ÓLAFUR ARNALDS | INTERVIEW
One of the rising talents from the modern ambient/electronica scene is Iceland-born Ólafur Arnalds. His sounds are a rich blend of poignant piano motifs, stunning string arrangements and spotless percussion rife with engrossing atmospheric tension. Since releasing his fourth studio album Re:member in August 2018, Arnalds has embarked upon his largest tour yet, with dates worldwide throughout the year. He will be bringing with him a string ensemble, a drummer and a host of different keyboards; some of which even play themselves.
BUZZ: You’re on quite a large tour at the moment, keeping you busy for most of the year; how has it been so far?
ÓLAFUR: Yes, this is quite a long one. We did 70 shows in 2018 and the plan for 2019 is about the same. It’s been really good so far. This is the biggest production I’ve ever had on tour and it’s been really fun to have been able to bring the show around the world a couple of times.
Is this your first time in Cardiff? What can we expect from your live show and how does it differ from your recorded work?
I had to go look at the archive for this one. I’ve played there once before, in 2008. A lot has happened since then. The live show is quite different from my albums. A live venue full of fans is a very different medium than a spinning disk, so it needs to be approached completely differently.
I think of technology as a tool. It can enable you to do certain things that aren’t possible with analogue gear or even playable by humans, so the same technology we used for the album has made me able to create some very improvised and unique sound worlds on stage.
You’ve spoken in previous interviews about your writing approach. Specifically, finding the “world for the track to live in”. Could you explain a little bit about what inspires you to create music and the thought process behind your compositions?
The inspiration can come from anything, anywhere at any time. But it’s more in the studio process that these kind of techniques appear. Creating a world for the track to live in is just one method to help shape the direction of something, creating a bit of limitation.
Referring to your last record, you are quoted as saying, “This is my breaking out of a shell album”. Could you expand a little on why you feel this way?
Re:member was me taking all of my raw influences and not filtering them, not trying to fit into some box me and other had put me in. I was searching for the feeling of being completely free, something I’ve only ever experienced when totally immersed in the flow of making music. I wanted the music to sound like the process, I wanted people to feel the excitement and wonder I felt when I created that piece of music.
Will we see the ‘Stratus’ concept you worked on, the self-playing pianos? How did this idea come about and are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes, we will have that on stage in Cardiff. It was exactly what I needed at that moment in time. Me and my friend Halldór Eldjárn spent two years making it and it’s still very much in development. After my last record and tour I had promised myself I wouldn’t make a new album until I had something new and exciting to show. Both for myself and my listeners. Making it served as a kind of jolt to my creativity. Got me out of a rut I’d gotten myself into and made me excited to make music again.
Your sound often incorporates many different electronic elements to contrast with the organic ones. How important is the use of technology when you compose and perform live?
Technology is great – as a tool. I have no interest in computers that can make music. In the end it’s always the human element that’s interesting. We have hundreds of years’ worth of music, some of the best ever made, that’s made with very bare bones technology. Sometimes creativity thrives on limitation, as is the case with Stratus.
Your other musical pursuits have been quite different from each other, having played drums in a hardcore band before now as well as your involvement in experimental techno group Kiasmos. How do you maintain focus for different projects?
Each project is its own world. Once I decide to step into one, for however long, I’m engulfed by it.
St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Tue 19 Mar. Tickets: £32. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
words CHARLIE PIERCEY
