ÓLAFUR ARNALDS ANNOUNCES FOURTH SOLO STUDIO ALBUM re:member FEATURING HIS GROUND-BREAKING ‘STRATUS PIANOS’
ALBUM TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 24
08 June 2018 (Toronto, ON) - BAFTA winning Icelandic composer, musician and producer Ólafur Arnalds announces his fourth solo studio album, re:member, out via Mercury KX/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company, out August 24. The highly anticipated record features Arnalds’ ground-breaking new software, Stratus, which transforms the humble piano into a unique new instrument. He is currently performing his new material on a huge worldwide tour.
The Stratus Pianos are two self-playing, semi-generative player pianos which are triggered by a central piano played by Arnalds, and are the centrepiece of his new works. The custom-built software is born out of two years of work by the composer and audio developer, Halldór Eldjárn. The algorithms generated from Stratus were also used to create the innovative album artwork.
On the album, Arnalds uses these methods to reinvigorate the compositional experience, feeding back into the creative process in a completely new way. As Arnalds plays a note on the piano, two different notes are generated by Stratus, creating unexpected harmonies and surprising melodic sequences.
Speaking of the album, Arnalds says, “This is my breaking out-of-a-shell album. It’s me taking the raw influences that I have from all these different musical genres and not filtering them. It explores the creative process and how one can manipulate that to get out of the circle of expectations and habit.”
Arnalds’ uplifting new music uses the Stratus Pianos as well as string quartet, synths, electronics, live drums and a string orchestra recorded at London’s Air Studios. Plummeting the listener into a subversive world full of unexpected moods and emotions, Arnalds explores foreign musical soundscapes in every facet of re:member.
The brand-new single, “unfold”, welcomes the listener with the sound of a stream twisting and flowing across rocks and features vocals from British singer, songwriter and producer, SOHN. It is accompanied by a brand-new music video which celebrates moments of reawakening. Watch the video HERE.
From the very first note, the album takes the listener on a beautiful musical journey, constantly evolving and enlivening. The record concludes with a track called “nyepi” – meaning the Balinese ‘Day of Silence’, celebrated on New Year’s Day where everyone shuts themselves off from the outside world.
Yet Arnalds is not shutting himself off – he is inviting the listener to be part of his creative process. Even in his live shows, the audience becomes part of the performance as Arnalds uses a loop machine to capture people singing and seamlessly weaves it into his compositions. He says, “I want to inspire a community of creators with my music.”
Internationally celebrated for his haunting musical style, Arnalds captivatingly combines elements of ambient, classical, electronic and even elements of pop and rock. re:member follows the success of his innovative musical project Island Songs (2016), and two previous improvised projects Found Songs (2009) and Living Room Music (2011), both of which involved the daily release of new works over a seven-day period. Arnalds has also been praised for extensive soundtrack work, more recently composing the score for ITV’s Broadchurch, for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Original Music.
Arnalds is currently on a huge worldwide tour – performing over 40 shows, after having recently sold out London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. His spellbinding performances will bring together past, present and brand-new material in a fresh light.
WATCH ARNALDS DESCRIBE THE PLAYER PIANOS – VIDEO PART 1 & PART 2
Follow Ólafur Arnalds:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Ólafur Arnalds – re:member:
- re:member
- unfold (ft. SOHN)
- saman
- brot
- inconsist
- they sink
- ypsilon
- partial
- momentary
- undir
- ekki hugsa
- nyepi
Canadian Tour Dates:
June 24 Toronto, Luminato Festival *Sold Out*
June 28 Quebec, Palais Montcalm
June 29 Montreal, Jazz Festival *Sold Out*
More dates will be announced worldwide in the coming weeks.