About this item

In 1964, a computer - the IBM 1401 Data Processing System - arrived in Iceland. The computer's memory emitted strong electromagnetic waves and by programming the memory in a certain way and placing a radio receiver next to it, melodies could be coaxed out – captured by the receiver as a delicate, melancholy sine-wave tone. When the IBM 1401 was taken out of service in 1971, it wasn't simply thrown away like an old refrigerator. Instead it was given a little farewell ceremony, almost a funeral, when its melodies were played for one last time. This 'performance' was documented on tape, along with recordings of the sound of the computer in operation. Upon hearing about this in 2001, Jóhann started to write music which responded to those themes, basing it on those thirty year old recordings of the IBM 1401 computer, ultimately collaborating with choreographer Erna Ómarsdottir to produce a piece that has since been shown all around Europe, in more than forty cities. Now the music has been recorded and the last song of the IBM 1401 can be preserved.