Every day I go on social media, and every day it seems like someone I know is in Iceland. “Beatrice Whatsherface was at Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa.” “Alfred Yourfriend was drinking cocktails with Björk.” And so on.
Sure, Iceland is very nice. We’ve all seen D2: The Mighty Ducks — we all know this. But, if you’re like me and constantly find yourself asking, “Jesus, why has Iceland become the destination for people from my Hebrew School class?,” it appears clarity may come in the form of Island Songs, a new project/adventure from Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds.
For Island Songs, Arnalds will record seven songs, in seven weeks, with seven artists, in seven locations across Iceland. Director Baldvin Z will also film performances of the songs, each done in one continuous take, as filming something in one continuous take is the Iceland of filmmaking techniques in 2016.
Arnalds’s trip is already underway as of June 21, but “Árbakkinn,” the project’s first song, a collaboration with poet and retired teacher Einar Georg Einarsson, was just released today. Watch the collaboration here:
Other collaborators include an as-yet unnamed rock singer and an also as-yet unnamed church organist who lives in a village of 100 people. All tracks will be available digitally on August 8, with a physical release to follow later this year (via Mercury Classics) and an hour-long documentary of the journey. Maybe with Island Songs’s audio-visual representation of the country, I can finally understand what it is about Iceland that compelled Evelyn Thatgirl to go to Viking World with that huge dude who plays The Mountain on Game of Thrones. Because no way they’re dating!
Watch a teaser for Island Songs below, and follow along with the journey in greater detail on its website.
More about: Ólafur Arnalds
