Soup, Soak, and Music: Icelandic Composer Gabríel Ólafs on His New Album, Solon Islandus, and Planning the Perfect Day in Reykjavík
Gabríel Ólafs. Credit: Vidar Logi.
Icelandic composer Gabríel Ólafs has become a poster child for the German term wunderkind. At age 14, he wrote the song that landed him his first record deal. At 19, he released his debut album, Absent Minded, which has been streamed millions of times.
Now 23, Ólafs is celebrating two massive achievements. Earlier this year, he co-founded the Reykjavík Recording Orchestra, Iceland's first dedicated studio orchestra, which has recorded music for Netflix, Apple TV, and Deutsche Grammophon. And this summer he released Solon Islandus, his major-label U.S. debut on Decca Records.
With its visual aesthetic inspired by film, fashion, and photography, Solon Islandus brings to mind another German term: Gesamtkunstwerk, or "total work of art." For Ólafs, every project has to consider musical and visual aesthetics in equal measure.
"I take a directorial approach, so as I begin a new project I like to have the visuals from the get-go," Ólafs says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "The visual side, for me personally, is an essential part of the whole project. I don't look at it as, 'I have this music and now I need to take a couple of photos.' It's 50-50."
From the fascinating variety of instrumental colors Ólafs creates, to the album's film-noir cover and the stunning music video for its title track — featuring members of the Iceland Dance Company and fashion from Iris Van Herpen — Solon Islandus is an incredible release that positions Ólafs as one of the most important musicians to watch today.
In this discussion, we talk more about the new album and how his first job in a recording studio sparked his obsession with the recording process. Plus, he shares how daily soaks in a geothermal hot tub stimulate his creativity, and why a perfect day in Reykjavík should involve soup, a soak, lots of licorice, and late-night house music.
Listen to Solon Islandus on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you stream or download music.
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