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Olafur Arnalds + Greg Haines + Finn @ The Tunnels, 22nd Oct


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as part of SOUND Festival, interesting music promotions and Dizzy Storm present

OLAFUR ARNALDS + GREG HAINES + FINN.

Wednesday 22nd October

The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen. AB10 1BF. Phone 01224 211121

Doors 8pm

Tickets 8+bf in advance / 10 on door

Available from

One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662

Ticketweb http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

Aberdeen Box Office (His Majesty's Theatre, Rosemount Viaduct or the Music Hall, Union Street), Phone 01224 64112 or http://www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

http://www.thetunnels.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic

http://www.myspace.com/dizzystorm

OLAFUR ARNALDS

Hailing from Iceland, Olafur Arnalds combines classical instrumentation with an indie-rock aesthetic to produce beautiful, fragile, emotional, classical indie music. Although with obvious comparisons to Sigur Ros who he supported throughout Europe this summer, Arnalds continues to sculpt his own epic, string-laden compositions.

Beautiful in the same way the Arctic is



http://www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds*

http://www.erasedtapes.com

GREG HAINES

With the current trend for modern classical/electronic records there is no shortage of cinematic and emotional music - we have Max Richter, Ryan Teague and Sylvain Chauveau holding aloft the torch, but Greg Haines produces something which is somehow more nave, warmer and in parts even more visual.

http://www.myspace.com/greghainesmusic

FINN.

Finn. is the work of German singer/songwriter, multi- instrumentalist, conceptionist, visual artist and fashion designer Patrick Zimmer. With influences that span decades, he makes beautiful, haunting, mesmerising songs that make a striking impression on all who hear them.

http://www.finnmusic.com

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You have no idea how excited i am about this! Kristin Evensen Giaver's vocals on the Greg Haines record still gives me the chills (....although i guess she won't be there). I remember it was all i listened to walking around Uni last Christmas.

It'll be great to see Olafur Arnalds again as well. I was completely new to him when he played last time, but hopefully i'll be a bit better prepared this time!

I see Finn is on Erased Tapes as well. Is there anywhere to hear his stuff?

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Preview in The Skinny

Olafur Arnalds @ The Tunnels, 22 Oct :: The Skinny

Christmas did come early the first time I heard Arnalds last autumn. His haunting melodies have the ability to bring out childhood memories while easing modern strains like only your mothers sweet lullabies could do. A suffocating comfort in music is rare, but something that the musicians of Iceland seem to etch straight from the life and geography of their homeland. Classical music is re-packaged but delicately opened up to a new audience by Arnalds. He mixes lo-fi electronic loops and samples alongside his accompanying string quartet while his drifting keys and arrangements defy the fact hes still in his early 20s. This edgy romantic weaves a rich musical tapestry which will work wonderfully in the caverns of The Tunnels; so be sure to go, and dont forget to fill a stocking with new album Variations of Static. [Jaco Justice]

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and a review from Is This Music?

is this music? Olafur Arnalds / Greg Haines / Finn

Olafur Arnalds / Greg Haines / Finn

Tunnels, Aberdeen (22nd October 2008)

Indie music has finally embraced the digital age. Gone, it seems, are the days of twang, fuzz and hiss and of troubled troubadours with acoustic guitars. No, todays generation are more than happy to take to the stage with a laptop or at least a suitable array of looping, sampling and drum machine gizmos - if tonights Sound Festival gig is anything to go by.

First up was lofty German singer-songwriter, Finn, who came onstage dressed like a kind of medieval prince, resplendent in mauve, complete with breeches and pudding-bowl haircut. But it was when he opened his mouth to sing that the audience just stared in amazement. Opening track Half Moon Stunned was a gentle, meandering track which allows Finns beautifully high vocals to take flight, against a background of simple, yet clean guitar picking.

One of the best things about Finn was his inventiveness - carefully sampling and playing back his own vocals and hand-clapping, before harmonising over the top. The effect was amazing - building up layers of sound live that simply wouldnt have worked if he didnt have the vocals to carry it off.

Next up was knob-twiddler Greg Haines, who announced he was going to do something different. So when he sat down at a desk with a laptop in front of him (presumably checking his email) the sense of anticipation was palpable. He then proceeded to pour a mysterious white material into a miked-up tray, swirling it around and recording the sound on his computer.

Ten or fifteen minutes in, and the boys still fiddling about with his computer, recording sounds and layering them on his laptop whilst fiddling frantically with loose wires. By this time Im losing patience. Call me old-fashioned, but after 10 minutes on stage Im expecting to have heard a tune by now. Couldnt he have done this bit at home?

Eventually, he builds up a weird creaking and swirling sound before playing slashes of electric cello over the top (yep, you guessed it, layering and looping). In truth, it was a fucking cacophany; a self indulgent slush trying too hard to be avant-garde but forgetting the all-important basics like stage presence, respect for the audience and an actual tune. He did, however, get a warm reception from, it has to be said, a patient and generous audience.

Lastly, headliner icelandic Olafur Arnalds and his string quartet took to the stage. And he was as cheery and joyful as youd expect an Icelander in 2008 to be. With his head almost permanently bowed in sombre reflection he took to his keyboard like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. To be fair, hes probably got cash worries like the rest of us, and the string quartet looked suicidal, at best.

But Olafurs songs displayed a brilliance and majesty; a cinematic elegance and power that evokes the mind like the best film scores you can think of. What it evoked in my mind was a man and woman standing by a frozen lake, breaking up with each other, with a single frozen tear stopped in its tracks down the girls face. Ahem.

They experimented at times with electronic beats, dripping sounds and chilling wind effects which gave the songs an eerie but powerful presence. Olafur finished up with an upbeat little number; a song he said translated as Even though the sky is falling, you can still look up at the stars. A brilliant philosophy, but it didnt stop me trying to kill myself by jumping off the bridge at Union Street. Thankfully for Is This Music readers, I was talked down from the edge by police, before going home and having a cup of tea.

It was, truthfully, a brilliant night of music (Greg Haines excepted) in the perfect venue with an appreciative audience.

//Chris Walker

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