Sunday, May 17, 2009

The New Classic


I'm not a fan of the classical, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. I guess for me I just need for it to be fresh. That's why sometimes I would hear an album, forget it, and then rediscover it after a few months (or years) to still find I am still captivated by its brilliance. A few such albums would be those of Ólafur Arnalds, an Icelandic young composer whose penchant for mixing the old and the new has resulted in his beautifully haunting, refreshingly emotive ne0-classical music.


Ólafur Arnalds - 3055

His album, 'Eulogy For Evolution,' and his EP 'Variations Of Static' show a maturity far beyond his years (he is in her early 20s). It's amusing to see a young composer like him dressed in skinny jeans and converse shoes. But he's like a one-man Sigur Rós, armed with a piano, a string quartet and a laptop.

Ólafur Arnalds - Fok

'Fok' is a hauntingly expressive piece of work that slowly builds up into a magnificient climax. This is my favourite song from him. The track is from his EP 'Variations Of Static.'

Recently (starting April 13th) Arnalds went on a musical journey that lasted a week. In it he promised to write and compose one song each day, mainly from abandoned compositions and drafts, hence the name of the project, 'Found Songs.' You can download all 7 tracks for free below from Erasedtapes.

To have written seven tracks in seven days, and to have them all consistently as beautiful as they are, is such an amazing achievement.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Ólafur Arnalds - Lost Song
via FoxyTunes

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