Árni Grétar Jóhannesson passed away on January 3, 2025. Better known under his performing name Futuregrapher, Árni was a mainstay in the Icelandic electronica scene both as an artist and a label operator. He was 41 years old.
Árni began making music as a teen and one of his first albums, under the name DJ Dorrit, came out as far back as 2003 (in 2023 he re-released it on his own label, and I reviewed it HERE). In 2011 he co-founded the label Möller Records as a way to provide an outlet for local electronic musicians. He was also the face of three labels that made significant waves on Bandcamp – Móatún 7 (2018), Intellitronic Bubble (2019), and most recently Mooncuts (2024). The sheer volume of releases on these labels is staggering given their DIY nature – we’re talking hundreds of physical media releases, across multiple formats, over a six year period, most of them put out in very small quantities that sold out almost immediately to a dedicated cadre of followers. I myself have 32 different physical releases on Móatún 7 and Intellitronic Bubble, and I can promise you that still makes me an outsider in that world.
Over the past year Árni had been very open about his long-standing metal health challenges. He did some fundraising on Bandcamp to help with his treatment, selling some one-of-a-kind items from his archives, and I picked up a number of them to lend some support. He was always incredibly grateful and also generous.
The outpouring of grief, and later celebration, from those who knew Árni was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Did he truly know the depth of feeling so many people felt toward him? So many artists cited him as an influence and a mentor. A seven-hour memorial concert was held last month featuring 23 artists paying tribute to their friend, and Möller Records put out a 30-track double CD, with all the proceeds earmarked for Árni’s sons, Jói and Krummi.
The CD, entitled Farewell Futuregrapher, is a tremendous collection of electronic music, much of it by Icelandic artists but also with a smattering of others who either collaborated with Futuregrapher directly or who had been released on one of his labels. It’s difficult to clearly describe something like this using a single genre, but there is a heavy emphasis on ambient and lightly experimental compositions, sprinkled with hints of IDM and even a bit of dub. There’s just so much here to like – over 2.5 hours of music from artists like Skurken, ThorF, Stereo Hypnosis, Steve Sampling, Bistro Boy… there’s not a single track on here you could possibly want to skip.
I encourage you to check out Farewell Futuregrapher on the Möller Records Bandcamp page HERE. And whether you buy the digital release or the CD, know that the money is going to a good cause and you’re giving a little something back to those who need it.