Ólafur Arnalds: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Iranian musician}} |
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{{about||the soil and environmental scientist|Ólafur Arnalds (scientist)|the female singer|Ólöf Arnalds}} |
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{{Icelandic name|Ólafur|surname}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} |
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{{Infobox musical artist |
{{Infobox musical artist |
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| name = |
| name = hafez Niknafs |
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| image = |
| image = https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Hafez_Niknafs.jpg |
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| alt = |
| alt = Hafez Niknafs in 2021 |
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| caption = |
| caption = Hafez Niknafs in 2021 |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1997|09|01}} |
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| birth_place = [[Kerman]], [[Iran]] |
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| instrument = santoor,piano |
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| genre = [[Film score]], [[neoclassical music|neoclassical]], [[Experimental music|experimental]], [[electronica]], [[Ambient music|ambient]] |
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| instrument = Piano, drums, guitar, [[banjo]] |
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| genre = [[Film score]], [[classical music|classical]], [[Experimental music|experimental]], [[electronica]], [[Ambient music|ambient]] |
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| occupation = Musician, composer, record producer |
| occupation = Musician, composer, record producer |
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| years_active = Early |
| years_active = Early 2008s–present |
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| label = [[ |
| label = [[Sheed Records|sheed records]] |
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| associated_acts = [[Kiasmos]], [[Nils Frahm]], [[Alice Sara Ott]], Janus Rasmussen, [[Heaven Shall Burn]], |
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| website = {{url|olafurarnalds.com}} |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Ólafur Arnalds''' ({{IPA-is|ˈouːlavʏr ˈartnalts}}; born 3 November 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from [[Mosfellsbær]], Iceland.<ref name="myspace">{{cite web |url=http://www.headphonecommute.com/exclusive/olafur_arnalds/olafur_arnalds.htm |title=Ólafur Arnalds: Beautiful the Same way the Arctic is |publisher = Headphone Commute}}</ref> He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop.<ref name=tokafi>{{cite web|last=Fischer|first=Tobias|title=Interview with Olafur Arnalds II|url=http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/interview-olafur-arnalds-ii/|work=Tokafi|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> He is also the former drummer for [[Hardcore punk|hardcore]] and [[heavy metal music|metal]] bands Fighting Shit, Celestine, and others. |
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In 2009, Ólafur also formed an experimental techno project, entitled [[Kiasmos]], with Janus Rasmussen from the Icelandic electro-pop band Bloodgroup, announcing his electronic debut album in 2014. |
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==History== |
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===Early life=== |
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Ólafur's grandmother introduced him to the music of Frédéric Chopin from an early age.<ref>https://www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/interviews/olafur-arnalds</ref> |
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===Early career (2004–2007)=== |
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In 2004, Ólafur composed and recorded the intro and two outros for tracks on the album ''[[Antigone (album)|Antigone]]'' by German metal band [[Heaven Shall Burn]]. On his Facebook page, he described how he got to know them: "I was playing drums in a hardcore band and we were supporting the German metal band Heaven Shall Burn on their Icelandic tour. Being a huge fan, I gave them a demo with some very overly dramatic prog-rock songs I had been making at home – it was not so classic like this but had some badly computerized strings and piano in it. A few months later they contacted me asked if I would write some intros and outros for their new album, but only with the piano/strings elements – So I wrote my first classical pieces. Their album was a big success in Europe and a few months later I got a phone call from a label asking 'would you be interested in making a full album with compositions like this?' I hadn't really considered continuing writing music like this, but said yes."<ref>{{cite web|last=Arnalds|first=Olafur|title=Song from the past #6|url=https://www.facebook.com/olafurarnalds/posts/462594400427734|work=Facebook|accessdate=22 August 2013|date=1 September 2012}}</ref> |
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===''Eulogy For Evolution'' and ''Variations of Static'' (2007–2008)=== |
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On 12 October 2007, Ólafur's first solo album ''[[Eulogy for Evolution]]'' was released. It was followed by the EP ''Variations of Static'' in 2008. In the same year, Ólafur toured with [[Sigur Rós]] and his second collaboration with Heaven Shall Burn, the album ''[[Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance)]]'', was released. He is also reported to have sold out The Barbican Hall in London.<ref name="myspace"/><ref name=wm>{{cite web|title=EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS – Ólafur Arnalds|url=http://weirdmusic.net/olafurarnaldsmusic.htm|work=WeirdMusic.net|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> |
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===''Found Songs'' and ''Dyad 1909'' (2009)=== |
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In April 2009, Ólafur composed and released a track daily for seven days, instantly making each track available within 24 hours from [http://foundsongs.erasedtapes.com foundsongs.erasedtapes.com]. The collection of tracks was entitled ''Found Songs''. The first track was released on 13 April. |
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In October 2009, the ballet ''[[Wayne McGregor#Dyad 1909|Dyad 1909]]'' premiered with a score composed by Ólafur which was also released as an EP.<ref name=wm /> |
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Also in 2009, Ólafur formed an experimental techno project, [[Kiasmos]], with Janus Rasmussen from the Icelandic electro-pop band Bloodgroup. They released a joint EP with Ryan Lee West of the [[Electronic dance music|EDM]] project Rival Consoles entitled ''65/Milo''. |
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===Second studio album and ''Living Room Songs'' (2010–2011)=== |
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In April 2010, Ólafur released a new album entitled ''...And They Have Escaped The Weight of Darkness''.<ref name="facebook">{{cite web |url= https://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/olafurarnalds?v=feed&story_fbid=272151700674 |title=Ólafur Arnalds' Facebook page |author=Ólafur Arnalds |accessdate=2010-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dempster|first=Gemma|title=Olafur Arnalds|url=http://supersweet.org/main.aspx?atype=1&aname=Music_SongXSong_Olafur_Arnalds&con=1&sc1=0&sc2=0|work=Supersweet Zoo|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> During 2010 Ólafur also went on a well-received Asian Tour organised by China-based promoter [[Split Works]]. |
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On 3 October 2011, Ólafur started another seven-day composition project similar to ''Found Songs'', this one entitled ''Living Room Songs''. The tracks were made available at [http://livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com/ livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com/] each day throughout the week. The project was released as an album on 23 December 2011.<ref name="erasedtapes">{{cite web | url=http://www.erasedtapes.com/Store/Index/ERATP037 | title=Ólafur Arnalds – Living Room Songs | work=Erased Tapes | accessdate=2011-10-05}}</ref> |
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2011 also saw the release of Ólafur's remix of [[Mr Fogg]]'s track "Keep Your Teeth Sharp" on the EP of the same name. |
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===''Another Happy Day'', ''Two Songs For Dance''... (2012)=== |
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In 2012, Ólafur announced a new partnership with the [[Universal Music]] label Mercury Classics.<ref name=MercuryClassics>{{cite web|title=Ólafur Arnalds|url=http://www.mercuryclassics.com/artists/profile/olafur-arnalds/|accessdate=20 April 2014}}</ref> |
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2012 saw four releases from Ólafur; his score for [[Sam Levinson]]'s film ''[[Another Happy Day]]''; an EP entitled ''Two Songs For Dance''; the second EP from his experimental techno project [[Kiasmos]] and another EP entitled ''Stare'' with German pianist [[Nils Frahm]]. |
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Also in 2012, his song "Allt varð hljótt" was used in the score and the soundtrack for the film ''[[The Hunger Games (film)|The Hunger Games]]''.<ref name=imdb>{{cite web|title=Ólafur Arnalds|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4263872/|work=IMDb|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> |
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"Til enda" was used in a trailer for the 2012 film ''[[Looper (film)|Looper]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ads, Trailers and Promo Placements|url=http://www.nettwerk.com/film-tv/ad-trailer-promo|work=Nettwerk Music Group|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=bloomberg>{{cite web|last=Grant|first=Sarah|title=Olafur Arnalds Demands Quiet, Hears Riff in Movie Score|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-21/olafur-arnalds-demands-quiet-hears-riff-in-movie-score.html|work=Bloomberg|accessdate=1 March 2014|date=20 October 2013}}</ref> |
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===''For Now I Am Winter'' and further scores (2013–2014)=== |
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Ólafur released his third studio album entitled ''For Now I Am Winter'' in February 2013. Four tracks featured vocals from Arnór Dan of the Icelandic band [[Agent Fresco]]. This was the first time Ólafur incorporated vocals into any of his released work. |
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More recently, he composed the score and end-credits track for the 2013 [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] series ''[[Broadchurch]]'' (again featuring the vocals of Arnór Dan<ref name=nyt2>{{cite news|last=Hale|first=Mike|title=A Murder Haunts a Rugged Coast|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/arts/television/broadchurch-a-dark-drama-arrives-on-bbc-america.html?action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults%25230&version=&url=http%253A%252F%252Fquery.nytimes.com%252Fsearch%252Fsitesearch%252F%253Faction%253Dclick%2526region%253DMasthead%2526pgtype%253DHomepage%2526module%253DSearchSubmit%2526contentCollection%253DHomepage%2526t%253Dqry986%2523%252Folafur+arnalds|accessdate=1 March 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Langlais|first=Pierre|title=Le chant de "Broadchurch"|url=http://www.telerama.fr/series-tv/le-chant-de-broadchurch,108740.php|work=Télérama|accessdate=1 March 2014|language=French|date=17 February 2014}}</ref>), for which he won the 2014 [[British Academy Television Craft Awards|BAFTA TV Craft Award]] for Best Original Music. |
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Ólafur also composed the score for Ron Krauss' film ''[[Gimme Shelter (2013 film)|Gimme Shelter]]''. |
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''For Now I Am Winter'' was used in the pilot of the 2013 US TV show ''[[Masters of Sex]]''. |
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Ólafur Arnalds has been involved with various other projects and his music appears in many films, television shows and advertisements. His songs have been featured on ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]'' in multiple seasons.<ref name=mercury>{{cite web|title=Ólafur Arnalds|url=http://www.mercuryclassics.com/artists/profile/olafur-arnalds/|work=Mercury Classics|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> He also spoke at length on the subject of fan-submitted art in the 2011 documentary film ''Press Pause Play''.<ref name="presspauseplayyoutube">{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YTH9h-a80k | title=PressPausePlay – Ólafur Arnalds Interview | publisher=YouTube}}</ref><ref name="presspauseplaypdf">{{cite web | url=http://www.presspauseplay.com/media/static/PressPausePlayPresskit.pdf | title=Press Pause Play Press Kit | work=Press Pause Play}}</ref> |
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In 2014 Ólafur announced his electronic debut album in collaboration with Janus Rasmussen under his project [[Kiasmos]]. |
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===''The Chopin Project'' and further projects (2015)=== |
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In 2015 Ólafur collaborated with German-Japanese pianist [[Alice Sara Ott]] on ''The Chopin Project'', which was a release to introduce an exciting new take on the music of [[Frédéric Chopin]]. Arnalds chose a program of Chopin works to create an emotional arc throughout the album and then composed linking sections for string quintet, piano, and synthesizer based on the atmosphere and motifs of those pieces.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chopin Project|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chopin-Project-%C3%93lafur-Arnalds/dp/B00SJ9UEPU|website=Amazon|accessdate=4 January 2017}}</ref> |
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''The Chopin Project'' began as a dedication to Ólafur’s grandmother, in some respects. Out of respect for her, a younger, metal-loving Ólafur would sit with her to listen to Chopin’s work whenever they had visited one another. At her deathbed, Ólafur said “she was just lying there, old and sick, but very happy and proud. And I sat with her and we listened to a Chopin sonata. Then I kissed her goodbye and left. She passed away a few hours later.”<ref>{{cite web|last1=Frahm|first1=Jonathan|title=The Chopin Project|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/191703-lafur-arnalds-alice-sara-ott-the-choping-project/|website=Pop Matters|accessdate=4 January 2017|date=2 April 2015}}</ref> |
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In 2015, Ólafur's collaborations with Nils Frahm, ''Life Story Love and Glory'' (a completely improvised recording) and ''Loon'', were collected on a double CD entitled ''Collaborative Works'' along with 2012's ''Stare'' and a live improvisational film entitled ''Trance Frendz - An evening with Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bedian |first1=Knar |title=Interview: Ólafur Arnalds and Pianos That Go Bleep Bloop |url=http://soundofboston.com/interview-olafur-arnalds/ |website=Sound of Boston |publisher=Sound of Boston |accessdate=21 December 2018}}</ref> 2015 also saw the full release of his work on ''[[Broadchurch]]''. |
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===''Island Songs'' (2016)=== |
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In June 2016 Ólafur announced his ''Island Songs''<ref>{{cite web|title=Island Songs|url=http://www.islandsongs.is/|website=Island Songs|accessdate=4 January 2017}}</ref> project, which would involve him working with director Baldvin Z and travelling to seven different locations in Iceland over seven weeks, collaborating with seven different artists. Each week the audio and video for each track would be released, culminating in the final track, "Doria", being released on 8 August 2016. |
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List of tracks with collaborators: |
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#"Árbakkinn" (ft. Einar Georg) |
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#"1995" (ft. Dagný Arnalds) |
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#"Raddir" (ft. South Iceland Chamber Choir) |
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#"Öldurót" (ft. [[Atli Örvarsson]] & SinfoniaNord) |
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#"Dalur" (ft. Brasstríó Mosfellsdals) |
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#"Particles" (ft. Nanna Bryndís from [[Of Monsters and Men]]) |
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#"Doria" |
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"Particles" ft. Nanna Bryndís from [[Of Monsters and Men]] was premiered on [[Zane Lowe]]'s [[Beats 1]] show on 1 August 2016, making it the first classical track featured on that station. |
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===''re:member'' (2018)=== |
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[[File:Olafur with Stratus Pianos.jpg|thumb|With Stratus Pianos at Iceland Airwaves, 2018]] |
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Ólafur's fourth official solo album, re:member, was released in August 2018. The album featured his ground-breaking new musical system called Stratus. The Stratus Pianos are two self-playing, semi-generative player pianos which are triggered by a central piano played by Arnalds. The custom-built software was born out of two years of work by the composer and audio developer, Halldor Eldjarn. As Arnalds plays a note on the piano, two different notes are generated by Stratus, creating unexpected harmonies and surprising melodic sequences. |
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The algorithms generated from Stratus were also used to create the album artwork. In an interview with ''[http://soundofboston.com/ Sound of Boston]'' Arnalds explains that the artist, Torsten Posselt from FELD studios, used the Stratus software as a starting point and made his own software that translated the same MIDI signals used for the music. Each dot corresponds to a piano note in the title track: 88 fields correspond to 88 notes; the thicker the dot, the higher the frequency of that note being played.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bedian |first1=Knar |title=Interview: Ólafur Arnalds and Pianos That Go Bleep Bloop |url=http://soundofboston.com/interview-olafur-arnalds/ |website=Sound of Boston |publisher=Sound of Boston |accessdate=21 December 2018}}</ref> |
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List of tracks with collaborators: |
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#"re:member" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"unfold" (Ólafur Arnalds & SOHN) |
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#"saman" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"brot" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"inconsist" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"they sink" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"ypsilon" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"partial" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"momentary" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"undir" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"ekki hugsa" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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#"nyepi" (Ólafur Arnalds) |
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He composed the main theme for the [[Apple TV|Apple +]] mini series [[Defending Jacob (miniseries)]]. |
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==Personal life== |
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Ólafur's cousin [[Ólöf Arnalds]] is also a well-known singer/songwriter. |
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Ólafur is a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Jae-Ha|title=Go Away With … Olafur Arnalds|url=http://www.jaehakim.com/travel/go-away-with/go-away-with-%E2%80%A6-olafur-arnalds/|website=Jae-Ha Kim|accessdate=4 January 2017|date=18 January 2011}}</ref> |
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Ólafur's favourite classical composers are [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], [[Shostakovich]] and [[Arvo Pärt]].<ref>https://www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/interviews/olafur-arnalds</ref> |
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Ólafur lives in Indonesia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ólafur Arnalds - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=E9tnLMV7m3s?t=853}}</ref> |
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==Discography== |
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===Albums=== |
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* ''[[Eulogy for Evolution]]'' (2007) |
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* ''...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness'' (2010) |
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* ''For Now I Am Winter'' (2013) |
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* ''re:member'' (2018) |
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* ''Some Kind of Peace'' (2020)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/olafur-arnalds-some-kind-of-peace-album-review |title=Amidst a chaotic year, Ólafur Arnalds delivers a unique serenity |work=The Line of Best Fit |date=2 November 2020 |accessdate=5 November 2020 |author=Cromb, Dan}}</ref> |
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===Extended plays=== |
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* ''Variations of Static'' - EP (2008) |
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* ''Only the Winds'' - EP (2013) |
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===Singles=== |
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* "Two Songs for Dance" (2012) |
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* "Old Skin" (2013) |
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* "Kinesthesis I" (2016) |
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* "RGB" (2016) |
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* "Re:member" (2018) |
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* "Unfold" (2018) {{small|(with [[Sohn (musician)|Sohn]])}} |
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* "Ekki Hugsa" (2019) |
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* "Oceans" (2020) {{small|(with [[Ry X]])}} |
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* "Back to the Sky" (2020) {{small|with [[JFDR]])}} |
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* "Woven Song" (2020) |
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* "Loom" (2020) {{small|(with [[Bonobo (musician)|Bonobo]])}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kenneally |first=Cerys |date=15 October 2020 |title=Ólafur Arnalds and Bonobo unite for new single 'Loom' |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/olafur-arnalds-and-bonobo-unite-for-new-single-loom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031162529/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/olafur-arnalds-and-bonobo-unite-for-new-single-loom |archive-date=1 November 2020 |accessdate=1 November 2020 |website=[[The Line of Best Fit]]}}</ref> |
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===Collections=== |
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* ''Found Songs'' (2009) |
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* ''Living Room Songs'' (2011) |
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* ''Island Songs'' (2016) |
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===Soundtracks=== |
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* ''Dyad 1909'' (2009) |
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* ''Blinky TM'' (2010) |
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* ''Jitters'' (2010) |
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* ''[[Another Happy Day]]'' (2012) |
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* ''[[Gimme Shelter (2013 film)|Gimme Shelter]]'' (2013) |
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* ''Vonarstræti/Life in a Fishbowl'' (2014) |
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* ''[[Broadchurch]]'' (2015) |
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** "Not Alone" - Single (2015) from ''Broadchurch'' |
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* ''[[Defending Jacob (miniseries)|Defending Jacob]]'' (2020) |
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===Collaborations=== |
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* ''A Hundred Reasons'' - Single (2010) with Haukur Heiðar Hauksson (lead singer of [[Dikta]]) |
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* ''Stare'' - EP (2012) with [[Nils Frahm]] |
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* ''The Chopin Project'' (2015) with [[Alice Sara Ott]] |
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* ''So Far'' - Single (2015) with Viktor Orri Árnason, Laufey Jensdóttir, Björk Oskardsdóttir, Sólveig Vaka Eyþórsdóttir, Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason & Hallgrímur Jónas Jensson |
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* ''Life Story / Love and Glory'' - Single (2015) with [[Nils Frahm]] |
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* ''Loon'' - EP (2015) with [[Nils Frahm]] |
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* ''Trance Frendz'' (2016) with [[Nils Frahm]] |
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* ''Say My Name'' - Single (2016) with [[Agent Fresco|Arnór Dan]] |
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===Mixtapes=== |
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* ''[[Late Night Tales]]: Ólafur Arnalds'' (2016) |
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== See also == |
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*[[List of ambient music artists]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commons category}} |
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* {{official website|http://olafurarnalds.com/}} |
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* {{IMDb name|id=4263872}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnalds, Olafur}} |
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[[Category:1986 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Icelandic composers]] |
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[[Category:Icelandic electronic musicians]] |
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[[Category:Mercury KX artists]] |
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[[Category:Television composers]] |
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[[Category:Erased Tapes Records artists]] |
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[[Category:Nettwerk Music Group artists]] |
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Revision as of 06:38, 6 August 2021
hafez Niknafs | |
|---|---|
Hafez Niknafs in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1 September 1997 Kerman, Iran |
| Genres | Film score, neoclassical, experimental, electronica, ambient |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | santoor,piano |
| Years active | Early 2008s–present |
| Labels | sheed records |
