Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbaer, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the former drummer for Hardcore punk and metal bands Fighting Shit, Celestine, and others. In 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 Ros 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.
In April 2009, Ólafur composed and released a track daily for seven days, instantly making each track available within 24 hours. Also in 2009, Ólafur formed an experimental techno project, entitled Kiasmos with Janus Rasmussen from the Icelandic electro-pop band Bloodgroup, announcing his electronic debut album in 2014. In October 2011, Ólafur started another seven-day composition project similar to Found Songs, this one entitled Living Room Songs. The project was released as an album in December 2011.
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. Also In 2013, Ólafur composed the score for the 2013 ITV series Broadchurch, for which he won the 2014 BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Original Music.
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 Frederic 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. 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.
In 2020, Ólafur was nominated for a Emmy for his title theme to the TV series Defending Jacob. In 2021, he was nominated in two categories at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. “Loom (feat. Bonobo)” was nominated in the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category and “The Bottom Line” was nominated in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals category. Both songs appear on his fifth studio album Some Kind of Peace (2020).
