Ólafur Arnalds
Most read
Latest
-
Ólafur Arnalds Nominated For An Emmy Award
Musician and producer Ólafur Arnalds was nominated for an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music’. He recieved the nomination for his work on the Apple TV+ show “Defending Jacob”. The nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards were announced yesterday…
-
Grapevine Playlist: Minimalistic Sam Smith, Salóme Katrín & More
Looking for some new tunes? Presenting the legendary Grapevine playlist. Sam Smith- “To Die For (Ólafur Arnalds Remix)” Ólafar Arnalds’ remix of Sam Smith’s single serves up a minimalistic take on the heartbreaking ballad. Slow, instrumental, and stripped of the beginning’s audio…
-
Grapevine Playlist: Goose Bumps And Some Solid Rock
Bistro Boy – evolve Bistro Boy is definitely our boy. He just released a new EP called ‘evolve,’ and boy, has Bistro Boy done just what the title says. The album is a beautiful ambient-fused electro with a lot of soul. He…
-
PHOTOS: Inside The Grapevine Music Awards Party 2019
The Grapevine Music Awards Party 2019 took place last night at Húrra in downtown Reykjavík. It was packed out, and full of sparky atmosphere, good vibes and beaming faces. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jono Duffy, with Grapevine staff members and…
-
Grapevine Music Awards 2019: Artist Of The Year – Ólafur Arnalds
2018 felt like the year when composer, musician and performer Ólafur Arnalds came into his own and stepped out into the limelight. After years of collaborations, soundtrack work, tours, and a noticeable ever-growing popularity, he dropped his best album to date—the thrillingly…
-
The Grapevine Music Awards 2019: The Winners Are Here!
One of the most common questions asked about Iceland—right up there alongside volcano stuff, the ‘incest app’ and the pissy shark—is “Why do so many great bands come from such a small, remote island?” It’s a tough question. Answers tend to include…
-
This Year’s Must Hears: Our Tracks Of 2018, So Far, Part One
As we drift into autumn and both Airwaves and the end of the year get closer on the horizon, we thought it would be a good time to look back at the Icelandic music that most enthralled, inspired and surprised us over…
-
Airwaves Tipsters 2018: Nostalgia, Memes & Melancholy With Cheryl K. Ang
Cheryl K. Ang works at the Iceland Music office, where part of her job is listening to tonnes of new Icelandic music on a daily basis, while munching down matcha Kit Kats. A panellist at our 2018 Grapevine Music Awards, she’s a…
-
Total Transcendance: Ólafur Arnalds Talks Programming Pianos And Subverting Genres
The trademark of Ólafur Arnald’s music can best be described in the feelings it evokes: stirring, emotional, and perfect in its simplicity. With delicate piano, poised string arrangements and a deft understanding of drama, his work merges the traditions of classical music…
-
Music News: Sónar Reykjavík, Ólafur Arnalds Tours, New Myrkfælni Compilation
Sónar Reykjavík have announced another swathe of bands for the festival’s 2018 lineup. In addition to already-announced artists like Danny Brown, Nadia Rose, Bjarki, Högni, Volruptus, JóiPé x Króli and EVA808, UK bass figurehead Kode9 will perform alongside Lorenzo Senni, Moor Mother,…
-
Ólafur Arnalds’ Island Songs: Embracing The Beautiful Everyday
In the accompanying film to his 2016 album ‘Island Songs,’ Ólafur Arnalds explores “the real culture of Iceland”. The result is a spellbindingly minimalistic portrait of the country’s more remote destinations, which are illustrated by heart-warming anecdotes, personable humour and of course,…
-
Blurred Then Paused: Kiasmos Brighten Up, Then Fade Out
“Janus doesn’t really like doing interviews,” laughs Ólafur Arnalds, one half of the techno duo Kiasmos. He throws open the doors of his dimly-lit studio space, tucked away in a former industrial building on Grandi, and says, in a joking-not-joking tone, “But…
-
Music News: Auto-Tune Thy Drugs
As spring threatened to appear, Icelandic musicians also seemed to come out of hibernation, with a glut of March releases. Downtown rap-lite crew Sturla Atlas, aka the 101 boys, dropped a new mixtape. This time, there are English lyrics, so you can…
-
Music News In Brief: Cyber, Young Karin, Ólafur Arnalds and more!
Írena Sírena is a new single from the up-and-coming alternative pop duo Andy Svarthol, consisting of Egill Viðarsson (of Nóra) and Bjarki Hreinn Viðarsson. The track has garnered much attention and can already be heard frequently on the radio. The duo has…
-
Stranded In Flateyri: Ólafur Arnalds And The Making Of ‘Island Songs’
I arrive at Reykjavík’s small domestic airport early on Midsummer’s Day, for a morning flight to Ísafjörður. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to join the composer and musician Ólafur Arnalds, and his crew, on a trip to the Westfjörds. Our…
-
Ólafur Arnalds Begins Ambitious New Island Songs Project
Icelandic composer and musician Ólafur Arnalds has announced an ambitious new project called ‘Island Songs.’ He’ll travel to different parts of Iceland this summer and record new music live, performing with local musicians from different parts of the country. As Ólafur explains:…
-
Straumur: Icelanders Abroad
For the first time in the history of this column, the Straumur editorial board went outside of Iceland to mine for material, and we did it just for you, dear reader. We travelled to Barcelona for the gigantic and well-respected Primavera Sound…
-
Kiasmos’s Ólafur Arnalds Discusses His Many Lives As A Composer
The city is covered in fresh snow, and flurries keep whitening the windy shores of Reykjavík as we head to Ólafur Arnalds’s studio. Now that we see what he sees when he’s composing, the core of this talented and prolific artist’s music…
-
Ólafur Arnalds Nonplussed By Apple Ad Featuring His Music
Icelandic musician Ólafur Arnalds is a bit taken aback by how Apple chose to use one of his songs in a new commercial. Ólafur is no stranger to composing music for advertisements and movies. Amongst numerous other projects, he has composed music…
-
Airwaves Day Four: Riding Kiasmos’s Wave
The queue to get upstairs at Harpa has tens of people, maybe even a hundred. As I climb those steps, I can feel the Airwaves flu settling in my sinuses—too many late nights, too much partying, too loud music, and more beers than…
-
Poised For Domination, Agent Fresco Celebrate ‘Destrier’
Agent Fresco’s new album ‘Destrier’ starts with a series of disparate sounds that slowly meld into a Tartini tone—that is, when two notes play at a certain frequency, fooling the brain into hearing a third note. Although this extra note doesn’t exist,…
-
Ólafur Arnalds On The Icelandic Music Scene And The Dance Project That Accidentally Happened
Although he may be young in years, 28-year-old Ólafur Arnalds is no stranger to the limelight. He first stepped onto the stage as a drummer for hardcore bands Celestine and Fighting Shit. He then forged a career for himself as a classical…
-
Ólafur Arnalds: “Customs Essentially Telling Us To Fake A Receipt”
Musician Ólafur Arnalds has been unable to pick up a painting, gifted by a friend and sent to Iceland via mail, from the customs office , because an official receipt for the work does not exist, reports Vísir. As the painting was…