New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds and the late Irish musician Talos (Eoin French) are releasing the striking single "We Didn't Know We Were Ready". The song marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the two artists and was co-written alongside Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds at Sounds from a Safe Harbor (SFSH) festival & artist residency in 2023."We Didn't Know We Were Ready" was finally fully recorded after Talos' untimely passing in August 2024 and poignantly features Talos' lead vocals alongside contributions from his friends, family and collaborators: Sandrayati, The Staves, JFDR, Memorial, Christof van der Ven, Laoise Leahy, Niamh Regan, Ye Vagabonds, Myles O' Reilly, Ross Dowling, Eoin's wife Steph French and Icelandic orchestra, SinfoniaNord. This single is a testament to their enduring bond forged through music.
A masterful melding of the writers' deft and emotional songwriting, "We Didn't Know We Were Ready" is a powerful reminder of the uncertainty of life: "This song was always an expression of community and creativity. But with Eoin's untimely passing, it has now taken on meanings we could never have imagined back when we wrote it," said Arnalds. "Barely a day goes by where I don't think about how fortunate we are to have this platform to channel our grief into."After the track was written in 2023, a spontaneous pop-up performance [watch HERE] in the lobby of Cork's The River Lee hotel soon followed - the song's journey continued with a festival performance at the first OPIA Festival in Berlin, late 2024, solidifying its place as an impactful and evolving collaboration with fans repeatedly asking for an official release.
On January 4th 2025, approximately 5 months after Eoin's passing, Arnalds and many of the aforementioned artists as well as others who played a big part in the inception of the song at SFSH (such as Dermot Kennedy and cellist Kate Ellis) paid tribute to him with a heartfelt performance of "We Didn't Know We Were Ready" closing out the Tommy Tiernan Show on RTÉ, which has since garnered over 1.5 million views on Instagram alone. The performance, stunning in its sincerity and vulnerability, struck a chord with audiences worldwide, and galvanized the official release of the track, allowing it to reach a broader audience. The artwork for the track, created by Eoin himself, underscores his multi-talented creative expression and enduring artistic vision.
Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic BAFTA-winning composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist known for his ability to blend classical, electronic, and ambient sounds. With critically acclaimed albums and numerous collaborations, Arnalds has become a leading figure in contemporary music, pushing the boundaries of sonic expression.
Eoin French, known professionally as Talos, was an Irish musician celebrated for his evocative voice and genre-defying sound. With influences ranging from electronic to orchestral music, Talos built a loyal following through his deeply personal and atmospheric compositions. We Didn't Know We Were Ready marks the second posthumous release of new music from Talos, following his collaborative EP with Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson, Sun Divider, released in November 2024.
