Alfa Mist, Yiruma, Dustin O’Halloran, tstewart (Machinedrum) and more reimagine Arnalds’ 2020 breakthrough album ‘some kind of peace’.
A song is never finished. A piece of music can take on any form, evolve and breathe with whomever is playing it. ~ Ólafur Arnalds
The innovative modern classical composer, performer and producer, Ólafur Arnalds, brings together a diverse group of friends and collaborators for ‘some kind of peace — piano reworks’ – out now via Mercury KX. With the piano central to each track, the album’s sonic world ranges from classical strings to ambient electronics. Ólafur invites these ten artists to experiment and recreate his last album ‘some kind of peace’ – an album which featured Ólafur’s two Grammy-nominated tracks, ‘The Bottom Line’ (feat. Bonobo) and ‘Loom’ (feat. Josin).
Collaboration is the cornerstone of Ólafur’s work. Calling upon his creative community, he believes that music can live on as a moving, breathing organism. As he notes, “The heart of a song lives in the performer”. Released in October, this distinctive 10-track album celebrates each artist’s individual character, sound and interpretation as the essence of each song. The line-up spans modern classical, electronic, jazz and alternative worlds, performed by globally-admired South Korean pianist and composer Yiruma, American pianist and composer Dustin O’Halloran, genre-blurring UK jazz pianist, producer and rapper Alfa Mist, electronic producer Machinedrum’s alter-ego tstewart, singer-songwriter, producer and composer JFDR, Berlin’s pianist, producer and composer Lambert, Australian pianist and composer Sophie Hutchings, cinematic pianist and composer Eydís Evensen and cross-genre pianist, composer and producer Magnús Jóhann.
About Ólafur
Ólafur Arnalds is one of the most influential musicians of modern times: a world-colliding, multi-faceted talent, who has paved the way across the electronic and classical worlds with over one billion streams to date. His delicate compositions of haunting, atmospheric beauty have graced numerous sold-out venues around the globe, including the Royal Albert Hall and LA’s Walt Disney Hall, headline slots at mainstream festivals like Wilderness and Iceland Airwaves and his own genre-bending music festival OPIA at Southbank Centre.
Arnalds’ endless thirst for challenge has also seen him win a BAFTA for his work on ‘Broadchurch’, receive an Emmy nomination for his title theme to ‘Defending Jacob’ and two 2022 Grammy nominations in opposing categories: ‘Loom’ (feat. Bonobo) for Best Dance/Electronic Recording and ‘The Bottom Line’ (feat. Josin) for Best Arrangement, Instruments & Vocals. His blossoming reputation in the industry allowed him to cover Iggy Pop’s show on 6Music, host his own BBC Radio 3 series entitled Ultimate Calm, as well as compose dance scores for Wayne McGregor at Sadler’s Wells.
Tracklist below:
- Eydís Evensen: Loom (Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass)
- Hania Rani: Woven Song (Piano, Vocals)
- Dustin O’Halloran: Spiral (Piano)
- Sophie Hutchings: Still / Sound (Piano)
- Lambert: Back To The Sky (Piano, Guitar, Drums)
- Alfa Mist: Zero (Piano)
- tstewart: New Grass (Piano, Guitar, Electronics)
- JFDR: The Bottom Line (Piano, Vocals)
- Yiruma: We Contain Multitudes (Piano)
- Magnús Jóhann: Undone (Piano)
Ólafur Arnalds’ ‘some kind of peace — piano reworks’ is out now via Mercury KX