A Kind Of Visceral Quality: Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Favourite Records | Page 7 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

It’s quite an early work and – again – Messiaen is Messiaen; he has a sound, and there are two or three pieces of his that are particular favourites. ‘Le Banquet Celeste’ is a fairly short one, and a fairly simple one that’s very representative of his style. It refers to the celestial banquet, which is the Holy Communion – when you eat Christ’s flesh and drink his blood – and the dripping of the blood is somehow represented by rhythmic repetitions in the bass notes.

That seems to be one thing uniting this list – a kind of theme of “distinctness”.

Exactly. And Messiaen basically invented a language that didn’t exist before – his way of working with harmony was totally revolutionary.

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