Gabríel Ólafs, pianist, composer, founder Reykjavík Orkestra.

About this episode

Gabríel Ólafs discusses his journey as a pianist and composer, blending classical music with modern influences and video game aesthetics.

Gabríel Ólafs is an Icelandic pianist, composer, and producer whose work blends classical tradition with fantasy and a strikingly modern sense of atmosphere. Born in Reykjavík in 1998, he began playing piano at the age of five, receiving both classical and jazz training before emerging as a recording artist while still a teenager. His debut album, Absent Minded , was released in 2019, and his subsequent work has expanded steadily in scope—from the solo intimacy of Piano Works to the folk-inspired Lullabies for Piano and Cello , which grew out of a 1906 Icelandic songbook he discovered in an antique shop. He is also the co-founder of the  Reykjavík Orkestra , and has quickly become one of the most distinctive young voices in contemporary instrumental music. Most recently, with Polar , he has moved further into speculative, atmospheric composition, drawing in part on the dreamlike emotional language of video games. Gabriel Ólafs:   Website   Releases Archive   Spotify   Apple Music   YouTube   Instagram Polar:   Listen on Spotify   Listen on Apple Music   Buy CD (Decca Classics)   Buy from Decca Records US   YouTube…

People in this episode

Host: Simon Parkin

Guest: Gabríel Ólafs

Topics covered

• music composition
• piano
• Icelandic artists
• contemporary music
• video game music
• classical and jazz fusion

Keywords

• Gabríel Ólafs
• Reykjavík Orkestra
• contemporary instrumental music
• video game music
• Icelandic composer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Reykjavík Orkestra

Products: Forza Horizon 6

Books & works: Absent Minded, Piano Works, Lullabies for Piano and Cello, Polar, IBM 1401

Places: Iceland, Reykjavík

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