Olafur Arnalds Evolutions

BAFTA-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist and electronic artist Ólafur Arnalds creates and curates a select quartet of unique string players performing to his very individualistic, inspiring and haunting aesthetic. As part of our Evo Grid series offering composers, producers and songwriters instant inspiration and that ever elusive creative edge.

Overview

A truly original and inspiring set of tools, conceived in Reykjavík, Iceland, recorded in Berlin, Germany and realised in London, England that draws on the talents on some true independent thinkers who are shining a new light on classical European instruments, how to play them, use them, abuse them and record and process them with a totally fresh approach.

Recorded in the ultra cool surrounds of Voxton studios Berlin, Ólafur's hand picked quartet features the talents of multi instrumentalist, composer, and oft co-collaborator Viktor Orri Árnason alongside the searing talents of cellist Sebastian Selke.

Each evolution was exhaustingly curated and produced by Ólafur Arnalds who also prescribed his strict and original approach to how Voxton's very cool selection of microphones, pre-amps and outboard should best be utilised for this project.

The net result is a deeply beautiful, if not haunting selection of tools that spring out of the box with delightful and refreshing unpredictability. If you're looking for something cerebral, honest and unique then you'll need go no further.

Background

The BAFTA-winning, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing over from ambient/electronic to pop. In 2009, Ólafur came together with another Icelandic native, Janus Rasmussen to form an experimental techno project, called Kiasmos. And in 2014 Ólafur announced his electronic debut album under the Kiasmos project.

Ólafur gained huge notoriety with a new audience for his BAFTA-winning score featuring haunting strings, pianos and electronics for the British crime drama, Broadchurch. He has drawn heavily on the techniques he explored for that project for this selection of evolutions.

Features

Ólafur Arnald's evolutions use Spitfire's revolutionary Evo Grid system to provide you with an almost infinite number of outcomes. Days were spent creating and discussing ways in which the players could take a note and change it over long periods of time. These notes were then replayed across a number of different pitch centres. These were then placed on a peg board grid system based on the 'Putney' synth. Pitch centres down the x axis, the different evolutions or 'evos' down the right. Simply peg which Evo you want where or conversely hit our random dice function to automatically select a unique preset from over 30 trillion possible outcomes!

This product also features a variety of different mics and perspectives and custom built plate IRs from which to tweak your sound from intimate and cerebral to haunting and cool.