Ólöf Arnalds (born 4 January 1980) is an Icelandic

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted t ...

and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene since the early 2000s. She was a touring member of múm for five years from 2003 before launching her solo career and has released three albums to date. She has collaborated with bands and artists such as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, Stórsveit Nix Noltes,

Mugison Örn Elías Guðmundsson, known professionally as Mugison (born 4 September 1976), is an Icelandic musician. Early life In 1977, Guðmundsson and his family moved from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ic ...

, Slowblow and

Skúli Sverrisson Skúli Sverrisson (born 23 October 1966) is an Icelandic composer and bass guitarist. He has worked with musicians Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey, Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arto Lindsay, and composers Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jóhan ...

. Between 1988 and 2002, Ólöf studied violin and classical singing, and from 2002 to 2006 she studied composition and new media at

Iceland Academy of the Arts History Iceland University of the Arts ( is, Listaháskóli Íslands ) is an Icelandic institution of higher art education, located in Reykjavík, which offers the only university-level degrees in the arts in Iceland.Lisa Z. ValdimarsdottirIce ...

. In 2007, her debut album '' Við Og Við'' was released by

12 Tónar 12 Tónar (, 'twelve tones') is a record shop in Reykjavík, Iceland, and also a record label for Icelandic artists. It is located on Skólavörðustígur 15, in downtown Reykjavík. Founded in 1998 in Reykjavík, 12 Tónar has been well recei ...

. The album features a set of songs performed mostly in a traditional

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...

style. Her second album, '' Innundir skinni'', was released by

One Little Independent Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

in September 2010. Her third album is '' Sudden Elevation'' and was released (again by One Little Independent Records) in February 2013.

''Við og Við''

Ólöf's debut album ''Við og Við'' was originally released in Iceland in 2007 by 12 Tónar, but was not released in the United Kingdom and the United States until 2009, after she had signed to One Little Independent Records. Word of mouth – including Björk's patronage – earned ''Við og Við'' high-profile plaudits in the US, ranking in Paste Magazine's Top 100 Albums of 2007 and eMusic's editor's list of the Best Albums of 2008. The success of ''Við og Við'' in the US led to Ólöf touring with

Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993. ...

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...

, The Dirty Projectors and

Jeff Mangum Jeff Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. M ...

, and to her being covered extensively in US publications including ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' and '' Time Out New York''.

''Innundir Skinni''

Ólöf's second album ''Innundir Skinni'' was released in 2010 by

. It marked a departure from her previous work by including three English language songs, including the single ''Surrender'', which features Björk's distinctive vocal in the background. The album was produced by then Sigur Ros members Kjartan Sveinsson and Davíð Þór Jónsson, and featured contributions from Björk, Skúli Sverrisson (

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

), Shahzad Ismaily (

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

), María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (

Amiina Amiina (formerly Amína, stylized in lowercase) is an Icelandic band composed of members Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson. In the past they have frequent ...

), and Ragnar.

''Sudden Elevation''

Ólöf released her third album ''Sudden Elevation'' in 2013 on

and it is her first album sung entirely in English. Produced again by long-time collaborator, Skúli Sverrisson, ''Sudden Elevation'' was largely recorded in a late autumn 2011 stint in a seaside cabin in

Hvalfjörður Hvalfjörður (, "whale fjord") is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no pr ...

, western Iceland.

Discography

Albums

* '' Við Og Við'' (2007) * '' Innundir skinni'' (2010) * '' Sudden Elevation'' (2013) * ''Palme'' (2014) * ''Palma'' (2014, Icelandic language version exclusive to

Pledge Music PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

)

EPs

* '' Ölof Sings'' (Sept. 2011) * '' The Matador EP'' (Oct. 2013)

Singles

* ''7" Maria Bethânia/Sveitin milli sanda'' (August 2009) * ''7" Innundir skinni/Close My Eyes'' (June 2010) * ''7" Crazy Car/Sukiyaki'' (September 2010) * ''7" Surrender/Instans'' (March 2011)