Skip to main content

NPR - Tiny Desk Concerts featuring Ólafur Arnalds [Video]



#TinyDesk #Ólafur Arnalds #NPR





 It's as if the pianos were haunted. Somewhere about midway through this Tiny Desk, as Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds performed on his electronic keyboard, two upright pianos were playing lilting melodies behind him, absent any performer at the keys. And yet these "ghosts," along with Ólafur's band of strings and percussion, put together some of the most beautiful music I've heard at the Tiny Desk, made all the more mysterious through its presentation.
About ten minutes into the performance Ólafur looked behind him at the two pianos, looked to the NPR crowd and said, "well I guess you're all wondering 'what and why,' to which there's no easy answer." He hit the keys on his electronic keyboard and the two pianos behind responded with cascading, raindrop-like notes. "What I can say," he continued, "is that I've spent two years and all of my money on this — to make my pianos go bleep-bloop." What Ólafur was referring to is software that he and his coder friend, Halldór Eldjárn developed. A computer, loaded with this musical software (which Ólafur calls the Stratus system), "listens" to Ólafur's keyboard performance and responds by creating patterns that are musically in tune with the chord or notes Ólafur performed.
So why do this? Basically, it's a way to break out of the box musicians often fall back on as performers — the familiar responses that years of playing can reinforce. With that is the hope that the computer will create a response that is unfamiliar and, in some cases through speed of performance and the sheer number of notes played, impossible for a human to have made. So, it breathes new life into the music for the listener and the performer.
It was a gently stunning and memorable Tiny Desk. More of these creations can be heard on Ólafur Arnalds' brilliant, fourth solo album re: member. The full album is out August 24 on Mercury KX.
Set List
  • "Árbakkinn"
  • "Unfold"
  • "Saman"
  • "Doria"

MUSICIANS

Ólafur Arnalds (keys), Viktor Arnason (violin), Unnur Jónsdóttir (cello), Katie Hyun (violin), Karl James Pestka (viola), Manu Delago (percussion)

By Bob Boilen 

CREDITS:

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, Dominik Piorr; Audio Mix: Ólafur Arnalds; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Bronson Arcuri, Khun Minn Ohn; Production Assistants: Catherine Zhang, Téa Mottolese; Photo: Eric Lee/NPR.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The most popular animated series, by state

#Animation #Cartoon #FamilyGuy #Sitcoms #RickandMorty #SouthPark #Archer #TheSimpsons  As  The Simpsons  heads into their 31st  season—further cementing itself as the longest-running primetime scripted series in the US—the Data Team at All Home Connections thought it would be interesting to find out your state’s favorite animated sitcom. Using a list of the top 15 most popular animated sitcoms, our analysts then used Google Trends to identify the most popular shows by comparing those with the highest search volume in each state. Take a look at our map to find out what your state’s favorite animated sitcom is and what other states like to watch across the country. Interesting Findings Here are some interesting findings that the data team came across when they started digging a little deeper into the results. Colorado’s favorite animated sitcom is  South Park . This could be because the town of Fairplay, Colorado is the childhood home of creator Matt ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Christopher Reeve's ''Superman' Is So Hard to Leave in the Past

#ChristopherReeve #Clarkkent #DCcomics #LoisLane #RichardDonner #Superman Forty years ago, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve made a Superhero film that directors have been chasing for years, depicting who America was then — or at least who we wished to be Superman. It’s now easy to believe a man can fly. It wasn’t in 1978, but today, in midst of an explosion of superhero movies, it’s a belief we give into with relative ease. Flight is most often the bare minimum of what we expect from heroes and villains who can perform any feat limited only by the human imagination. It’s not simply special effects that permit our belief, but rather an overall acceptance that these costume-clad characters are a defining part of our culture, modern myths at their best and populist cinematic staples akin to the 20th century western at their lowest form. There have been a record nine theatrically released superhero movies based on comic books this year alone, each claiming a major piece of the glo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mechanism of a Mosquito Bite (VIDEO)

#itchy #Mosquito #MosquitoBite Unfortunately, enjoying the outdoors also means risking numerous bites from swarms of blood-hungry mosquitoes that seem to target us as soon us we step outside. Have you ever wondered about the science behind the mosquito bite and why those bites leave you itchy?  Check out the following video! 
Post a Comment
Read more