Release Date: October 30, 2026
Label: Sony Music Denmark
Format: Studio Album | 34 min | 11 instrumental tracks
Genre: Acoustic piano, electronic, experimental
See Instructions began with three performers and three instruments. Working with contemporary dancers Íris Ásmundar and Karítas Lotta, Magnús Jóhann arranged a Rhodes electric piano, an Ondes Martenot and an ARP 2600 synthesiser in a triangle.
Through improvisation, music and movement became a story about three office workers attempting to activate a machine whose purpose remained unclear.
See Instructions
See Instructions is the 10th solo studio album by Magnús Jóhann, released on 30 October 2026 by Sony Music Denmark. The album runs approximately 34 minutes, featuring 11 instrumental tracks that blend Acoustic piano, Electronics and Experimental Soundscapes and turn them into one cohesive and breathtaking storyline.
Premiered at State of the Art in 2024, the stage work developed into an album of sombre piano, electronic drones and fragmented beats. Titles including Reading the manual, Following instructions and Didn’t work carry its dry humour into the record. Produced by Grammy-nominated and OPUS KLASSIK Award-winning Bergur Þórisson, it was released on 30 October 2026 through Sony Music Denmark.
The accompanying 11-minute film, produced by Comrade Film and directed by Asra & Kiljan, features Magnús alongside Íris and Karítas. It extends the office setting with a nod to Norse mythology through Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld, premiering at Reykjavík’s Bíó Paradís on 7 November as an official partner event of Iceland Airwaves 2026.
Magnús discovered the Ondes Martenot through Radiohead and Jonny Greenwood’s film music. Its touch-sensitive volume control and ring-operated pitch offered possibilities unavailable to a pianist: shaping sustained notes, gliding between pitches and introducing vibrato. He commissioned an Ondéa, a modern version that arrived in 2024, and travelled to Paris to study. He has since commissioned repertoire, composed for it himself and used it in orchestral work and an improvisational collaboration with double bassist Bára Gísladóttir.
Track listing
All compositions by Magnús Jóhann.
Reading the manual
Following instructions
Not working
Trying something different
This should do it
Didn’t work
Don’t give up
Slam (instructions unclear)
Something’s happening
The instructions
That’s all for today
Personnel
Magnús Jóhann - composer, production
Bergur Þórisson – production
