Today, Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds and Cercle reveal the outstanding live performance recorded on the occasion of Cercle’s First Show in Iceland, a suspended moment in one of the island’s most remote locations. It’s a gentle, poetic moment, with no hint of the difficulties involved in staging a concert broadcast live from a remote location without an internet connection.
The Show offered a moment at the crossroad of genres: “Because we were doing this Show with Cercle, it was appropriate to play more upbeat songs. We had so much fun doing it, rearranging our tracks so they sound more like dance music… but with a string quartet!”, explained Ólafur Arnalds. A challenge met with flying colours, it resulted in a fulfilling moment alternating between acoustic sounds and electronic rhythms. It’s the outcome of a real collaboration, in which both parties worked hand in hand.
Alongside his project with Cercle, Ólafur continues his highly loved Ultimate Calm series for BBC Radio 3. In Series 2, he invites the listener on a journey of calm meditating on a different theme. Each episode includes a curated selection of tracks around the particular theme and features a special guest who offers their sonic inspiration for calm. In Series 2, the diverse set of guests includes Arlo Parks, Ibeyi, AURORA, Alfa Mist and James Acaster. Listen to the latest episodes of Ultimate Calm here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cvck
Ólafur Arnalds also renews his exclusive artist deal with Mercury KX (an imprint at Decca Records) following 10 years of a successful global partnership. The label began working with the pioneering artist back in 2013 with the album For Now I am Winter and his BAFTA winning soundtrack Broadchurch (starring David Tennant and Olivia Coleman). Throughout the partnership, Arnalds has released five critically and commercially successful albums, short films and soundtracks amassing over 1.5 billion streams, 150k physical units and selling out live venues across the globe.