Honest to god, I have no idea who to
Compare Iceland�s Olof Arnalds to.
Honest to god.
But she is amazing, take it from me.
Truly amazing.
She is this young singer songwriter from Iceland, who
I first encountered at Manchester�s �In the City� festival
On the same night as recently the interviewed
�Eliza� and �Ulpa� expect she is totally, totally different.
In a way she reminded me of the long term Setting Sun
Favorite �Isobel Heyworth� in the way she sings with
The most natural and touching voice, and even though you
May not be able to understand a word what she sang �
The tone and the simple and haunting melodies left both
My brother and me both speechless.
Of course, it then made natural sense to approach her for
A interview and through the efforts of one of the other
Act�s managers (Mammut) � I found her e-mail interview
And this interview came quite quickly after.
I don�t know of a website for Olof but certainly more
Can be read about here (where I borrowed the picture
Attached to this interview from)
http://www.ultrasound.ws/archive/2003/olof.html
Olaf herself can be contacted on this
Email address
olofarnalds@internet.is
Thanks for the interview, Olof� I look forward
To hearing your CD in 2007.
Regards
Andy N xx
Setting Sun:
How are things and what�s happening at the moment?
Olof Arnalds:
I�m just working on finishing my first solo album,
It�s almost ready and due for release in beginning
Of February (2007 � ED)
Setting Sun:
Can you next tell us a little bit about the history
Of your music � what started you off etc, etc?
Olof Arnalds:
Well I�ve been writing music of some sort for a long
Time, for theatre, school projects, videos etc.
And of course I�ve worked creatively on music
With many different musicians like m�m,
Slowblow, St�rsveit Nix Noltes and Sk�li Sverrisson,
Whose album "Ser�a" has just come out on 12 t�nar.
I think that my work with Sk�li was the most inspiring
For the process of making a record on my own.
I think this was partly because my first
Serious lyric writing and singing was to his songs.
It pushed a button in me to make my own music and
Lyrics and Sk�li has also been very encouraging and
Helpful during the process.
Setting Sun:
What are your inspirations and what have you
Been listening to so far?
Olof Arnalds:
My family and friends are my biggest inspiration for
This record. All The lyrics are about them.
I listen to a lot of older Icelandic music, and
I collect instruments and music from different
Parts of the world.
I�m also really into the American folk tradition.
I must admit I�m not very good at following
the latest things going on in music. Fortunately
Many of my friends are better with this
And I hear a lot of new music through them.
Setting Sun:
I was really, really impressed with your music
Which I first encountered at this year�s �In the City
Festival� in particular �Englar og d�rar� � Can you
Tell us a little bit about this song?
Olof Arnalds:
It�s funny that you ask about particular song,
Since I wrote it about my friendship with
Sk�li Sverrisson whom I�ve been babbling so
Much about so far in this interview.
"Englar og d�rar" means Angels and demons.
Setting Sun:
I can also certainly believe from your set that you
Play concerts fairly often.. How does this compare to
Your studio recordings? Is there one you prefer over
The other?
Olof Arnalds:
The studio recordings are quite comparable to my
Live performances as every song on the record
Was recorded in one take, me singing and playing
Guitar or charanga, sometimes adding subtle
Arrangements afterwards.
One of the songs, with arrangements for string
quartet and bass was actually recorded completely
live all six of us together.
I like both, recording and performing and I try to
give the recordings a performance element by
inviting friends and family to come to the
sessions to listen.
Setting Sun:
What�s next for yourself? I am also fairly sure
You have an album on the way? Do you have any
Concerts planned (perhaps in Manchester)
Olof Arnalds:
I have some plans about concerts next year with
M�m and Sk�li Sverrisson. When my album
comes out (February) I�m going to start by
touring around Iceland to introduce it
To people. Then we�ll see what happens.
Setting Sun:
Anyway, a few questions to wind down with..
Firstly, where are you from? What�s the music scene
like where you are from? Have you seen any good
concerts recently?
Olof Arnalds:
I�m born and raised in Reykjavik. The music scene
here is quite lively, since in a small community it�s easy
do make things happen. There�s always quite a lot going
on, also because international artists are pretty interested
in coming here because of different reasons.
A new music club(+restaurant upstairs) called
DOMO opened recently, I�ve seen a couple of shows
there, jazz, experimental music, Christmas big band etc.
I have hopes for this place filling the gap that was
in the scene, because it�s a nice and elegant music
club suitable for different kinds of music and good for
a quiet drink when there�s nothing going on.
Setting Sun:
What would you like to be doing when you are 60?
Olof Arnalds:
I�d like to be a drummer.
Setting Sun:
What will you be doing when you are 60?
Olof Arnalds:
Teaching my grandchildren guitar and
playing shows as a drummer.
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what would you be your dream job
if you were not a rock and roll star?
Olof Arnalds:
I would want to be a doctor or a healer of
some sort.
