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Arnalds Ólafur
biography / portrait
 
Fragile, emotional, classical indie music would maybe be the best term to describe Ólafur Arnalds’ music. Combining classical instrumentation with an indierock aesthetic there are obvious comparisons to Sigur Ros, but Arnalds is sculpting his own epic, string-laden compositions.


Ólafur is just 20 years old, hails from the suburbian town Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometers out of Reykjavík. Besides his soloproject, Ólafur plays drums in two hardcore bands, Fighting Shit and Celestine, and he also plays piano, banjo, guitar and drums in his friend’s soloproject, My Summer as a Salvation Soldier. His first solo album, “Eulogy for Evolution”, has been highly praised by the media and local music fans in Iceland and has already created quite a buzz around Europe and even all the way to Japan despite several delays of it’s release. The album is finally being released in Europe, USA and Japan by Progression Records and in the UK by Erased Tapes Records in autumn 2007


Ólafur recently supported american indie-rock band Cursive on a tour around Germany. Despite the musical differences of the two bands, the tour went really well and the audiences were amazed by the unexpected slow-building and hauntingly melodic chamber music, accompanied by electronic ambience, loops and sometimes heavy electronic beats.

(source: www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds)