Live Review: Ólafur Arnalds, Sophie Hutchings

Pianist Sophie Hutchings played a lovely supporting set, though sadly the only support as Keaton Henson had unfortunately been unable to perform. Backed by a violin and cello with hints of percussion, her pieces ebbed and flowed with intense emotion and feeling, and you could see the music just flow through her whole body with ease. Haunted with chilling themes, her songs were quite long and though very well-written and performed, her lack of connection and awkward attempt at chit-chat with the audience saw some members get a bit fidgety towards the end. Her song Between Earth & Sky was a bit more interesting melodically than the rest of the set. Though you could tell she was good at what she was doing, the audience weren't feeling it.

Ólafur Arnalds, on the other hand, was the total opposite. The charming little Icelander had the audience wrapped around his little finger, and nobody seemed to care that his set started half an hour late thanks to tuning problems (thanks a bunch, Perth heat). Sampling the audience for the first song of the set, Arnalds went from strength to strength without pause. His super atmospheric, ethereal soundscapes were a process to behold, and with every song completely filling the amphitheatre, the audience was captivated by every note he played as his tunes developed and moved almost with a mind of their own. Supported by a string quartet he'd incredibly only met the previous day, you could have literally heard a pin drop from the moment he walked onstage right up to the very end of the set. His tune Poland was a highlight, as it was a very sweet little melody... and mmmm, dat bass line: perfection. Accompanied towards the end by guest vocalist from the new record For Now I Am Winter, Arnór Dan, whose soaring tenor sent chills up this reviewer's spine, Arnalds finished off with arguably his most popular song, Ljósið, which was, as it turns out, written for a bathtub commercial.