Ólöf Arnalds and Skúli Sverrisson performed in a special concert at Café Flóra in Reykjavík on December 21 to celebrate the winter solstice and the upcoming festivities. Most of the pieces performed by the duo for the occasion are part of the latest effort by Iceland’s songstress, Ólöf Sings, which was released last November as an EP. The warm notes like a cozy blanket enveloped the audience that was also invited by Ólöf to sing along with her.
Café Flóra, with its dangling foliage, lights and almost theatrical red curtains, is another setting graced with a unique flavor that you could only properly place in a city like Reykjavík. Partly greenhouse and partly oriental garden, and situated inside the Capital’s Botanical Gardens, the cafe complemented the music with a soft and intimate atmosphere.
Here is a small taste of the show.
I think that every kind of music needs a very concrete space to be enjoyed, and this concert seems to be ideal in the union of music and comfortable surroundings.For my part , I saw Olof in concert in Barcelona in one friday night in a diminute infected hole with an infected sound ,without chairs and with a lot of people thinking in another things and without paying atention to the music and , even in these circumstances the attitude of Olof was great, always trying to connect with the audience ,joking, telling stories and preserving pure the magic of his music.Two more things : Skuli Sverrisson had a great career for his own right ( I think specially in the two “Seria” albums ), and the Botanical Gardens of Reykjavik are beatiful to take long walks in summer.And speaking about greenhouses in Iceland ,certains chapters of a fantastic icelandic book, “Rosa candida” by Audur Ava Olafsdottir come to my mind.Icelanders seems to love greenhouses for different reasons.
She’s incredible. A better venue is always welcome, but I think she would be able to grab the attention of those willing to listen even in the worst possible venue you could think of.