In this feature we ask mainstays of the indie establishment who they think will be the next big act to break. 

This time we speak with composer, multi-instrumentalist and contemporary classical innovator Ólafur Arnalds.

Having grown up in the quiet Icelandic suburb of Mosfellsbær in the 1990s, Arnalds has since become one of the key figures within the burgeoning neo-classical space, recasting the genre for an audience who weren’t necessarily schooled in this famously elitist tradition. Employing strings, piano, and most critically, synthesisers in his transcendent compositions, Arnalds gestures towards an age in which classical and electronic forms aren’t antagonistic but harmonise, even overlap entirely.

Highlights from this 32-year-old’s decade-long career include the heartbreaking For Now I Am Winter; the out-and-out techno of his Kiasmos project (alongside electronic brother-in-arms Janus Rasmussen); the reverent homage to Chopin (in collaboration with Alice Sara Ott); a string of diverse releases with his “trance frend”, Nils Frahm; and the collaborative exploration of Iceland’s rich music traditions on Island Songs. The one-time drummer of hardcore bands Fighting Shit and Celestine has even found time to soundtrack a few feature films and TV shows (such as the critically acclaimed serial crime drama, Broadchurch, for which he won a BAFTA). Indeed, the list of evermore inquisitive and powerful recordings to which Arnalds has contributed is a long one, which is why it’s all the more impressive that his most recent release, re:member, might stand out as his most compelling work yet.

re:member is an experimental, sophisticated and keenly stirring piece of music, centred around a suite of undulating, superhuman piano lines. As it turns out, the roots of these confounding melodies are to be found in a custom-built piece of software called Stratus, developed by Arnalds and computer programmer Halldór Eldjárn. What we hear on this record is, in fact, the mesmerising interplay between the keys Arnalds plays and those of two self-playing, semi-generative player pianos. Augmented by strings, synths and live percussion, re:member shrewdly exploits all the benefits of technological advancement while retaining a glimmering and thoroughly human core.

Once a complete unknown, now a global neo-classical ambassador, we caught up with Arnalds to familiarize ourselves with the emerging artists he’s most excited about at the moment. Here’s what he had to say…

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JOSIN



Josin is a German singer and producer, her voice sometimes reminds me of a female Thom Yorke - completely unique and emotive. I’ve been waiting for her debut album since 2014 and it’s finally taking form!



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TOM ADAMS



Young Berlin based artist who does crooner piano pop with the prepared piano and the fragile sound of classically influenced modern composers.



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JFDR



Solo project of the singer from Samaris, an Icelandic indie electro band. Her song ‘My Work’ was one of the highlights of 2018 for me.



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re:member is out now via Mercury KX.

-Karl Jawara

(Ólafur Arnalds Photo Credit: Benjamin Hardman)