Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds and the Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Loreen have teamed up for a collaboration referred to as SAGES. The challenge debuts with a double single launch “In the Sound of Breathing / Opening.”
The singles arrive with a cinematic brief movie accompaniment, directed by Thora Hilmars, starring Loreen with a cameo from Arnalds. The movie is impressed by the sixteenth century Dancing Plague of Strasbourg, reflecting the unrestrained freedom each felt through the songwriting course of. “After working on this, I realized—this is what creating should feel like. No walls, no compromises, just pure expression,” says Loreen.
SAGES, a 3-track EP out March 21, bridges minimalist digital composition and emotive pop. Mutual followers of the opposite’s work, Arnalds and Loreen linked on social media after Loreen’s groundbreaking second Eurovision win in 2023.
Says Loreen of the challenge: “I’m so excited to finally share ‘In The Sound of Breathing’ / ‘Opening’ with everyone—this project has been such a beautiful, transformative journey. Working with Ólafur has felt like discovering a musical kindred spirit; from the very first session, everything flowed so naturally, like we were completing each other’s sentences through sound. Every detail, every frequency, every moment in this music has been crafted with deep intention. I hope that when people listen, they allow themselves to fully immerse in it, to feel the energy in the soundscapes, and to take whatever they need from it.”
And per Arnalds: “I’m so proud of these songs that Loreen and I poured our hearts and souls into. We started with a completely blank slate, as strangers, and without even having to talk about the direction we wanted to go, off we went. We could just feel it. The songs we made started forming a journey ending in a wild creative catharsis, the kind of freedom that feels like rebellion.”
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