Music Monday: Ólafur Arnalds

Ólafur Arnalds has a new album, a collaboration with Talos: A Dawning. It is as relaxing, moving, and lovely as always:

Ólafur Arnalds, Talos - A Dawning

I was surprised to find I had not really written about Arnalds much before, despite having recommended him to people many times. For example, this performance recorded in the volcanic wilderness of Iceland is a must-watch on a TV with the sound up:

Ólafur Arnalds live from Hafursey

I love his mix of piano, strings, and some loops & beats. I was really glad I got to see him perform in 2022 in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (where the LA Philharmonic performs!). It’s a lovely venue where there are basically no bad seats and the sound is phenomenal.

(I also appreciated that the show was masks-required,
which was already becoming more rare at that point.)

There were many moving moments. Before the finale, he told the story of how his late grandmother used to sit him down and make him listen to Chopin (while he was wearing his metal and punk shirts) and how influential she was. Then he played “Lag Fyrir Ömmu” which means “song for grandma.” It started out with just him on piano and built until a few strings come in. The song quieted a bit and the string players exited silently out the side stage door, but it was left partway open. He continued playing piano to the end and sat silently for a moment. Then we heard the strings playing again from the side room. It was quieter, of course, but still very clear due to the acoustics of the space. The music was so beautiful and the symbolism really struck me, as if the strings were his grandmother echoing from the other side. It was powerful and gave me shivers.

That song was part of his Living Room Songs project, where they wrote and recorded a song each day for a week. Here’s a performance of that song:

Ólafur Arnalds - Lag Fyrir Ömmu

You might also be familiar with the music he composed for the TV show Broadchurch:

Ólafur Arnalds - Not Alone

Any of his albums are fine to start with, but I recommend Re:member. He worked with an audio developer to make software that would generate additional notes based on what he was playing, creating some interesting harmonies and sequences. (More about this on Wikipedia)

Listen:

• Re:member
• For Now I Am Winter
• Living Room Songs
• A Dawning
• Some kind of peace