Born in 1986, Ólafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometres outside of Reykjavík. He has immersed himself in a world of delicate symphonic compositions generating near weightless orchestral pieces. Arnalds explores the crossover from classical to pop by mixing chamber strings and piano with discreet electronics. His motivations are clear: “The classical scene is kind of closed to people who haven't been studying music all their lives. I would like to bring my classical influence to the people who don't usually listen to this kind of music…open people's minds.”

Through relentless touring and determination this young artist has steadily gained recognition worldwide since his 2007 debut 'Eulogy for Evolution'. He has sold out some of the world’s most renowned music venues, including Barbican Hall in London. Ólafur's BBC Radio 1 live session for Gilles Peterson was awarded the best live session of 2008 by Gilles himself. The 2008 follow-up EP ‘Variations of Static’ earned Ólafur acclaim from both the contemporary and classical field – transcending a traditional divide. With the next full-length release due this winter, Ólafur conceived ‘Found Songs’ as a way to collate several lost and found musical sketches and ideas in a 'very challenging, but fun' series. He created, recorded and released online for free, one song per day for a week.

The experiment offers its listeners an intimate insight into Ólafur Arnalds’ creative world – so far more than 100.000 people downloaded the ‘Found Songs’ series via foundsongs.erasedtapes.com. Ólafur recently finished his highly anticipated second full-length album '…and they have escaped the weight of darkness.' The long-player is due for a spring 2010 release, accompanied by an extensive world tour starting with China in late March, Europe mainland throughout May. UK and North American dates in Autumn.

www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds