Ólafur Arnalds collaborates with the South Iceland Chamber Choir on "Raddir"

Island Songs takes Arnalds across seven different locations in his native Iceland over seven weeks - he's creating a different composition inspired by each location, and collaborating with a local artist. This latest song follows "Árbakkinn" with poet Einar Georg and "1995" with Dagný Arnalds, and features the South Iceland Chamber Choir and was recorded in Selvogur's church, Strandarkirkja.

Explaining the track's inspiration/location, a blurb reads: "A small, wooden, stave church, known as the ‘Church of Sailors’, sits in an empty and solitude landscape, with views of the ocean from a lonely beach. Hilmar [Örn Agnarsson] and Georg [Kári Hilmarsson], father and son, conductor and composer, gather here with a choir made up of people from the local area. Together with Ólafur and the South Iceland Chamber Choir, they will produce the third Island Songs composition."

It's a track thick with texture, built from otherworldly voices and slowly rising piano. There's a solemn peace in "Raddir" ("Voices" in English), with delicate strings adding a clarity to the richness of the vocals.

Stream "Raddir" below.