Ólafur Arnalds

Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer whose score for the 2013 ITV series Broadchurch won the 2014 BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Original Music. Born on 3 November 1986 and raised in Mosfellsbær, Iceland, Arnalds has developed music that brings together piano and strings with loops and beats. His work moves between ambient and electronic music, with an atmospheric pop sensibility also present in his recordings and screen compositions.

Before becoming known for this approach, Arnalds played drums in hardcore punk and metal bands including Fighting Shit and Celestine. That background sits in contrast to the restrained, detail-focused arrangements associated with much of his later work, where acoustic instrumentation and electronic production share equal weight.

In 2009, Arnalds formed Kiasmos with Janus Rasmussen, a member of the Icelandic electro-pop group Bloodgroup. The pair's project explored experimental techno, and its electronic debut album was announced in 2014. Arnalds has also continued to work extensively for television. His title theme for Apple TV+'s Defending Jacob earned a 2020 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

His fifth studio album, Some Kind of Peace, was released in 2020. Two tracks from the album received nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2021: “Loom (feat. Bonobo)” for Best Dance/Electronic Recording, and “The Bottom Line” for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals. Since late 2025, Arnalds has also hosted Ultimate Calm, a weekly radio programme on BBC Radio 3 Unwind, normally broadcast between 21:00 and 22:00.