Born in 1986, Ólafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometres outside of Reykjavík. He has immersed himself completely in a world of delicate symphonic compositions generating near weightless orchestral pieces. Ólafur explores the crossover from classical to pop by mixing chamber strings and piano with discreet electronics. His motivations are clear: “The classical scene is kind of closed to people who haven’t been studying music all their lives. I would like to bring my classical influence to the people who don’t usually listen to this kind of music…open people’s minds.”
Through relentless touring and determination this young artist is steadily gaining recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut ‘Eulogy for Evolution’, selling out some of the world’s most renowned music halls. The 2008 follow-up EP ‘Variations of Static’ earned Ólafur acclaim from both the contemporary and classical field – transcending a traditional divide by uniting their ideals.
With the next full-length release due this winter, Ólafur conceived ‘Found Songs’ as a way to collate several lost and found musical sketches and ideas in a ‘very challenging, but fun’ series. He created, recorded and released online for free, one song per day for a week. The experiment offers its listeners an intimate insight into Ólafur’s creative world –So far more than 70.000 people downloaded the ‘Found Songs’ series via foundsongs.erasedtapes.com.
Ólafur is currently in the studio with Barði Jóhannsson (Bang Gang) who will be co-producing his upcoming album. Ólafur’s growing reputation has also won him the attention of the internationally renowned British dance choreographer Wayne McGregor who has invited Ólafur to score his brand new work. ‘Dyad 1909’ will be premiered in London at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre this October. The show will go on a EU-wide tour with Ólafur included in an impressive creative line-up alongside acclaimed artists and filmmakers Jane and Louise Wilson.
