The debut solo album from Ólöf Arnalds is one of the most beautiful recordings of the year. Sung completely in her native Icelandic Við Og Við (2010) is minimalistic in instrumentation yet striking in sound. Her voice is gentle yet penetrating.
Við Og Við, when translated means “Now and Again,” was produced by Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Ros. Sveinsson, Múm’s Eiríkur Orri, and Skulli Sverrisson also contibute a suprising folky flair given that these artists are more associated with experimental music with electronic orchestrations.
“Klara” reveals her tendency towards simple lullabies and with a minimalist style. Her songwriting has a beautiful juxtaposition of delicate and dramatic. Few singer-songwriters have the ability to successfully create a minimalistic piece of work that is so strikingly beautiful.
Listen to Ólöf Arnalds at:
http://www.olofarnalds.com
http://www.myspace.com/olofarnalds
http://www.last.fm/music/Ólöf+Arnalds
Ólöf Arnalds (born 1980) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene for quite some time. Apart from doing her own music as of lately and being a touring member of Múm since 2003, she has cooperated with bands and artists such as Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Mugison, Slowblow and Skúli Sverrisson. Between 1988 and 2002 Ólöf studied violin and classical singing, and in 2002-2006 she studied composition and new media at Iceland Academy of the Arts
(Wikipedia, 2010).
Shar Doogan
