Adam Wiltzie & Johann Johannsson

ADAM WILTZIE & JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON – FRIENDSHIP SURVIVAL GUIDE

Jóhann Jóhannsson and Adam Wiltzie met in 2007 in Prague, where Jóhannsson was recording for his Fordlandia album. Soon after the two became friends and started working together. Wiltzie was a regular part of Jóhann’s live band, and his sound engineer, even when the popularity of the Stars Of The Lid skyrocketed and after he founded A Winged Victory For The Sullen with Dustin O’Halloran.

The two were not only very good friends, but also shared their musical vision. Between 2013 and 2017 they recorded sessions for Jóhannsson’s score for the 2014 Stephen Hawking biopic ‘The Theory Of Everything’, and for Dennis Villeneuve’s 2017 sci-fi movie ‘Arrival’. Jóhannsson scored a Golden Globe for the first, and a Academy Award for the second.

Stems and parts of these sessions are used for Friendship Survival Guide (subtitled For Tape Loops, Drones, And Orchestra), which is Wiltzie’s tribute to his friendship with Jóhannsson, who tragically passed in 2018. It took Wiltzie quite a few years before returning to these tapes and start working on it – with the blessing of Jóhannsson’s family.

Some of the original analog tape loops remain as the were recorded, but other pieces required additional recording. Here is where Tim Hecker and composer Bryan Senti join in – as well as engineer Steve Albini who, in Wiltzie’s words “recorded, blasted and amped” many of the guitar parts.

The result is a mixture where all of these ingredients can be heard. You can recognize Wiltzie’s influence in the typical ‘Stars Of The Lid’-sound, the controlled distortion that characterizes Tim Hecker’s sound, and – of course – compositional fragments from Jóhannsson himself.

Together they add up and merge into a new, coherent style – a style that is different than that of its contributors solo. This is not an attempt to strictly recreate the music of Jóhann Johannson. it feels more like the combined result of these great artists working together.

But above all, it is an album about lasting friendship – and the loss of it when a friend is lost.
Wiltzie: “I’m still dealing with his loss. At the same time, it feels great to be finishing this music. Because you can feel Jóhann’s presence. It’s this living, breathing thing, a beautiful reminder. […] Jóhann’s not there anymore, but this artifact we created together, is alive and it’s incredible. I could never have done it without him.”

As much as I love the music on this album, I must say I do have some doubts about the cover image it comes in. Why choose an image like this for an album like this? What is the message here? I would have loved to read something about this in the liner notes, but couldn’t find any explanation for this.