Ólafur Arnalds’OPIA label announcesits third collaborative compilation. Following an open call that drew nearly 60 submissions, the label invited composers from around the world to team up and create new works together, often working across continents, time zones, and genres.
The theme of collaboration guided the project, encouraging artists to combine their ideas, styles, and perspectives to create unique musical dialogues.
The resulting 10-track collection is a deeply atmospheric journey through neo-classical, ambient, electronic, and experimental soundscapes. Each piece reflects a meeting of minds, where ideas evolved through shared sessions, remote file-trading, and creative dialogue. The compilation captures the beauty of collaboration, the moments where different voices merge into something unexpected, intimate, and resonant.
Featuring artists from countries such as Chile, Norway, France, UK, Australia, US, Poland, and India, the release highlights the truly global nature of the OPIA community. Even the cover art was sourced from within the community, with JJ Studios contributing the evocative artwork that ties the project together.
The full compilation will be released 13th November, inviting listeners to slow down and immerse themselves in a cross-continental conversation between composers.
The immersive and cinematic Only Know by ENGRANE and Lara Frank blends dark ambient textures with atmospheric electronic pop, evoking the rhythmic pull and mystery of the ocean. Male and female vocals entwine across synths, deep bass, and intricate percussion, creating a haunting yet emotionally resonant dialogue. With rich production and a sense of vastness, the track invites listeners into a deep, introspective soundscape shaped by nature’s ebb and flow.
Born from a transatlantic collaboration, ENGRANE (Berlin) and Lara Frank (Nashville) connected through the OPIA music community, drawn together by a shared affinity for emotive, atmospheric sound design. Working remotely across continents, they exchanged ideas and layers over multiple sessions, allowing the track to evolve organically. Lara’s evocative soundscapes and ENGRANE’s detailed production merged seamlessly, resulting in a piece that captures both the intimacy of creative connection and a broader call to reconnect with the natural world.
About OPIA: Born out of Ólafur Arnalds’ desire to create an environment that encourages experiments and collaboration, OPIA is focused on strengthening the scene where modern-classical music meets electronic and beyond.
A three-pronged entity, OPIA is a travelling festival series, a record label and a community hub fostering a variety of conversations and initiatives. https://www.opiacommunity.com/
Published post no.2,704 – Thursday 31 October 2025
Ex Cathedra (George Parris, chorus-master), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Robert Ames
Arnalds arr. Geoff Lawson Momentary (2018) Jóhansson arr. Robert Ames Kanguru (2016) Guðnadóttir arr. Ames For Petra (2022) [UK Premiere] Jóhansson arr. Anthony Weeden Arrival – Suite No.1 (2016) Guðnadóttir arr. Ames Ascent (2009) Arnalds Og Lengra (2009) Jónsi & Somers arr. David Handler Boy 1904 (2009) Björk arr. Ian Anderson Jóga (1997) Sveinsson Der Klang Der Offenbarung des Göttlichen (2014) [UK Premiere]
Symphony Hall, Birmingham Saturday 5 April 2025
Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse
Saturday’s concerts often ring the changes in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s season and this evening proved no exception – Northern Lights comprising a programme by the younger generation of Icelandic composers that has come to the fore of European music.
Much has been made of the inclusivity and non-conformism of music in Iceland – spurred on, no doubt, by that country’s geographical isolation well into the 20th century with its lack of a classical tradition as regards composing or performance. Yet the main impression left by what was heard tonight was its overall lack of diversity in terms of sound and, as a consequence, its uniformity as regards expression. For a country which is synonymous with spectacular natural phenomena as well as its off-the-wall attitude, this was surprising and not a little disconcerting.
Any such trend was largely bucked by the late Jóhann Jóhansson, whose numerous film scores were represented by two extracts from that to sci-fi drama Arrival – the first enlivened with its quirky vocal syllabics, then the second building up an ominous and ever more menacing aura. They were preceded by a track from Ólafur Arnalds’s album Re:member that set the sombrely evocative scene, and each of them followed with music by Hildur Guðnadóttir – a simmering extract from the ambitious while overwrought film Tár, then a track from her album Without Sinking that ended rather less arrestingly than it began. An excerpt from Arnalds’ ballet score Dyad 1909 has atrophied even before its close, and the Jónsi / Alez Somers collaborative track from their album Riceboy Sleeps was appreciably less than the sum of its intriguing parts. At least the first half closed on a relative high with a track from Björk’s Homogenic – one of her finest achievements here given an arresting twist by Ian Anderson, whose album reworkings with his outfit Wooden Elephant should have garnered more attention in the classical domain.
Little of Björk’s bracing idiosyncrasy – let alone the eruptive physicality of Iceland’s musical ‘father’ Jón Leifs – was evident during Kjartan Sveinsson’s Der Klang Der Offenbarung des Göttlichen occupying the second half. A former member of that (over?) influential post-rock band Sigur Rós, his ‘opera’ inspired by Halldór Laxness’s seminal novel World Light eschews individual characters and specific actions, though its presumed scenario of acceptance within the midst of adversity feels vestigial at best. Admittedly its opening threnody unfolded with a Górecki-like eloquence, but the ensuing dialogue between choir and strings sounded akin to a Germanic liturgical setting by a forgotten composer of the later 19th century – far from those expressionist canvasses by Ragnar Kjartansson that formed a backdrop at its Berlin premiere.
It should be added that the members of Ex Cathedra gave their collective all for what was an all too rare appearance with the CBSO. As, moreover, did the orchestra itself when conducted with such expertise by Robert Ames who, as a violist with whom to reckon and founding co-director of the enterprising London Contemporary Orchestra, is nothing if not well-versed in this music. What a pity that the outcome as experienced tonight was music often uninvolving, sometimes dull and conformist in a way that contemporary Icelandic culture should never be.
‘Emotional rave’ is the slogan Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen have applied to their second outing as Kiasmos. Due no doubt to intensive work schedules and popularity, it arrives ten years after their self-titled first long player together.
It is more of a widescreen affair than the self-titled debut, and included a trip to Ólafur’s studio in Bali in 2021. There the duo stayed for a month, writing and recording several tracks.
What’s the music like?
An absolute state of bliss is achieved as the first track arrives on the breeze, Grown becoming a beautiful blend of atmospherics and a stately chord progression. Sailed presents a relaxing middle ground, a languid melody, but offset by a busy drum track that keeps everything moving.
From there the songs follow a relatively familiar pattern, whereby a swell of cinematic, quasi-orchestral music is followed by a dip, where the drum track retreats and mottled piano takes centre stage, before the build up begins again and the drums return in a busier state. This happens to rich effect with the strings in Laced and Bound, and powerfully so on Squared.
Flown has a really nice piano / harp motif, while Dazed is a beauty, infused with Balinese percussion and the echoes of a sunrise, together with upright piano.
Does it all work?
It does – though at times the music sticks too rigidly to a familiar format and structure. That is potentially good for fans, though for this particular listener it led to a wish for more experimentation, knowing what the two artists are capable of.
Is it recommended?
It is – especially if you have the first Kiasmos album and are familiar with the solo works of the two artists. This is ideal music for taking the emotional weight off a day, or providing valuable time out – and the feeling persists that any sequel collaboration could really take off with a more instinctive approach.
For fans of… Nils Frahm, Max Richter, Rival Consoles
Mercury KX launch night, Omeara, 20 February 2017. Featuring Lambert, Solomon Grey and Sebastian Plano
Written by Ben Hogwood
The launch of a new record label is a rare thing indeed, especially when powered, as Mercury KX is, by a major company such as Universal.
So it was that the planets aligned with Mercury on a Monday night in South London. The Omeara club was the setting for the launch of a label which is set to become home for artists where classical and electronic music can meet and do business without any constraints. A bit like this website, we hope!
Inevitably people want to put a name on this form of music, and ‘post-classical’ was the term chosen during a spirited discussion between journalist Sean Adams and the label’s new acts Solomon Grey and Ólafur Arnalds. Yet the conclusion of the artists was that they wanted to avoid genre labels, enjoying the music for what it is.
Given the new signings for Mercury KX, that was easy. Firstly we enjoyed Lambert, a German duo adorned in tall and rather imposing Sardinian masks. Their stage dress heightened the dramatic impact already created by the rumbling of piano and percussion. The piano was opened up so we could see the workings and appreciate the mottled effect of the hammers, dampened in the quieter music and perfectly twinned with the blue light. When the music got faster, though, the percussive drive was irresistible.
Arnalds, whose distinctive music underpins each of the three series of Broadchurch, then gave interesting insights into his studio and methods of composition, ahead of the return of the drama on ITV next week. The confines of TV work can be stimulating for a composer, he said, a theme endorsed by label mates Solomon Grey. The duo have recently completed a score for the BBC drama The Last Post, due in the autumn. Their music uses field recordings and, in the brief episode we heard, has an appealing and almost psychedelic brightness in keeping with the video below.
Finally Sebastian Plano teamed up with the 12 Ensemble for a string-drenched meditation lasting around 20 minutes, led alternately by his soaring, song like cello playing and graceful piano. Plano had an appealing manner onstage, letting his music do the talking but allowing his cello to sing right at the top of its range, enjoying the beautiful harmonic progressions he had formed.
There was a real buzz around the club, and Mercury KX will no doubt be pleased at the reaction to their new artists and music. They are definitely on to something, for classical and electronic music are enjoying their collision course at the moment. Certainly the likes of Max Richter, Arnalds and Nils Frahm, to give just a few obvious examples, are writing emotive music of lasting beauty. The only potential downside is that a reliance on slow harmonies and the use of strings and piano will be brought forward at the expense of more distinctive melodies and rhythms.
It will be interesting to see if Mercury KX allow for these possibilities. They have banked some fine music already, and the label looks set to touch hearts and minds with its musical explorations in the coming years.
German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott has recorded Chopin before – but not like this. Signed to Deutsche Grammophon, she has recorded the composer’s complete Waltzes for piano – along with discs of Beethoven, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Musorgsky. Now she returns to Chopin, but with the Broadchurch composer Ólafur Arnalds for company. The Chopin Project is their collaborative album, featuring recordings made by Ott on a less-than-perfect piano, complemented by pieces for strings from Arnalds.
Ott is enthusiastic about the project as we grab a quick phone call in-between her rehearsal schedule – which has just reached the Barbican, where she has selected a piano for a concert. So, as Arcana begins with every interviewee…
Can you remember your first encounter with classical music?
My mother is a professional pianist, so there is always music in our house. That means the first classical music I heard was probably when I was still in her belly! I think my first concert experience was when three years old, and I had to go with my mum as she couldn’t find a babysitters.
At that age, you’re not able to communicate with adults, but every child still wants to be understood. Everybody wants to find a way of expressing themselves other than with the voice, and I was fascinated by the idea of about 200 people listening to someone in a room, playing piano, without talking.
I think I started playing piano as a simple wish for being understood and getting some attention. It goes beyond spoken communication. The music was not necessarily what moved me, it was the situation, and the language everybody listened to and understood.
Can you remember your first encounter with the music of Chopin?
It was around five years old. I had a cassette tape – I think Deutsche Grammophon had a series for children where they got an actor to tell the story of the composer with different recordings. I think it was a birthday or Christmas present, and that was the first time I experienced it. I couldn’t pronounce it!
Where did you meet Ólafur?
I had never really listened to his music before, but I met him through a producer who used to be my producer at DG. When Ólafur started to talk about the idea he came across the Chopin Waltzes disc I had done, and he contacted me through the producer. In the beginning I couldn’t imagine the idea. I’m very careful with these collaborations, as I see myself as a core classical artist.
What did you think of his music?
When I listened to Ólafur’s music it had taste and style, and I really liked it, so we spoke on Skype and I ended up accepting the offer. I play the Chopin pieces as written, but it was good to get a little bit away from the perfect, stereotypical sound we get in recording these days. Everything is so clean and perfect, but in those days before recording it was not so important and everybody was closer to the artist. You don’t hear the pedals or the hammers in piano recordings any more, you just hear when the sound reaches the acoustic.
Nowadays we have great instruments, and great halls, but with The Chopin Project we wanted to bring people back to really listen and get an intimate experience. It was an all-acoustic thing, and it was great for me. We are planning on a tour with the project. It’s so much fun!
How much input did you have into Ólafur’s compositions?
Almost nothing at all, he wrote them separately. The one track where I’m playing is where I play little ornaments, but this is his part of the album – me joining his project, his idea.
I like the idea he didn’t do rearrangements and came up with original pieces, and I think the pieces with strings complement the ones with solo piano. He felt it was more appropriate for strings and the one track where he uses the solo violin.
You said how important the more natural approach to recording was – do you think modern recording can be too clinical sometimes?
It’s a very different sound experience, the concept is different. We tried to distance ourselves from how recordings are made today.
It’s a great thing the technology is so advanced and everything is possible, but sometimes I wish for more live moments, and I like to record something with a natural flow. You will never get the same as experiencing the music live, but it is a lot closer to that.
Will The Chopin Project bring his music to a new audience?
I hope so, and I want it to bring in not just a new audience but the audience that have heard him one thousand times. I think it sits very well with the times we live in. Things are so perfect in those human moments, experiencing live music – these moments are very precious. The old audience gets a new perspective, and at some points in the recording I can even hear myself breathing. It makes it very human.
You have worked and recorded with Francesco Tristano, who also crosses between classical and other forms of music such as techno. How did your collaboration begin?
With Francesco it started out of friendship; and a passion we share for the music of Bach. I grew up with him aside from our passion for food.
I had the idea to invite him on as a guest for a French Baroque album, and then for a Bach double album that didn’t work out. We decided to base a two-piano album around The Rite of Spring (given the title Scandale) and came across the music for the Ballets Russes company. These are some of the major pieces in classical music, so we chose Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) and found a couple that went with it. We have now played 30 concerts together, and we’re at a point where we don’t think about most of the music on the disc originally being written for orchestra.
For me you enter a new world. We never can play without energy, and that’s the fun part. It’s very physical and we wouldn’t do it after an espresso or something! It’s all about dance music. It’s rhythmically very challenging but so fun. When we play it you see the audience react physically, moving their shoulders, and that’s so nice to see, that’s what music does and that’s the common language that goes beyond words, and makes you feel very privileged.
What are your future plans?
I’m in London now for my performance of the Liszt Piano Concerto no.2, and then I move on to Shanghai, South America, the United States and then a couple more times to London. Francesco and I will come to London with Scandale.
The Chopin Project is out now on Mercury Classics. You can find out more about Alice and her recordings by visiting her website
Mercury KX launch night, Omeara, 20 February 2017. Featuring Lambert, Solomon Grey and Sebastian Plano
Arcana.fm 