Iceland is a nation known for its deliverance of the musical hybrid between classical of the past and contemporary experimentation, and Reykjavik’s Ólöf Arnalds is no exception to that reputation. With many years of classical vocal training, as well as composition and a slew of stringed instrument skills under her belt, this 30 year old has been active in Iceland’s music scene with a number of groups, including electronic-experimental group múm. More recently branching out on her own, Ólöf released her debut album Við Og Við in 2007. That same album recently made its away to the U.K. and United States this past January to much praise, being dubbed Best Album of the Decade by Emusic and ranked in the Top 100 Albums list of Paste Magazine.
Við Og Við is ten tracks of truly transcendent beauty that we personally haven’t heard matched anywhere else. Standing out amid the haphazard single chord progressions that exist in so many of America’s “top bands”, Ólöf Arnalds brings this beautifully crafted album, each song about a specific friend or family member and full of all the emotivism one would expect from such an album concept.
It’s not just the delicate and soulful vocals given by Arnalds that fill the listener with a sense peace-the instruments included in this album’s arsenal succeed in doing the same as well. Implementing such strings as the violin, stroh violin, guitar, and charango gives this Icelander a sophisticated sound one would be hard pressed to find amid the tracks of the Top 40 list.
From the easy, joyful feeling found in the sliding guitar and tremulous “ooh’s” in its opening track, “Englar Og Dárar” to the vocally focused Megas cover “Orfeus Og Evridís” complete with sonorous horns, Við Og Við is an album that demands the listener to treat it as more than wallpaper and drop whatever they’re doing to simply listen.
With the same simple yet symphonic instrumentation of Joanna Newsom, and vocal patterns akin to Björk, Við Og Við showcases Arnalds as comprimable to two the crooners, but also as much more gentle and modestly prolific. While Newsom catches some off guard with her admittedly bizarre vocals and Bjork drips in eccentricity, Arnalds’ craft is one that is subdued without being entirely timid-giving off a sense of quiet, understated confidence as she flawless strums her way though the tracks of Við Og Við.
Ólöf Arnalds recently shared with us that she’s finished mastering her upcoming album Innundir skinni, which has an anticipated 2010 release date for the spring. Already in the midst of creating her third album, Ólöf is also playing out across her native Iceland as well spending some time at SXSW. And what, you might ask, does someone with years of classical training already under their belt do from there? If you’re Ólöf, you take guitar lessons, and that’s something we find impressive as well as a depiction of the type of musician this Icelander is: one that keeps striving for her craft.
Við Og Við is now available everywhere in the U.S. and be on the lookout for Innundir skinni this Spring.
The Icelandic crooner touched base with us this month as she prepared to head to SXSW to talk about her favorite locals, the instruments she wishes she’d played, and music as a whole.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands/musicians, past or present, who would they be and why?
Ólöf Arnalds: I´d like to go on the road with Schubert, Mozart and my closest collaborator, pianist/multi instrumentalist Davíð Þór Jónsson. I’m sure the three of them together would be such a good party. Limitless musicality, exuberance and entertainment. We would have to have a tour bus with a grand piano though which I’m not sure is possible.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Ólöf Arnalds: Good conversations, songs that people request in sing-a-long parties and music with unpredictable, yet emotionally pleasing chord progression.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Ólöf Arnalds: I would love to know how to play any instrument that you blow into since I only know how to play stringed instruments. My ultimate fantasy would be an instrument that you produce the sound with your breath but alternate the pitch by moving your fingers on a string. Don’t know if such a thing exists but if anyone is up for the challenge to make one, let me know.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Ólöf Arnalds: Arthur Russell, Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou and a young Icelandic rock band, Númer núll.
Reviewsic: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Ólöf Arnalds: I remember my parents taking me to see the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra with pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy. I really enjoyed it but fell asleep which I wasn’t supposed to do. Later in my life I have actually found it quite enjoyable to sleep in concerts. I can’t get into a deep sleep with music playing so its more like half asleep/half awake interesting state of mind.
Reviewsic: Who are three of your favorite local musicians (past or present)?
Ólöf Arnalds: Favorites are a difficult subject. I´m gonna go for my favorite present musicians…If you could call Björk a local musician I would say her, then my collaborator bass player/composer Skúli Sverrisson and to choose one upcoming young Icelandic band I’d like to say Retro Stefson.
Reviewsic: If you were to put together an album of cover songs, what are three songs you would just have to include?
Ólöf Arnalds: I´m starting to work on a bunch of new covers to play at SXSW. Since I’d like to keep them a surprise I’ll list 3 other cover songs that I’ve been doing lately - Close my eyes by Arthur Russell, Maria Maria Bethânia by Caetano Veloso and In Spite of Ourselves by John Prine.
Reviewsic: Tells us a little about the US release you put out in January.
Ólöf Arnalds: Við og við is an album that I recorded in late 2006 and released in Iceland in early 2007. It was basically just myself and Kjartan Sveinsson (from Sigur rós) in a room with me playing and him recording for the most part. Then adding some very minimal arangements to that, strings and such. I wrote the lyrics in Icelandic, each about one family member or a friend. I´m really happy that this old music of mine is becoming new now, when coming out in the UK and the US.
Reviewsic: What goes into your writing process? What drew you to the style of music you play?
Ólöf Arnalds: I think anything can go into my writing process. It’s really random what inspires me. I let others determine what my style of music would be. To me my music is simply sung tunes accompanied mostly by acoustic instruments. What drew me there I guess was that my skills are limited to this, singing and playing different stringed instruments.
Reviewsic: What are your top three favorite places to play? Does that change in terms of playing a show versus seeing one?
Ólöf Arnalds: I like playing at home with my friends. Of the places in Reykjavík the Þjóðmenningarhús (National Culture House) is very good for my music and I also really enjoy playing at Rósenberg. It´s a nice and intimate place, only one in Reykjavík of that size to have a sound system ready to go. Memorable places to see others play was Fleetwood Mac at Madison Square garden, Sigur rós at Snæfell (completely acoustic nature demonstration performance up on a mountain) and going to the Berlin Philharmonic with it’s amazing acoustics. It put live classical music in another place in my mind.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst music moments so far in your career?
Ólöf Arnalds: Out of necessity I´ve become very good at erasing the bad music moments from my memory. The best moments I usually don´t realize are good untill someone else tells me. Often the most difficult concerts are the best.
Reviewsic: How did you get your start in music?
Ólöf Arnalds: I learned music at music school, started playing with different bands in my teens, started making my own music a couple of years ago.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for music in the next year?
Ólöf Arnalds: I´m gonna be playing a bunch of shows at SxSW, releasing a new album, Innundir skinni in the middle of the year, and I just like to visit new places and play for some good people. And keep on writing new material of course.
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