Olafur Arnalds

So. I thought I might as well introduce you to some of my favoritest music ever.

Olafur Arnalds is an Icelandic composer and instrumentalist. He primarily just plays piano in performances but often has an accompanying band of several strings and sometimes another on the keys playing synth. His music is often described as "neoclassical" but speaking in pop culture terms it's more of an ambient experimental electronic. Yeah ... it's a lot easier to listen to than classify.

So, I suppose I'll show you two of my favorite tracks of his (so as not to waste too much of your time, especially in the case that you don't care for it) and if you like him enough you can explore the rest of his work.

This first one is from his "Living Room Songs" a small 7 track album he released for free to the public. He also uploaded videos of the performances to his YouTube channel, which is really cool. Here's my favorite track:

If you're interested, the entire album can be downloaded from his site, here. http://livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com/

The second is a track from the soundtrack to a British detective drama miniseries he scored.

Well there you have it. Olafur Arnalds. As you'll hear, his music is slower moving than most modern stuff, and so if you find it somewhat boring, no worries. I think it's just capital.

Cheers!

Daniel

Treble Makers

Sometimes when I am in the middle of scoring a picture (or otherwise) oftentimes it's nice to have a side project of my own which usually consists of a genre of music utterly different from that of the main project. It's like having a barrel of wine I can tap whenever I grow weary of working on the same thing for too long. For instance, currently I'm in the middle of composing bespoke music for some educational curriculum. The type of music required is of a very grand orchestral nature, so in contrast the particular vintage as of late has been a little folk melody I actually composed several years ago and recently decided to arrange for a small pit band (of sorts). Though small ensembles are rather difficult to replicate with synthesized instruments, due to the intricate tone of solo instruments, I'm actually rather pleased with how this short little piece turned out. The band consists of a tin whistle, trumpet, upright piano, tuba, harmonium (pump organ), cello, and double bass.

Check it out!



Cheers,
Daniel

The Parlor

So, I decided to change things up a bit and take a slight break from cinematic music.  I'd never ever written a Jazz style piece, but now I've at least attempted.  Heh-heh.  Expect more genres coming from my direction!

The Music Box

In the words of the beloved Count Olaf: "Hello, hello, hello!"

I have several small musical projects going on these days and one slightly larger and exciting one (it's a collaboration with another composer).  Expect to hear the exciting one within the next few weeks.  A very tiny little piece I came up with on one of these fine autumn days.  You might enjoy giving a listen and even making a comment.

String Quartet!

Alrighty!  My Summer has thus far been super busy and super awesome.  Lots of music.  Anyway, as of late I've been working on writing a piece for string quartet.  I just finished the composition and the mock-up in the computer.  I hope to have it all recorded by September!  But for now here's the mock-up for your enjoyment.  :D

EDIT. I removed this track from my SoundCloud page, so if you wanna hear it, message me or something.