Ólafur Arnalds continues to create some of my favorite music of the past few years. It’s mix of electronics and intimately recorded classical instrumentation always comes across with a strong textural identity that’s rich and complicated even when the melody’s are often the opposite.

Woven Song is another great example of what he does well. This intricate and otherworldly piano sound that dances around a thin vocal field recording. It sounds as if this field recording was very much the initial key ingredient that provided the muse for the piano and finally the string arrangement that takes over from them both halfway through the piece. It’s another great example that when you can make instrumentation sound this good and you give it room to breathe it can pack an emotional punch that far outweighs more complex tracks for the listener.

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