Pitchfork

Born in the late 1950s, the IBM 1401 was a clunker-- and presumably, so was its user manual. Nearly 50 years later, Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has crafted his own sonic ode to the massive machine with IBM 1401, a User's Manual, his debut record for 4AD.

The disc, due October 24 in the U.S. and October 30 in the UK, is inspired by the work of Jóhannsson's father, Jóhann Gunnarsson, once a maintenance engineer for one of Iceland's first computers. Jóhannsson originally put together the piece for a string quartet to accompany a dance by Erna Ómarsdóttir, and reworked it for a sixty-piece string orchestra for the album.

For v2.0, Jóhannsson added a final movement incorporating, according to a press release, "electronics and vintage reel-to-reel recordings of a singing IBM 1401 mainframe computer found in his father's attic." 1333337.

An early version (from the quartet days) of the finale, non-album track "Passacaglia" will back a "The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Turned Black" single, which hits UK shops via 4AD on October 9. Following the album's release, Jóhannsson will launch a short tour of the UK and Belgium. He'll also play the Iceland Airwaves festival on October 21.

IBM 1401, a User's Manual:

01 Part I: IBM 1401 Processing Unit
02 Part II: IBM 1403 Printer
03 Part III: IBM 1402 Card Read-Punch
04 Part IV: IBM 729 II Magnetic Tape Unit
05 Part V: The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Gone Black

A Jóhannsson tour:

10-21 Reykjavik, Iceland - Frikirkjan (Iceland Airwaves Festival)
11-19 Ghent, Belgium - Vooruit
11-20 Leuwen, Belgium - STUK
11-23 Norwich, England - Arts Centre
11-24 Huddersfield, England - Contemporary Music Festival
11-25 North Yorkshire, England - The Shed
11-26 Oxford, England - Zodiac
11-27 London, England - Cargo
11-28 Brighton, England - Komedia