Johann Johannsson

Silence can be very effective, and it gives the music space to breathe.

When I make film music, I'm a filmmaker first and foremost. It's about serving the needs of the film. You're telling a story; in a way, you stop becoming a composer and become a storyteller instead. You tell the story with the most appropriate themes. How you approach these things is a very personal matter, but your goal is to tell the story first.

I started out writing music for theatre and contemporary dance, so there has always been a dramatic and narrative element in my music.

I think it took me until - my twenties were really a time of exploration and experimentation with different groups and different types of music. Then I kind of developed the sound, which first appeared, I guess, on my first solo album 'Englaborn,' which came out in 2001.

Music has to be treated in the same way as set design, casting, or choice of location - it has to start at the same time.

For me, what people generally call sound design is just one component of orchestrating a score.