Olafur Arnalds

Overview

Ólafur Arnalds, the BAFTA Award-winning Icelandic composer and pianist, is returning to the Sydney Opera House. But, this time he is bringing two self-playing pianos along with him.

Arnalds, who has collaborated with the likes of Nils Frahm, performed at the Opera House back in 2015 at GRAPHIC Festival. His new performance, taking place in November, will feature eerie, atmospheric and electronic works from his yet-to-be released fourth album re:member. 

The album, which will be released on August 24, was produced in collaboration with hip-hop producer BNGERBOY and features Arnalds' ground-breaking new piano software. A two-year project by Arnalds and audio developer Halldór Eldjârn, the software uses an algorithmic device to control two self-playing pianos. A central piano is also played by Arnalds.

While Arnalds used the software to create the album, he'll be performing with it for the very first time at the Opera House. You can delve deeper into Arnalds' new software, too, as he has posted two videos (here and here) that explain it all in great depth.

If you haven't listened to much of Arnalds' music before, his melancholic musical project Islands (2016), which features seven songs recorded across seven locations in Iceland, is a good place to start. Alternatively, you could watch the television series Broadchurch, which Arnalds composed the award-winning soundtrack for, snagging him a 2014 BAFTA for Best Original Music.

Ólafur Arnalds tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday, August 2. Pre-sale tickets will be released at 9am, Wednesday, August 1 — to get access, head to the Sydney Opera House website.

Images: Prudence Upton