Description
Label Review.
2016 album.
Our Overview.
Olafur stated prior to the release of this album, that he was to travel to 7 towns across Iceland where he intended to collaborate with 7 local artists, and at each location he was to create, record and perform a new composition with the artists. He explained in press releases "I will deliver the audio and video the following day." And that Mercury Classics would release one audio track and one live performance video, each Monday. And he did.
The Icelandic producer and composer Olafur Arnalds and a cast of collaborators has released his ambitious new project 'Island Songs'. For seven weeks, Arnalds recorded each piece in a unique location in Iceland with local musicians including a music teacher, a brass band, a choir and the singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, from Of Monsters and Men.
A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer who has released several albums and EPs of neo-classical post-rock on the London-based Erased Tapes label, in addition to scoring several films and television programs Olafur comments on his new album: “I always want to make everything sound perfect, but I also know that perfection doesn’t necessarily make for good music. So these projects grew out of an internal fight with myself, a need to create something spontaneous and improvised” and “It’s a passion project of mine to create a portrait of Icelandic music that’s not just what the tourist board promotes. I want to paint a picture of small town communities, because I find it to be interesting that these people don't strive to become rock stars, but to serve a role in their communities. They're organist, choirmaster, and so on, and I want to examine these connections in this project. In less abstract terms, I wanted to go out to the countryside, meet people, make music with them, and record and distribute it as quickly as possible.”
It is indeed an outstanding and graceful album. In it’s stripped down purity, chilled out presence and understated mood, it will take you on a melodic journey one that will haunt your very soul, paint a unique portrait of Icelandic music and it’s communities and leave you all the better for embarking on that journey with him. Stunning!