights and they had three days to decide if they were going to go or not. Of course, it’s not ideal in so many ways but what happens when everything is so last minute is that everyone is on their toes and that’s when the real magic happens.
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The shows started in May, which is when many members in school had their exams. We thought, ‘Wow, we’re probably gonna get like ten of them to say yes’, but then almost every single person in the choir made arrangements. They were doing their exams in the embassy in New York, and because of the time difference, they had to show up in the middle of the night and were studying between shows. It was just beautiful to see how much they really wanted to do it and they had so much fun and you know that.”
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Do you have any funny anecdotes ?
“She started talking about, you know, ‘We’re going to have a choreographer and have them dance’, and I’m like, ‘You know we already found seven Icelandic flute players that are ready to go on tour, that are all female – and now you want them to learn the music by heart and dance at the same time ?’
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We sat down with the flute players and told them they had to dance, and they were like ‘Okay, we can memorise the music, but the steps can’t be that complicated.’ What they’re doing right now is a full flat dance routine. It’s not easy, and doing that while playing and memorising all the music is absolutely insane.”Dazed - Novembre 2019
Björk à propos de son travail sur Fossora
it was my blessing to be shut in the pandemic with the incredible bergur thorisson . he is not only an exceptional engineer , a wonderful helper with scores , recording choirs , strings and clarinets but also plays the regal trombone on ovule and has an incredible talent in setting up recording studio in any shed , cabin or hotel room we find ourselves in . but most of all i am grateful for his good natured presence through fossora , his enthusiasm and solid curiosity about music inspired me : thank you bergur ! it is a pleasure to work with you !
warmth ,björk
Anecdote
Tout comme Björk, il a fait partie plus jeune du Hamrahlíð Choir.
