Ólafur Arnalds – ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness [MP3][320]

...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness
Label: Erased Tapes Records
Format: Vinyl, Album
Country: UK (CD) & Iceland (Author)
Released: 2010
Genre: Classical
Style: Classical, Electronic, Neo-classical







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As I sit down to write these words I can't help but wonder if there was a time lapse in my memory - haven't I covered this before? I could have sworn I shared my excitement for this album in the past - after all, I hungrily consume everything by Ólafur Arnalds since his 2007 debut on Erased Tapes, Eulogy For Evolution. Well, if I haven't shared my enthusiasm for this release, I apologize... Profusely... Incredibly lovely, sad and beautiful, music from Arnalds will melt the toughest hearts. If melancholy could be wrapped in sadness drenched in longing, then Arnalds captures it all. This is precisely when words loose their meaning, and the music sings... ...and they have escaped the weight of darkness is a second full-length album from this prolific Icelandic modern classical composer. In places uplifting, and always gorgeous, the contemplative passages escaping Arnalds' fingers on the piano, and the crying stringed instruments, leave the listener reflecting on all that is present in this moment, even if its veiled by the past. You absolutely have to pick up Arnalds' masterpiece, Variations of Static, (Erased Tapes, 2008), as well as his 2009 EP on the same label, Found Songs. It is also worth mentioning that Ólafur's 2009 album, Dyad 1909 was selected in Headphone Commute's Best of 2009 : Music For The Film behind Closed Eyelids.

Review by Headphone_Commute [http://www.discogs.com/user/Headphone_Commute/]

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Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side of the Sea [MP3][320]

The Opposite Side of the Sea

Label: A Quarter Past Wonderful

Format: CD

Country: US

Released: 2008

Genre: Folk, Indie

Style: New Age, Vocal

This is one of my favorite albums ever. It's sweet, easy-listening, peaceful. It exercises your brain for you to become a better person inside and out. It's like a therapy. This is one of a really few albums that create images on your brain, it's like reading a book.
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Yes, another discovery through TV ad music: Oren Lavie, one of the coolest, most talented but understated artists on the indie scene. No lack of writing talent here - there's poetry in every lyric, not to mention the throaty, intimate (maybe even sexy?) delivery of those words into silky, very male, odes of expression. Rounding out the package are playful and original musical arrangements of the folk/rock genre that keep your ears at attention no matter how relaxing the voice. Luckily, the good taste and strong effort is sustained throughout the album - filler material is just not part of this opus.

A very edgy, forward use of Lavie's music, but oh how lovingly poetic in a boomer father-daughter kind of way, is in a car ad promoting safety throughout the young life of said daughter. You can find the video of the Chevy Malibu commercial at YouTube, featuring a part of the "Her Morning Elegance" track (slightly modified). You can see it here.

The most succinct summary of Oren Lavie's bio is at Artistdirect (below); the funniest is the self-written one at Myspace; the most extensive, at tuition-music. His flash-based official site (orenlavie.com) is very complete and quite original in that it opens its own browser window with a virtual booklet like you find in the CD case. You even hear the paper page turning when you drag the corner of a page with the mouse pointer.

Review by QuietGeek

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Ólafur Arnalds - Eulogy for Evolution [MP3][320]

Eulogy for Evolution

Label: Erased Tapes Records

Format: CD

Country: Iceland

Released: 2006

Genre: Classical

Style: Neo-Classical, Post Rock, Progressive

One of my best secret finds. For real, This guy music is simply stunning. The combination of violin, great composition skills and fiery good memories are some examples of what you can extract from this album and this guy. It's so lovely, graceful. If you are into post-rock and want to listen to something a little bit intriguing, heart-breaking, you should definitely download Ólafur Arnalds.

MP3 320Kbps files ripped from pure FLAC.

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Majestic, graceful, gorgeous and sublime are only the first few words that come to mind when I listen to Ólafur Arnalds’ debut on Erased Tapes Records titled Eulogy For Evolution. Iceland scores once again, with another composer feeling right at home with many instruments - piano, organ, and a melodica. Bring in the strings - cello, viola and violins - and you’ve got an acoustic ensemble for the melancholic sound easily compared among countryman Jóhann Jóhannsson and, of course, Max Richter. Just when you’ve slotted the chamber sound among the modern classical genre, Arnalds throws in some drums and all of a sudden you’re listening to progressive post-rock.

The last pieces on the album are exceptionally emotional, starting off with a solo violin performance and building into a progression full of surprises - so I won’t ruin it here. I especially like how the piano recording is separated in the stereo field: the sound of key action preemptively heard in right channel, followed by the hammer striking the string in center, and the soft dull stomp of a pedal somewhere in the left. I rate the album with AAA - Astonishing Acoustic Aural experience. No wonder it showed up at the top of many Best of 2007 lists.

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