aaamusic | On 21, Oct 2012

Ólöf Arnalds is shortly to announce details of her forthcoming album, due in February 2013.

Before then comes A Little Grim, released as a single on 28^th January.

Recorded in her native Iceland, her third album – her first sung entirely in English – captures a rare and idiosyncratic songwriting talent in full bloom.

Produced again by long-time collaborator, Skúli Sverrisson, it was largely recorded during a late autumn 2011 stint in a seaside cabin in Hvalfjörður (literally ‘Whale-fjord’), in the west of Iceland.

Low-key show at The Lexington supporting Mikhael Paskalev, Thursday 25^th October

Classically educated on the violin and self-taught on viola, guitar and charango, none-the-less Ólöf’s most distinctive asset is her captivating voice, possessing spring water chasteness, seemingly innocent yet ancient (Björk once described Ólöf’s uniquely compelling vocal sound as “somewhere between a child and an old woman.”)

 

2010’s Innundir skinni attracted widespread critical acclaim, Mojo venturing a Rising piece while Q named Ólöf as one of their Most Exciting People In Music. Major features followed in Dazed & Confused, The Guardian, Stool Pigeon, Clash, and at the end of the year, Innundir skinni appeared in Uncut magazine’s 50 Best Albums Of 2010, also appearing amongst the finalists for the prestigious Nordic Music Prize that year.