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Ólafur Arnalds

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Born in 1987, Ólafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometres outside of Reykjavík. He has immersed himself completely in a world of delicate symphonic compositions generating near weightless orchestral pieces. Arnalds explores the crossover from classical to pop by mixing chamber strings and piano with discreet electronics which makes him a perfect fit for cinematic pop label Erased Tapes. His motivations are clear: “The classical scene is kind of closed to people who haven’t been studying music all their lives. I would like to bring my classical influence to the people who don’t usually listen to this kind of music…open people’s minds.”

This young artist is steadily gaining recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut ‘Eulogy for Evolution’. The 2008 follow-up EP ‘Variations of Static’ earned Ólafur acclaim from both the contemporary and classical field – transcending a traditional divide by uniting their ideals. After filling London’s world-famous Barbican Hall, fellow Icelanders Sigur Rós invited Ólafur to open their most recent European shows, playing to an audience of over 5,000 per night.

In April 2009, Iceland’s neo-classical export created the 7-song series ‘Found Songs’ – recording a song a day for 7 days and instantly making each track available via Twitter. With artwork contributions from fans via Flickr, this modern release awakens memories of a tradition that seemed lost in the digital age we live in.

Tagged as:

ambient, icelandic, instrumental, post-rock, classical
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Top Albums

Eulogy for Evolution
Ólafur Arnalds
Buy at Erased Tapes Online Store (£11.99)
Found Songs
Ólafur Arnalds
Buy at Erased Tapes Online Store (£9.99)
Variations of Static - EP
Ólafur Arnalds
Buy at Erased Tapes Online Store (£8.99)
Variations of Static
Ólafur Arnalds
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Top Tracks

1	Raein full track	1,321
2	0952 full track	1,295
3	0040 full track	1,267
4	Ljósið full track	1,264
5	Lost Song	1,258
6	Erla's Waltz	1,256
7	3055 full track	1,221
8	Fok full track	1,186
9	Romance	1,153
10	1440 full track	1,049
11	3326 full track	1,048
12	Allt varð hljótt	1,015
13	Faun	956
14	1953 full track	870
15	0048/0729 full track	625

Shoutbox

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duzguneser wrote:
Monday morning

Brotsjór

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smilejeka wrote:
Sunday afternoon

its awesome! the mix of nu classical and post-rock is something!

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kaplain wrote:
Saturday evening

ambient minimal piano music http://stephane.horeczko.free.fr/music_127.htm

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Neoptolemo wrote:
Friday evening

Really good!

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Give_You_Hell wrote:
Friday evening

his music defies description

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ChewLego wrote:
Friday evening

come to russia in summer or to goteborg until 2011,please want to heat u alive somehow

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ChewLego wrote:
Friday evening

helped me alot ehen i split up with my gf was sad at first,deaperare and frustrated,but then your music taught me being calm and think about all this shit incredible music,best ever for sure

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valeks86 wrote:
Friday afternoon

Definitely 3055

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the_ryecatcher wrote:
Friday morning

3326 is just awesome

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ankcupu wrote:
Thursday evening

wonderful :)

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Lineman95 wrote:
Thursday evening

Mosfellsbær is beautiful city, Island is beautiful, his music is beautiful.

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parker__ wrote:
Wednesday morning

http://www.lastfm.com.br/music/%C3%93lafur+Arnalds/+images/39652967 (:

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LOSTFREEQ wrote:
last week

very calm and nice

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berry_dreams wrote:
last week

words can't describe what i feel, when i'm listening to his music

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Stereo_Silence wrote:
last week

these sound... oh, these sound is full by naked emotions! These sound is key to my own core...

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SquirrelieGirle wrote:
last week

Oh Ólafur, you've gotten me through some tough times!

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snap2244 wrote:
last month

said that the new album title will be "...and they have escaped the weight of darkness", darker ?

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darkwalker1 wrote:
last month

quite possibly some of the most beautiful music that I have ever heard in my entire life- all of his discs are superb

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Saomy wrote:
last month

beautiful :)

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pablo774 wrote:
last month

awesome music

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See all 958 shouts

Videos

Featured Tracks

	3055 full track	5:24
	Ljósið full track	3:28
	Fok full track	4:28

See all tracks

Events

Mar 20 Ólafur Arnalds Centro Párraga, Murcia, Spain
13 shouts | 25 attendees
May 7 Friction Festival Astra, Berlin, Germany
49 shouts | 313 attendees

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Listeners

daydreaminpixie
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to Romance
Njosnavelin2702
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to Raein
arturovito
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to Ljósið
no-onelistening
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Arruena
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Recent Activity

beckymeow, cenkertunc, jp75-35 and 3 other people added Ólafur Arnalds to their libraries. yesterday evening
jalojik tagged Ólafur Arnalds with ‘instrumental’. yesterday evening
bubp, nidentyfikator, GoedeltoGentzen and 1 other person added Ólafur Arnalds to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
hunkydoris tagged Ólafur Arnalds with ‘seen live’. yesterday afternoon
Niam1, mikromirka, saadiddy and 1 other person added Ólafur Arnalds to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
SkoobyDo tagged Ólafur Arnalds with neoclassical, instrumental, icelandic and one other tag. yesterday morning
TolxloT, hiljaabrittany, milancharles and 6 other people added Ólafur Arnalds to their libraries. yesterday morning
silentfaerie shared Ólafur Arnalds with moonomad. Monday afternoon
Me_vs_Hero tagged Ólafur Arnalds with violin, classical, post-rock and 2 other tags. Monday afternoon
and 4 other people added Ólafur Arnalds to their libraries. Monday morning