The Visitors - Vinyl, 2016

Hand-signed limited copies of the soundtrack to the globally acclaimed video installation 'The Visitors'

Pressed on 180-gram heavyweight lack vinyl

Following the acclaimed London premiere of Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson's video installation 'The Visitors', The Vinyl Factory and Bel-Air Glamour Records are proud to announce the first release of the artwork's soundtrack.

Mirroring the multi-screen piece, the vinyl is housed in a stunning handmade five-panel duplexed sleeve. Showcasing the photographic stills of the band in situ at Rokeby Mansion, and including multi-fold liner notes by Canadian poet Anne Carson. 

As with most of Ragnar Kjartansson’s performances and artworks, music and creative collaboration with his friends also play a crucial role in ‘The Visitor'. The work’s kernel is a text by the artist Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir, which Kjartansson has assembled from performances of hers and written the music to along with Davíð Þór Jónsson. 

Several musicians and friends from the Reykjavík music scene - Þorvaldur Gröndal, Shahzad Ismaily, Davíð Þór Jónsson, Ólafur Jónsson, Ragnar Kjartansson, Kjartan Sveinsson, Gyða Valtýsdóttir and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, with Richard Aldrich and the Rokeby Choir - perform the song in a variety of settings in the many Rokeby rooms. With the mansion's inhabitants providing backing vocals and cannon fires onto the picturesque porch. Each unique part focuses on a new room and a different musician.

Music recorded by Christopher McDonald. Mixed and mastered by Christopher McDonald and Kjartan Sveinsson. Photos by Elisabet Davidsdottir. Cut by Noel Summerville at 3345 Mastering. Art direction by Ragnar Helgi Olafsson. Released by Bel-Air Glamour Records / The Vinyl Factory, 2016. 

[The labels on sides A and B do not contain track titles or track lengths. The tracks appear to be two different portions of the same performance, at the approximate length of 12:50 for side A and 14:00 for side B. The digital download included is for a single WAV that contains both tracks with one second of silence in between. It is also untitled. The official download on Quobuz is titled “The Visitors”.