提起冰岛，自然让人联想起冷冽的空气、灰色的石墙与皎洁的冬雪；活蹦乱跳的Björk，古灵精怪的Múm，或催人热泪的Sigur Rós。
提起冰岛，彷佛是梦的原乡，北海精灵的屯居地，与世隔绝的乌托邦。这座人口不过区区三十万的蕞尔小岛，过往数年却不断呈现给世人崭新的音乐奇观。而现年二十岁的Ólafur Arnalds，就是雕刻在这片抒情竹简上，最新的一颗璀璨惊叹号。
平日居住在邻近首都Reykjavík的小镇，Eulogy For Evolution是Ólafur Arnalds闭关隐居，花了四个月录制的首张个人专辑。共含八首歌，每一首歌只以数字作为代号，没有可供识别的曲名。当你得知Ólafur Arnalds除了编曲家，同时身兼两组Hardcore乐队的鼓手，初听Eulogy For Evolution之时，不免感觉一阵意外。这是一张与摇滚乐搭不太上边，不论作曲概念与乐器铺陈都接近古典乐派的难分类作品。尤其前五首歌，除了钢琴与弦乐，其它什么都没有。
巧合的是，诸多深植人心的电影配乐，也只以钢琴与弦乐为要角。沈缓低吟的钢琴与急促浩然的弦乐，一如太阳与光影，无法脱离另一半独自存在。它们总是 同进同出，营造出的不论是和谐对位，或激昂交错，Eulogy For Evolution前半段只靠这两项乐器持续对话，却带给听者无垠想象的漂浮影像质地。细致的情绪搅拌力道，可比令我钟爱不已的当代作曲家Max Richter；而曲尾提升，如瀑布奔流而下的片刻，那等锋芒气势彷佛又深得冰岛前辈Jóhann Jóhannsson真传。
直到第六首歌，行至三分二十四秒，我终于听见了鼓声。
相较于过往半小时的轻柔与空灵，Eulogy For Evolution自此一如脱缰野马，头也不回地扬蹄而去。人们终于瞧见深藏Ólafur Arnalds心中的鼓手性格，飘逸而潇洒；最后一首浸满Godspeed You! Black Emperor提味元素的爆炸性高潮，弦乐不再惆怅，反而与电吉他音墙呼应出残暴的戏剧张力。鼓点如雷雨奔腾，将专辑开头一路凝结的压抑冰霜，一次用大火融尽。
让听者醉心了大半时光，沈溺在漩涡般的洁净孤岛，尾声才惊觉原来专辑末端埋伏着猛虎出柙式的爆裂感，类似的编排手法，直让我想起Damien Rice专辑O的最后一首无名隐藏曲。只是，Eulogy For Evolution爆发得更突然，更措手不及，甚至让我怀疑曲中的分岔音，那类似音响跳针的效果，是否出自CD本身的问题。
直至年初与Ólafur Arnalds所属的伦敦厂牌Erased Tapes订购黑胶唱片，放上唱盘听过一遍，才终于理解黑胶也有一样的「问题」。显然Ólafur Arnalds仍是名大孩子，这短短数秒的爆音，是他眨眼微笑时，给我们的北欧式幽默。
路还很长。这名全才乐手能走到哪里，下一张专辑是否向摇滚靠拢，或坚持当前的古典氛围，都令人屏息以待。
“Beautiful in the same way the arctic is.”
Fragile, emotional, classical indie music would maybe be the best term to describe Ólafur Arnalds’ music. Combining classical instrumentation with an indierock aesthetic there are obvious comparisons to Sigur Rós, but Arnalds is sculpting his own epic, string-laden compositions.
Only 21 years of age, Ólafur hails from the suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometres outside Reykjavík. He has immersed himself completely in the world of delicate symphonic compositions in a near weightless orchestral undertaking. Mixing strings and piano with loops, ambiance, electronics and beats. Debut album ‘Eulogy for Evolution’ takes the listener on a journey, representing different periods in life, from birth to death. The follow-up 5-track EP ‘Variations of Static’ so far has only been available as a limited tour edition. While keeping the classical foundations of his debut album, here Arnalds incorporates crackling electronics and the dead voice of a machine; like vague memories of tradition lost within the digital age we all live in.
This winter Ólafur and his live string quartet performed at unique venues in the UK including the oldest custom-built concert hall in Europe, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, before he continued playing mostly sold out shows throughout the rest of Europe. Over five hundred people came to see Ólafur at the State-X Newforms Festival in Den Haag alongside Aphex Twin as well as at Iceland Airwaves with Amiina & Jóhann Jóhannsson in Brussels. In March he will cross the Atlantic for a few showcases in Boston, New York and Toronto promoting the debut album release in North America.
