THE Q&A: ÓLAFUR ARNALDS, MUSICIAN, EXPERIMENTALIST
Following on the heels of established Icelandic musicians such as Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm, GusGus and others, Ólafur Arnalds is the latest talent to emerge from this somewhat unlikely North Atlantic sonic hub.
Arnalds’s ambitious and confident debut album, Eulogy For Evolution, was released in 2007 when he was just 21. A mix of classical instrumentation and indie rock, the album garnered widespread acclaim for its savvy blending of influences and Arnalds’s obvious precocity.
After an equally compelling follow-up EP, Variations of Static (2008), Arnalds embarked on a more experimental project, which involved creating a new song every day for a week, and then immediately making it available online at foundsongs.erasedtapes.com. The project, called Found Songs, earned attention by making use of social-networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr (on which Arnalds ran a forum/competition for corresponding artwork). Erased Tapes Records , an independent London-based label, recently released a CD, download and 10" Vinyl edition (which features seven photographs chosen from the Flickr group).
While Found Songs lacks some of the depth and coherence of Arnalds’s previous albums, the composer’s trademark influences–-Romantics such as Debussy and Bach; minimal modernists like Max Richter–-combine with contemporary aesthetics to create a mellifluous, if slightly meandering, listen. Here Arnalds talks to us about his beginnings as a jazz drummer, his penchant for romantic piano music and the benefits of imposing limits on his creative process.
More Intelligent Life: Where does your interest in classical music stem from?
Ólafur Arnalds: I've been studying music since I was a kid--guitar, drums and piano, mostly drums though. I was moved from my local music school to a professional jazz school when I was 13 and played a lot of jazz drums for a while. My interest was mostly just in that as well as rock and punk music until I fell in love with classical film music at 14 or so. I started trying to write some music on the side in the style of Thomas Newman etc on the piano, and mainly just figured out on my own how to arrange for strings. It definitely sounded very amateurish at first, but I was determined and got a few good pointers from my music theory teachers.
MIL: Is this the stage at which Eulogy For Evolution was constructed?
ÓA: A lot of Eulogy for Evolution was composed at this time, when I was just learning on my own, reading some of my older sister's classical theory books. I then slowly transitioned from jazz theory into classical theory classes and went to the Icelandic Academy of the Arts after high school studying classical composition. I dropped out after my first year [age 21] because my career was really taking off and I didn't have time for both. I didn't think it made much sense to be studying music to become a musician when my studying was actually standing in the way of me being a full-time musician.
MIL: Do you think classical music has a bad rep today?
ÓA: I think all good music never loses its power or importance. If music is good, it's good--and always will be. I don't think classical music necessarily has a bad rep, but it's kind of distant. Like in it's own corner a bit. Which is partly justified. I could talk for ages about my experience of elitism in certain parts within the classical scene, but it's all just music.
MIL: What are the origins of Found Songs?
ÓA: The idea kind of developed from me trying to find an interesting way to release compositions that were different from what I like to have on my albums. I write quite a lot of romantic piano music in the style of Chopin or Schumann and wanted to get some of that out there. I also just realised that there would be a longer wait for my next full-length album (which I had already written at the time) and I thought this would be a nice way to remind people about me. It's also a bit of an experiment as I released the songs through social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and got my followers on these sites to interact with me through their own art.
MIL: Were the songs based on sketches you already had or built entirely from scratch?
ÓA: Most of them are based on some older sketches I never had a chance or a reason to turn into full songs--sketches I had even forgotten about and found again during this week. (Hence the title "Found Songs".)
MIL: You play mainly synths and pianos on the record I'm guessing, but who plays the strings?
ÓA: Yeah, I play the piano and do all the programming. On Found Songs the violin and cello were performed by Margrét and Doddi, longtime members of my live quartet.
MIL: What were the main creative restrictions, aside from the obvious time limit?
ÓA: Well it's really just that: the time limit. I like spending time on my songs, taking a break from them and getting back to them a few days later with a fresh ear. There was no opportunity for that.
MIL: And the disadvantages?
ÓA: None, really. Maybe just the fact that I wasn't working in a real studio and had to work with my own small collection of equipment, which can be limiting as I really like to experiment with different kinds of instruments, effects and stuff. But limiting yourself can also be good.
MIL: So you discovered some advantages in writing to such tight deadlines?
ÓA: Yes, definitely. Now I try to regularly lock myself away somewhere and just write nonstop for a few days, and not spend any time on each idea, just write and when I've got the basic idea down I just move to the next one. I also work pretty well under pressure--thankfully, as I do quite a lot of that.
MIL: There's a minimalist feel to the record. Obviously this has to do with the album's methodology, but are you a fan of minimalism in general?
ÓA: I love minimalism. I don't practice it to the extreme though. I'm much more fond of achieving big things with small things than with big things. I just find it more interesting.
MIL: What contemporary artists or composers do you enjoy listening to?
ÓA: The last album I bought just yesterday was the Deathmetal Supersquad's Dead Zeppelin, who’s actually not a deathmetal band, but an awesome Icelandic punk-rock trio. Recently I’ve also been listening to the National, Dustin O'Halloran, Whitest Boy Alive and Radiohead.
MIL: You also have many side projects, from writing ballet scores to making techno. Can you elaborate on these?
ÓA: I'm currently writing the score for "Dyad 1909", a new ballet by Wayne McGregor, who is the current resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet in London. This piece will be performed by his own dance group, Random Dance. Premiere is in Sadler's Wells on October 13th. This is pure Ólafur Arnalds stuff, some of it is even music that I have already released. Then there’s Kiasmos, a techno side project I have with my friend Janus Rassmussen (who also plays in the electro band Bloodgroup). It's quite dark, heavy, minimal techno... perfect for dirty underground clubs. We’ve been doing quite a lot lately, playing live-shows both in Iceland and abroad. And I’m currently also concentrating on my next full-length album with producer Barði Jóhannsson (Bang Gang, Lady & Bird) who is definitely bringing some great things to the whole sound.
MIL: It seems a priority for you to stretch yourself as an artist/musician as much as possible.
ÓA: I just don't want to repeat myself or get stuck in some routine. I like to be creative both in the music itself and in the possible ways it can reach an audience.
"Found Songs" by Ólafur Arnalds (Erased Tapes Records) is out now. "Dyad 1909" will have its premiere at Sadler's Wells in London on October 13th
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