Icelandic Singer-Songwriter Ólöf Arnalds is our Featured Woman in Music
Ólöf Arnalds is the latest Icelandic singer to hit the US music scene! Read our interview with this talented artist.
CommitmentNow: You have been referred to as an Icelandic Folk Artist. Do you consider yourself a folk singer?
Ólöf Arnalds: If you are looking at folk as modern day storytelling I would see myself as a folk singer. However if you see folk as a genre suggesting traditional music from a certain culture, this term would not apply to my music.
CommitmentNow: You are an Icelandic singer songwriter. What is the Icelandic music scene like?
Ólöf : I would say it's a very thriving scene. Good fellowship of people that help each other out, playing for each other, lending gear, giving advice etc... And there are all kinds of different things going on with people seeking in many directions.
CommitmentNow: You recently released your first album, Við og við in the U.S., and will soon be releasing your second album, Innundir skinni. How would you describe the music on there two albums?
Ólöf: Við og við was very much a one concept album. The basic tracks were always whole takes of my voice and the instrument I was playing at the same time. It was all recorded on tape and anything added was very sparse. Innundir skinni is a bit more diverse in feel, a bit more explosive. It has more elaborate arrangements and is recorded digitally. The whole take principle is still there though so the basic tracks were most often me playing and singing and recording one or more other players at the same time. It was sometimes a lot of work to get just the right take when, for example, 5 people were playing at the same time. We would sometimes do the songs up to 15 times! Then if needed some overdubs like strings, brass or extra voices were added later.
CommitmentNow: You studied violin and classical singing, how have your studies influenced your music?
Ólöf : Classical training was a bit difficult for me because I had troubles reading notes and a very dominating ear. Actually, I had been learning violin for 3 years when my before teacher discovered that I didn't know the notes. I always asked the teacher to play with me and followed. You can get away with that at first but soon you run into trouble. Violin is also a very brutal beginners instrument. The music school concerts were a nightmare for me and I would always walk out crying after my performance because once I played a flat note I literally saw red, my knees shook and the bow started jumping on the string. So I decided to switch to singing because I knew I could trust my voice not to scratch or be flat or out of tune. The upside was that I got a lot of ear training and went through so much stage fear that I think I've had my share.
My classical singing teacher Ruth Little Magnússon was a real mentor to me. I learned a lot about the voice as an instrument but more importantly about seeing and experiencing what you are singing. She had me sing many folk songs as well and schooled me in poetic and musical understanding. She really saw the whole picture of how music was composed. The funny thing though was that many of the things that she couldn't bring out in me during the lessons happened when I performed. Often when I didn't remember how the concert went or what happened onstage she would be most pleased with my performance.
I´m also very much self taught. I started playing guitar as a teenager because I wanted to have the freedom to approach an instrument completely by ear. I still don't really know the names of many of the notes or chords on the guitar. I'm working on that now. I think that all the training I've had both through school and from playing in bands comes together in my own music. I think it's a great privilege to sort of stand on the border of these two languages - the self taught musician language and an educated music language and be able to enjoy working with people from both backgrounds.
CommitmentNow: The reception to your music in the U.S. has been really positive! Do you think Americans are ready for another Icelandic music star?
Ólöf : Well it's hard to read the mind of the invisible listener. But if people are up for listening, I'm up for playing and singing.
CommitmentNow: When did you start writing music and singing?
Ólöf : I started writing music with a teenage band that I sang and played violin in when I was 15.
CommitmentNow: You have a young child. Has motherhood influenced your music?
Ólöf : I think all hormone changes connected with motherhood do change your mind state it must bring out something new although I couldn't pinpoint exactly what. I also just think that all big changes in my life always inspire my writing a lot. Having to provide and be responsible for the well-being of someone else than just myself gives me a lot of focus and determination. Raising a child teaches you to always think ahead.
CommitmentNow: Where can we learn more about your music?
Ólöf : My MySpace is probably a good place to start - http://www.myspace.com/olofarnalds
Icelandic folk chanteuse Ólöf Arnalds has been a prominent figure in her native music scene for several years as a member of múm. However it's her solo debut, Við og Við that continues to garner widespread acclaim. Produced by Sigur rós' Kjartan Sveinsson, Við og Við was named Record of the Year in Iceland and came in at #37 on Paste Magazine's Top 100 Albums list. MOJO proclaimed Ólöf as "Reykjavik's answer to Kate Bush" and eMusic went so far as to name Við og Við as one of the 100 Best Albums of the Decade. Ólöf's voice has been singled out for high praise as "otherworldly" by The New York Times, "stunning" by SPIN, "remarkable" by the NME, "ethereal" by Vanity Fair and "impossibly lovely" by Paste Magazine.
Ólöf recently finished recording her second album, innundir skinni at Sigur rós' Sundlaugin Studios with Kjartan Sveinsson producing once again. innundir skinni features more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation than Við og Við, with vocals sung both in English and Icelandic. Ólöf's innundir skinni is set for worldwide release this Spring.
