Ólafur Arnalds

Ólafur Arnalds is one of Iceland’s foremost musicians and composers - internationally known for his haunting musical style. He captivatingly combines elements of ambient, classical, electronic, pop and rock music.. His work, both as a recording artist and film composer, have been met with high critical acclaim worldwide and earned him a BAFTA award win for Best Original Music and nominations for both Grammy and Emmy Awards.

In 2023, Ólafur Arnalds announced the launch of OPIA Community, a new multidisciplinary initiative focused on strengthening the scene where modern classical music meets electronic music. OPIA is a three-part venture: A traveling festival, a record label and a hub for collaborative projects. Since 2024, Decca Records has acted as the exclusive partner and distributor for the label wing of OPIA, while Wise Music handles the publishing side for OPIA label artists.

Over the course of his career as a recording artist he has released five full length albums along with dozens of EPs, collaborations and various projects — including two films, Island Songs (2017) and When We Are Born (2021). Ólafur's live shows are often quite unorthodox for a neo-classical composer and have sold out many of the most prestigious live venues in the world, including The Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera Hall, Elbphilharmonie, and The Warfield. His latest album, some kind of peace (2020), earned him two Grammy nominations, charted in the UK’s Top 40 and was named album of the year by NPR’s Bob Boilen.

Furthermore, Arnalds formed the experimental techno project “Kiasmos” together with Janus Rasmussen. They have released two albums so far: “Blurred” (2017) and “Kiasmos” (2014).

Together with Barði Jóhannson (Bang Gang), Ólafur composed music for “Dyad 1909”, a Random Dance/Wayne McGregor project. This music was released as an album in 2009.