New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and composer Ólafur Arnalds releases new single, "Woven Song," from his forthcoming album, some kind of peace, out November 6 via Mercury KX/Universal Music. Following previously released singles "We Contain Multitudes" and "Back To The Sky" (feat. JFDR), "Woven Song" is a unique song in Ólafur's already varied catalogue of music. A gorgeous lilting track, made of fluttering piano, the notes light and quick under a sample of shamanic singing of an icaro, an Amazonian healing song that is traditionally woven into fabric for notation. As the song progresses melancholic strings filter in and out, the track becomes eerily serene. The accompanying video, directed by
Thomas Vanz, is stunning. Beautifully abstract, with shifting and luminous images and clips.
"Woven Song is a defining moment of 'some kind of peace,'" says Arnalds. "A metaphor for being embraced by something larger than yourself while exploring new territories, the feeling of being held while you open your heart. Using an acrylic pouring process called 'viscous fingering' to obtain fractal shapes,
Thomas Vanz has created a beautiful visual representation of the lifeline that anchors you to the world during a challenging experience."
Some kind of peace was born out of the following mantra: "we can't control anything that happens to us. All we can do is control how we react to what life gives us." The album is about what it means to be alive, daring to be vulnerable and the importance of rituals. Ólafur weaves real-world pieces of his life story throughout the album, masterfully using sampling techniques to give the listener a window into his experiences. All the collaborators on the album were key to Ólafur's life during it's making, including British musician Bonobo, featured on the album's luminous pulsing opener, Icelandic singer and multi-instrumentalist JFDR who Ólafur has admired for years, and his friend Josin, a German singer-songwriter.
Recorded at his studio at the harbour in downtown Reykjavik, some kind of peace is Ólafur's most personal record to date, one that's open and honest.
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