There’s a fascination with mood which belongs only to composer Johann Johannsson. It’s different from Vangelis, Jan Hammer and Stewart Copeland.

With news of Johannsson’s passing, we are left with an unusual legacy, one that the twin spaces of time and circumstance might render in a new light.

Such controversial artistry naturally attracted its share of negative press. While some film music critics denied the value of Johannsson’s tone poems on CD, there was little denying the impact felt in context.

Personally, I found his music for Sicario to be a refreshing experience -- tense, alert, unpredictable and never dull.

I would love to have witnessed the next phase in Johannsson’s evolution. He felt things and expressed them in his music from a personal vantage point.

One could compare him to a war photographer able to create images of pain, victory and rebirth. While these were not always the easiest emotions, we were left with impressions both firm and gentle.

I shall remember him fondly.

Johann Johannsson (1969-2018)