Eðvarð Egilsson ICELAND
Photo By: Thomas Kolbein Bjørk Olsen, Berlinkontoret
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Eðvarð is the winner of the 2024 HARPA Nordic Film Composers Award for his composition in Anna Hints' "Smoke Sauna Sisterhood" - The score is made in collaboration with the Estonian composing group Eeter
Words from the International jury: he score that the jury has chosen as this year’s HARPA recipient, is very special. Special, not only because it is the result of a cooperative process between the composer and the director, but also because it is melting together human voices, rhythmic, yet fleshy sounds. Giving an earthy, earnest and poetic smoke to the film. The score for Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is made as a collaboration between the Icelandic composer Edvard Egilsson and the Estonian electronic folk trio, Eeter – the director of the film, Anna Hints also being one of the 3 members. Read more about it here. Words from the national Icelandic jury: It is special and rare to witness an interaction of the music with all the elements that make up this multilayered storytelling that is tender, honest, heartrending and which extends an invitation to the audience to participate in the process of cleansing and purification. The music is woven out of the fabric of the film and the tradition that inspired it. The music interacts with subtle sound-design and with the visuals and words it becomes a unique experience where the end result is much greater than the sum of its parts. National Jury: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Hilmar Oddsson, Margrét Örnólfsdóttir and Pétur S. Jónsson. |
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HARPA Nominated in 2023 with Pall Ragnar Palsson for their work in Tinna Hrafnsdóttir's "Quake"
Music, memory and feelings are intricately linked. This has been the essence of rituals that have been celebrated since the beginning of civilization. Music and sound have been used to trigger emotions in a variety of situations ranging from cathartic expressions of sympathy, grief, love to the salivating dogs of Pavolv. In film history there are numerous examples where music has been a prime mover and even an invisible character as in Miklós Rózsa’s music for “Spellbound” and David Raksin’s haunting theme for “Laura” to cite two enormously influential examples. Páll Ragnar Pálsson and Eðvarð Egilsson know their music history, technique and evade all pitfalls that an unmeasured approach might invite. The music comes out of the main character and her inner self that is repressed and hidden. It becomes the voice of the neurons and the inner turmoil that in lesser hands might invite cliché upon cliché. Every note is controlled and there for a reason. Every nuance finds its way into the music but never gives anything away and only illustrates what is there. This is Zen in the Art of Film Music. A subtle masterpiece from two composers at the pinnacle of their powers, using their accumulated experience in various forms and expressions of music in a purposeful and wonderfully creative way. |
ABOUT THE SCORE & COMMENTS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL JURY Coming to Iceland. With Páll Ragnar Pálsson and Eðvarð Egilsson‘s score for SKJÁLFTI | QUAKE, we are once again facing an artist album. Subtle, describing the main character and her inner repressed and hidden self the music becomes the voice of neurons and inner turmoil. Created in the tradition of Miklós Rózsa and David Raksin this music can have a long life. |
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Eðvarð Egilsson is a composer hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland. He studied piano and percussion, fine tuning his skill and love for music from an early age. Eðvarð is driven by his passion for music production and classical composition. With his electronic influence deeply rooted in synthesizers and sound manipulation, Eðvarð creates comples musical narratives that are rife with emotion by using a variety of rhythmic cadences, from soft-forming musical waves to hard-knocking tunes.
Eðvarð is a founding member of the music group Steed Lord, in which he was the music producer. Formed in 2006, Eðvarð and Steed Lord have performed and collaborated with many well-known artists all over the world. After residing in LA for 8 years, working in the music and film industry, Eðvarð moved back to Iceland and graduated in classical composition from the Iceland University of the Arts. Some notable work includes original score for Quake (2022) co-composed with Páll Ragnar Pálsson, television series Líf Kviknar/Líf Dafnar (2018-2022), Útsendig soundtrack for The National Theatre of Iceland, solo project Kíruma, and numerous commercail works for clients such as Mercedes-Benz. Onwards, Eðvarð is wrapping up his upcoming debut solo album, scoring a new true crime series in Iceland. An Estonian film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023) supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. |