Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds first came to my attention when I watched the British crime series Broadchurch, as the entire sparse and devastating feel of the series was based around his stark sounding music.
This week, I’ve been listening to Ólafur Arnalds’ music again, because he has just released his seventh and last single from his upcoming EP Island Songs.
An album that was recorded as Arnalds spent seven weeks traveling across Iceland specifically to record his compositions in places he felt were evocative of his music. And a single called ‘Doria‘.
Ólafur Arnalds’ ‘Doria‘ was recorded at the Iðnó Concert Hall, Reykjavik and is quite a bit more upbeat than his work for Broadchurch.
In fact, with its fast-paced lilting piano, even the normally melancholy violins and cello don’t quite manage to pull this one down.
Listen to and watch the live performance of Ólafur Arnalds’ ‘Doria‘ in his video below. It is beautiful.