Doug Aitken Workshop presents a special live performance by Bjarki. Bjarki Rúnar Sigurðarson—known professionally as Bjarki—is an Icelandic musician, sound programmer, provocateur, and label founder. His work defies easy categorization, moving between techno, IDM, ambient, and experimental electronic music, often challenging conventional structures and expectations. This special event will further immerse viewers in the film’s world.
ABOUT BJARKI
Bjarki Rúnar Sigurðarson—known professionally as Bjarki—is an Icelandic musician, sound programmer, provocateur, and label founder. His work defies easy categorization, moving between techno, IDM, ambient, and experimental electronic music, often challenging conventional structures and expectations. Bjarki first gained international recognition through his releases on трип (Trip recordings), playing a key role in helping establishing the label with his EP's and albums, Arthur And The Intergalactic Whales (2015), B (2016), and Lefhanded Fuqs (2016), which showcased his intricate, often chaotic sound design. His breakout track, I Wanna Go Bang, became an underground anthem. Rather than follow its success, Bjarki deliberately distanced himself from predictable techno formulas asserting himself as an artist driven by exploration rather than trends. His 2019 album, Happy Earthday marked a shift toward more melodic and environmentally reflective compositions, further solidifying his reputation as a restless innovator.
In 2022, Bjarki launched Differance, his own label, as a platform for conceptual releases and uncompromising artistic projects. His latest album, A Guide to Hellthier Lifestyle (2025), continues his engagement with provocation and satire, offering a darkly humorous critique of wellness culture through immersive, hypnotic electronic compositions. Blending the absurd with the profound, the album refuses easy interpretation, questioning contemporary obsessions with self-optimization and digital-age spirituality.
Beyond recorded music, Bjarki is rethinking live performance, stepping away from the traditional club and festival circuit. In 2025, he will perform only during seasonal transitions, aligning his music with natural cycles rather than industry schedules. His interest in old pagan traditions and the role of sound in communal rituals informs this shift. He explores how chants, frequencies, and collective experiences once connected people, long before music became a commodity. This approach positions him in direct contrast to the commercialization of electronic music, emphasizing time, place, and shared presence over market-driven performance culture. Bjarki is expanding his work into film and experiential realms. His involvement in cross-disciplinary projects signals a continued departure from conventional electronic music spaces, creating performances and installations that merge sound, movement and visual storytelling. Bjarki thrives in unpredictability and unconventional approaches which constantly continues to evolve and shaping his next chapter on his own terms.