'Found songs' to get physical release
Erased Tapes will be doing a proper physical CD release of Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds' "Found songs" project. The official release date is set for August 31.
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Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds will spend the next seven days (starting today) recording and releasing seven new songs: https://foundsongs.erasedtapes.com/
PopMatters on Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/63205/lafur-arnalds-eulogy-for-evolution/
Dusted reviews Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds : https://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4522
The Village Voice on the new wave of Scandinavian ethereal weirdness, ie Ólafur Arnalds, Es, Ville Leinonen, and Paavoharju: https://www.villagevoice.com/2008-07-29/music/five-founts-of-ethereal-weirdness-lafur-arnalds-es-ville-leinonen-and-paavoharju/
Ólafur Arnalds
Live @ Café 939, Boston, 07/08/08
The Boston night of Ólafur Arnalds' first American tour at Berklee student-run venue Café 939 was poised to go off without a hitch. The laid-back atmosphere of its new concert space complemented Ólafur's introductory request for the crowd to be seated. So with the hundred-strong crowd sitting and silent, Ólafur began, quickly settling into that particular orchestral noodling that made half of his debut album "Eulogy for evolution" colossally boring. The occasional sequence of the cello, alone, bearing two notes for five "pensive" minutes only served to annoy other seated concertgoers -- including headliner Gregor Samsa's fans -- who were beginning to cramp.
At one point Ólafur acknowledged Berklee's reputation by exclaiming "It was always my dream to come to Berklee to study drums under Mike Mangini." It's not a surprise, then, that the computerized drum sequences were the highlight of the show, rarities where the strings were allowed some breathing room away from the tepid pulse of Ólafur's piano.
Though the introductory titter of Ólafur's synth high-hat was the only thing that inspired real confidence in me, it's there that he lost his. Perhaps understanding album standout "3055" was to be the highlight of his show, he faltered, missing some cues and frantically tapping away at his synthesizer, leaving the song piano-less at its most important moment.
After apologizing, he settled into the closing song, which ill-advisedly incorporated prominent Icelandic avant-garde clichés, trying on Johan Johannson's computerized voice and Sigur Rós' projected-dove backdrop -- leaving us with a much poorer taste in our mouths than the end of "Eulogy" did, with a return to the soft, aimless plodding that colored the night.
- Nathan Keegan
Ólafur Arnalds
Eulogy for evolution
Erased Tapes
On "Eulogy for evolution", Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds' piano takes center stage. But as the elegiac legato drips and drops that hug its predominantly 4/4 time are never adventurous, the first half of the album must seek the familiar risk of avant-garde composition elsewhere -- and it doesn't find it. The strings are expressive but expected, and the occasional flurry of electronica only shuffles around quietly in the background. It isn't until album standout and fan favorite "3055" that Ólafur finds his groove, adding a rollicking drumbeat that actually favors the time signature, calling those lethargic piano lines to life in an emotional, fast-paced ending. He finally comes down in between the common time lines in the emotional string-driven build up, and even makes time for some tinkling arpeggios in its conclusion. He finds blissful dissonance in strings on "3326", and album closer "3704/3837" is a screechingly beautiful firestorm of electric guitar and machine gun drums that sputters out as a sublime organ drones softly until its completion.
As an album it works well: it's one seamless work with the story-arc of a movie that plods along, contentedly melancholic until it explodes into a riveting climax and satisfied fall. And he's at his best when he embraces the haywire beauty of discord and calamity. But I have to wonder whether the contemplative beginning makes the end worth the wait. "Evolution" is only his debut, so we'll have to see. Maybe Ólafur is just resigned to float between continents in the indie-Atlantic, trying to find the elusive balance between artistic risk and the simple beauty inherent in avoiding it. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
- Nathan Keegan
Upcoming tourdates for Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds:
07/08 - Cafe 939, Boston, MA
07/09 - Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
07/10 - The Deal With Pine Trees Festival, Westminster, MD
07/11 - Carroll Community College, Westminster, MD
07/12 - The Shelf, Columbus, OH
07/13 - The House Café (GER)Kalb, IL
07/14 - Secret Show (RSVP only), Chicago, IL
07/15 - Drake Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
07/16 - La Sala Rossa, Montréal, Quebec
07/18 - Joe’s Pub, New York, NY
07/19 - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA
07/20 - DC9, Washington, Washington DC
07/21 - Pirate Cove, North Myrtle Beach, SC
07/22 - Night Light, Chapel Hill, NC
07/23 - 1st Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
07/27 - Secret Garden Party, East Anglian Countryside (UK)
07/30 - Holy Trinity Church, Leeds (UK)
08/02 - A Day at the Races Festival, Manchester (UK)
08/03 - Klangbad Festival, Scheer (GER)
08/09 - Haldern Pop Festival, Rees-Haldern (GER)
08/10 - E-Werk, Erlangen (GER)
08/11 - Palladium, Köln (GER) w/Sigur Rós
08/12 - Schlachthof, Weisbaden (GER) w/Sigur Rós
08/13 - Tempodrom, Berlin (GER) w/Sigur Rós
08/20 - Stodola Klub, Warsaw, PL w/Sigur Rós
08/24 - Kulturbunker Mülheim, Köln (GER)
08/25 - Feerieen Festival (Warandepark), Brussels (BEL)
The Silent Ballet has posted two new volumes of their postrock comp series for free download: https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/
I'd highlight the Scandinavians for you, but Icelandic artists Olafur Arnalds and Mimas are the only ones I immediately recognize.
Scandinavian artists on postrock webzine The Silent Ballet's top 50 albums of 2007 list include Aerial (#50), Hannu (#38), Tuna Laguna (#33), Scraps of Tape (#28), Efterklang (#22), Olafur Arnalds (#12) and Vladislav Delay (#4): https://www.thesilentballet.com/tsbt/2007/50_41.html