Ólafur Arnalds: Island Songs

Icelandic pop/classical musician Ólafur Arnalds has already made an impression with his projects "For Now I Am Winter" and "The Chopin Project" with pianist Alice Sara Ott. For his new album "Iceland Songs", the multi-instrumentalist and composer is now embarking on a unique musical journey of discovery across his home country of Iceland. Over the course of seven weeks, Ólafur Arnalds recorded one track each at seven different locations on the rugged volcanic island with a wide variety of local musicians and artists, inspired and influenced by the regional characteristics. His moving journey brought him together with musical companions such as Of Monsters And Men front woman Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and the poet Einar Georg Einarsson, among others. The result is a multi-faceted homage to Iceland's culture and its people, full of different colors and fascinating stories that captivate the listener. Ólafur Arnalds was also accompanied by director Baldvin Z, who captured all 7 tracks in atmospheric videos, which are now being released on DVD together with the album. The album also contains a new bonus track "Study for Player Piano". "Island Songs" was released in 2016 and is the innovative brainchild of BAFTA award-winning composer Ólafur Arnalds and acclaimed film director Baldvin Z (BBC's Trapped, Life in a Fish Bowl). Ólafur Arnalds traveled to seven cities across Iceland where he collaborated with seven local artists, creating, recording and performing a new composition with the artists in each location. The next day he delivered the audio and video recordings. Mercury Classics then released an audio track and a live performance video every Monday. "Island Songs" was a real-time, interactive project created in the digital space and delivered via a bespoke website. Arnald's loyal fan base was able to follow him on his travels via Facebook livestreams, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Apple Connect. Ólafur's journey was also recorded by renowned film director Baldvin Z. The seven weeks resulted in an hour-long music film with conversations about music, history and identity that paints an impressive musical portrait of her homeland. At the time of its release, Island Songs was the most ambitious project Ólafur had ever undertaken, both creatively and logistically.