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Artist: Olafur Arnalds
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Olafur Arnalds:

We Didnt Know We Were Ready feat. Talos

Featuring Ye Vagabonds, Niamh Regan and a choir of friends, the song is a celebration of creativity and community and a powerful reminder of uncertainty, sorrow and beauty of life

Today, Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds and the late Irish musician Talos (Eoin French) are releasing the striking single “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready.” The song marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the two artists and was co-written alongside Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds at Sounds from a Safe Harbor (SFSH) festival & artist residency in 2023. Listen to the song here.

“We Didn’t Know We Were Ready” was finally fully recorded after Talos’ untimely passing in August 2024 and poignantly features Talos’ lead vocals alongside contributions from his friends, family and collaborators: Sandrayati, The Staves, JFDR, Memorial, Christof van der Ven, Laoise Leahy, Niamh Regan, Ye Vagabonds, Myles O’ Reilly, Ross Dowling, Eoin’s wife Steph French and Icelandic orchestra, SinfoniaNord. This single is a testament to their enduring bond forged through music.

A masterful melding of the writers’ deft and emotional songwriting, “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready”
is a powerful reminder of the uncertainty of life: "This song was always an expression of community and creativity. But with Eoin’s untimely passing, it has now taken on meanings we could never have imagined back when we wrote it," said Arnalds. "Barely a day goes by where I don’t think about how fortunate we are to have this platform to channel our grief into."

Olafur Arnalds:

And We'll Leave It There feat. Ella McRobb

Grammy-nominated composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds releases ‘and we’ll leave it there…’, the result of an unlikely encounter between the Icelandic composer and unsigned rising singer-songwriter Ella McRobb connecting by chance through social media. The 23-year-old Londoner was inspired and moved by Ólafur’s short sound check improvisation posted on Instagram reel, which grew into a global viral hit, reaching 2.2 million views and counting. Collaboration is the cornerstone of Ólafur’s work, who lists 2023 BRIT Award nominee Bonobo, Nils Frahm and RY X as collaborators amongst others.

This release of  ‘and we’ll leave it there…’ is the tale of two musical talents coming together through social media to create something special, and resonates like a modern day collaboration story for Ella McRobb. Moved by Ólafur’s music, Ella decided to improvise her own lyrics to one of the Icelandic composer’s improvisations to tell her personal experience on loss and heartbreak.

Wearing her heart on her sleeve, Ella added her soulful vocals to the piece creating a heart-wrenching new composition. Without expectation, ahead of playing netball, absolutely unaware of Ólafur and the colossal dimension of his body of work, she shared it on TikTok, using the duet feature of the platform. Stunned by the quality of the resulting creation and Ella’s talent, Ólafur reached out to her, starting an exchange of voice notes and zoom calls which then developed into a full-on collaboration. In less than two weeks, he offered her the opportunity to record a studio version and film a music video in Iceland.

Olafur Arnalds:

Sunrise Session II

Ólafur Arnalds has released an EP that includes his Grammy nominated singles, recorded live - Loom (nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording) and The Bottom Line ft. Josin (nominated for Best Arrangement, Instruments & Vocals). Sunrise Session II is out via Mercury KX.

Ólafur Arnalds is an artist that plays comfortably, but innovatively, in the space between classical and electronic. As the first modern classical composer to be nominated for the Best Dance/Electronic Recording Grammy, the trailblazing artist has released the live audio from his popular Sunrise Session. First recorded in 2020, the session embraced the juxtaposing genres found in his work (watch the session, here).

The stunning ‘Sunrise Session II’ EP is a tribute to lighter days ahead that was recorded on the shortest day of the year – the Winter Solstice in 2021 – at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Iceland. Ólafur himself features on piano for his top streamed tracks with labelmate Josin on vocals and thirteen brilliant musicians from the Reykjavík Recording Orchestra.

Olafur Arnalds:

Invisible

Ten years on, and after demands from his loyal fan base, Ólafur Arnalds has released The Invisible EP, out today. The profound contemporary artist behind Broadchurch and some kind of peace originally crafted the music for a historical documentary, The Invisible Front. The never-before released music was re-discovered in Ólafur's musical archive, like many things, in the heart of lockdown.

Of the EP, Ólafur says, "I wrote the music on The Invisible EP for a film score over 10 years ago. While sorting through some unreleased material I found these songs buried on an old hard drive. It's a funny thing, looking back on your own music. Since I wrote these so many things have changed, in the world, in my career, in my life. But still they resonated with me and I hope that they do with you as well. So, after 10 years on the shelf, here is a time capsule from a different era."

Olafur Arnalds:

a sunrise session

On Sunrise Session Ólafur Arnalds covers four songs from some kind of peace' in a completely acoustic performance arranged for OA's string quartet. The session was filmed last December 21, 2020, the Winter Solstice, also the shortest day of the year, and you started in complete darkness and finished as the sun finally rose into daylight. 

Spiral   

Still Sound   

Back To The Sky ft. JFDR  

We Contain Multitudes   

Olafur Arnalds:

Island Songs

Icelanders make up one of the most musical nations on earth with one of the highest rates of ensembles per capita in the world. How do the beautiful yet harsh Icelandic conditions affect their music-making? In Island Songs, the innovative and brilliant composer Ólafur Arnalds (BAFTA Award winner for Broadchurch) teams up with director Baldvin Z (BBC's Trapped, Life in a Fishbowl) to explore the vibrant artistic life of his fellow countrymen and women in a fascinating, real-time, audio-visual portrait of his home country of Iceland.

Olafur Arnalds:

some kind of peace

'some kind of peace' is the stunning new album from the ground-breaking composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds, available now on Mercury KX. The record features a brand new track 'The Bottom Line' ft. Josin, alongside a beautiful video featuring the work of Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto out today, and 'Loom', Arnalds' collaboration with Bonobo. Also out now is 'finding some kind of peace', a very special behind the scenes film about the new album.

Ólafur has been confirmed as the closing act for Iceland Airwaves' virtual festival, ‘Live from Reykjavík', on November 13th, where he will perform mostly new material played live for the very first time. Ólafur's music will also play a major role in the forthcoming Netflix documentary on Shawn Mendes, 'In Wonder', which is set to be released on November 23rd. Ólafur has also recently surpassed a staggering 1 billion streams, an incredible milestone for the Icelandic multi-instrumentalist.

Olafur Arnalds:

re:member

BAFTA winning artist, composer, musician and producer Ólafur Arnalds has unveiled his new track ‘re:member' featuring his ground-breaking new software, Stratus, which transforms the humble piano into a unique new instrument. It is released today Friday April 6 along with a brand new music video. Ólafur will be performing The Stratus Pianos across the world later this year, including a sold-out date at London's Royal Albert Hall and New York City's Le Poisson Rouge on June 30 (full US tour dates below).

Olafur Arnalds:

Broadchurch - The Final Chapter

While avid US fans await the return of Broadchurch to BBC America this year, they can get a taste of the "bona fide national obsession" (Entertainment Weekly) in BAFTA-winning composer Ólafur Arnalds' brand new soundtrack for the third and final season, Broadchurch: The Final Chapter. His atmospheric music sets the scene for the third and final series of the hit ITV drama, starring David Tennant and Olivia Coleman.