Skúli Sverrisson

Kvöldstund með Skúla Sverrissyni þar sem hann mun leika nýtt sólóefni fyrir gesti. Miðaverð kr. 2.500,-

An evening with Skúli Sverrisson where he will play us some of his new material.
Ticket price kr. 2.500,-

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Skúli Sverrisson started playing music professionally at only 14 years old. After performing on many popular Icelandic records, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. Following his studies, he moved to New York. Skúli has built a unique international career, on one hand as a composer and on the other as a collaborator with a very broad spectrum of international artists.

Skúli worked closely with artist Laurie Anderson for over a decade. He has played with free jazz legends such as Wadada Leo Smith and Derek Bailey, performed with revolutionaries like Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian and Arto Lindsay, and collaborated with new music composers and performers such as Anthony Burr, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Sidsel Endresen.

Skúli is known for his bass playing on the records of Blonde Redhead, his work as the producer of records by Ólöf Arnalds, and for his collaborative work with trumpet player Arve Henriksen and the famous vocal group Trio Mediæval. This summer he completed a duo-record with Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Rós).

Skúli has composed and produced music for The National Theatre of Iceland and Iceland Dance Company. Recently,he produced a multi-speaker sound installation featuring the Icelandic cult band HAM for the exhibition of Shoplifter at the Venice Biennale.

In the world of film, Skúli has collaborated with many screencomposers, notably Jóhann Jóhannsson and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Skúli frequently collaborated with Jóhann, for example on his composition “Virðulegir forsetar” and his scores for Sicario and Mandy. Skúli was also a member of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s touring band and co-composed the track “Glacier” featured in Sakamoto’s score for The Revenant.

When Skúli moved back to Iceland from New York, he co-founded the art space Mengi in the center of Reykjavík. He has been the artistic director of the institution since the beginning. Mengi opened in 2013 and has already become the center for new and creative music in the city, featuring three weekly performances of local artists (both established and emerging), as well as international artists of the highest level, including Wadada Leo Smith, Fred Frith, Tim Hecker, Arto Lindsay, Sidsel Endresen, and more.

Skúli has twice been a soloist with The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and has additionally composed a song cycle for the orchestra and Ólöf Arnalds’s voice. Also in the sphere of classical music, Skúli has had a fertile work relationship with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. He has written new music for him, performed with him, and created remixes of his recordings for Deutsche Grammophon.

Among professional accolades, Skúli has won the Icelandic Music Awards seven times for his compositions and performances. He has also twice been nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize, and his name has appeared on the prestigious DownBeat list over 10 times. Skúli has performed on over 150 records and played all over the world. His latest release is a duo-record with the legendary Bill Frisell, where they play Skúli’s compositions.