Biography

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Skúli Sverrisson started playing music professionally at only 14 years old. After performing on many popular Icelandic records, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. Following his studies, he moved to New York. Skúli has built a unique international career, on one hand as a composer and on the other as a collaborator with a very broad spectrum of international artists.

Skúli worked closely with artist Laurie Anderson for over a decade. He has played with free jazz legends such as Wadada Leo Smith and Derek Bailey, performed with revolutionaries like Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian and Arto Lindsay, and collaborated with new music composers and performers such as Anthony Burr, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Sidsel Endresen.

Skúli is known for his bass playing on the records of Blonde Redhead, his work as the producer of records by Ólöf Arnalds, and for his collaborative work with trumpet player Arve Henriksen and the famous vocal group Trio Mediæval. This summer he completed a duo-record with Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Rós).

Skúli has composed and produced music for The National Theatre of Iceland and Iceland Dance Company. Recently, he produced a multi-speaker sound installation featuring the Icelandic cult band HAM for the exhibition of Shoplifter at the Venice Biennale.

In the world of film, Skúli has collaborated with many screen composers, notably Jóhann Jóhannsson and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Skúli frequently collaborated with Jóhann, for example on his composition "Virðulegir forsetar" and his scores for Sicario and Mandy. Skúli was also a member of Ryuichi Sakamoto's touring band and co-composed the track "Glacier" featured in Sakamoto's score for The Revenant.

Skúli has twice been a soloist with The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and has additionally composed a song cycle for the orchestra and Ólöf Arnalds's voice. Also in the sphere of classical music, Skúli has had a fertile work relationship with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. He has written new music for him, performed with him, and created remixes of his recordings for Deutsche Grammophon.

Among professional accolades, Skúli has won the Icelandic Music Awards seven times for his compositions and performances. Skúli has performed on over 150 records and played all over the world. His latest release is a duo-record with the legendary Bill Frisell, where they play Skúli's compositions
- IMDb mini biography by: innimusic.