ARTIST FEATURE APRIL 03, 2019

Ragnar Ólafsson about his

process of writing and composing

in his hometown Reykjavík.

Icelandic music has never been this present: Artists like Ólafur Arnalds, Björk and Sigur Rós -just to name a few- established a style of their own and gain massive impact. Due to the small popularity, there are only a few places musicians, producer, composer and engineers meet. One such place is the famous E7 studios in the harbor of Reykjavík.

Icelandic songwriter and composer Ragnar Ólafsson kindly takes time off recording his next solo album in his studio room in E7 to share his view on music creation and making a living as a musician under the special circumstances of Iceland’s rather small music industry.

He took us on a ride around his hometown, sharing his favourite places and the beautiful nature of Iceland.

In Action

Ragnar is on the road touring Europe on a regular basis. With his own bands like Árstíðir, his solo project as well as sharing the stage with other bands as a session musician. For more information on live shows and releases Ragnar is involved in, check his facebook or instagram pages.

And consider visiting his hometown Reykjavík. There is a lot to see and experience in Iceland: A great culture, nature and kind people living their dreams.

1/ Ragnar does a lot of studio work. Be it producing his own songs, composing soundtracks for film and TV or working with other artists. His digital workstation of choice is Pro Tools.

2/ In the studio, Ragnar has a nice collection of instruments. In general, he prefers instruments with character, such as his old upright piano, a Wurlitzer and analog Synth. His favorite is a vintage Juno 106. Of course there’s the mandatory Roland RE-201 Tape Delay which shouldn’t be missing in any serious studio room in Iceland!

3/ Ragnar is a proud VGS guitars endorsee and you can hear them all over his work and live on stage.