OLAFUR ARNALDS LIVE @ BACKSTAGE

At TPP, we like to hold firm the belief that everyone from Iceland is a pixie, capable of the most precious magic. Seems reasonable - we’ve certainly come across no evidence of the contrary. Take Ólafur Arnalds for example. The twenty three year old multi-instrumentalist who crafts achingly beautiful orchestral compositions, conjuring almost weightless pieces unparalleled in both delicacy and scope. It’s simply implausible that he is not magic…

So we're bringing him and his band over to share their musical alchemy and start his upcoming world tour in our hometown.

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While keeping the classical foundations of his groundbreaking 2007 debut album 'Eulogy for Evolution'; on the follow-up EP 'Variations of Static', Arnalds incorporates crackling electronics and the dead voice of a machine. In April 2009 Arnalds created the 7 song series 'Found Songs' – recording a song a day for 7 days and instantly making each track available via Twitter and his label’s (Erased Tapes) official website, with over 300.000 people downloading for free. 'Found Songs' hasn’t just inspired 2-D work. Esteban Diácono – a young motion graphic artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina – created an astonishing animation video for 'Ljósið’, which found its way into the heart of UK illusionist Darren Brown among over 500.000 others within 4 weeks via Vimeo and YouTube.

December 2009 saw the release of his contemporary dance score 'Dyad 1909', commissioned by the award-winning choreographer Wayne McGregor. The dance piece, inspired by Shackleton’s South Pole premiered at the Sadler’s Wells theatre in October 2009 and became an unpredictable and much talked about 5-nights of live music, dance and visuals. This 'fascinating collaboration' (Guardian) included Arnalds as part of an impressive creative line-up. BBC Four and the ITV1 Southbank show broadcasted 'Dyad 1909' on primetime television.

Ólafur recently finished his highly anticipated second full-length album '…and they have escaped the weight of darkness’ with the help of co-producer Bardi Johannsson (Bang Gang). The long-player is due for a spring 2010 release, accompanied by an extensive world tour starting here in Hong Kong in late March, before moving on to China, Europe mainland throughout May and UK dates in the autumn.

Live, Arnalds and his accompanying musicians take the audience on a dreamy, almost meditative journey through sound. He was invited by Sigur Ros to support all their European shows in the summer of 2008. He has also toured with Aphex Twin and sold out the Barbican Hall in London amidst a slew of major European festivals and has collaborated with the likes of the critically acclaimed 65DaysOfStatic.