Ólafur Arnalds

Ólafur Arnalds is one of Iceland’s foremost musicians and composers. 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.

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. Together with Janus Rasmussen, he has been active as Kiasmos, producing several EPs and two albums. 

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. Born out of Ólafur's desire to create an environment that encourages experimentation and collaboration, OPIA was originally launched in 2019 as a one-day festival. The first edition was a sold-out takeover at the Southbank Centre in London. This was followed in 2023 by the rebirth of OPIA as a three-part venture: A traveling festival, a record label and a hub for collaborative projects. This was followed by a sold-out launch event at Berlin's Silent Green in October 2023. 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. This was followed by a second edition of the OPIA Festival in Utrecht's Tivoli-Vredenburg.

Awards:
BAFTA awards (2014), Best Original Music, for Broadchurch
Television Bulldog Awards (2014), Best Music, for Broadchurch
The Edda Icelandic Film Awards (2015), Best music, for Vonarstræti
Icelandic Music Award (2021), Best Film and TV Score, for Defending Jacob

Notable Nominations:
Emmy Awards (2020), Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, for Defending Jacob
Grammy Awards (2022), Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, for The Bottom Line
Grammy Awards (2022), Best Dance/Electronic Recording, for Loom
Grammy Awards (2024), Best New Age, ambient or Chant album)