Award-winning Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds and Swedish singer songwriter and producer Loreen — the only woman to have won the Eurovision Song Contest twice — announce their genre-defying collaborative project SAGES with a double single release, ‘In The Sound Of Breathing / Opening.'
The first track ‘In The Sound Of Breathing’ was born in just half a day at Arnalds' Reykjavik studio. The delicate synth landscape grows in intensity, beautifully complementing Loreen’s haunting lyrics: “I’m on the edge, stop breathing… Chasing my head, chasing my feelings”. On second single ‘Opening’, there’s a palpable sense of cathartic creativity; based on the skeleton of an instrumental track Arnalds had written years ago, it found its home when he met Loreen. The track features a stunning electronic crescendo; “There’s a bit where you feel like you’ve reached the roof,” Loreen says. “I remember the chills in my body. It’s like chaos and harmony together.”
This is perfectly reflected in the cinematic short film accompaniment, directed by Thora Hilmars, starring Loreen with a cameo from Arnalds - watch here. The film takes its narrative from the surreal story of the famous Dancing Plague of Strasbourg in the early 16th Century. It’s a beautiful depiction of being completely free and unrestrained, poignantly reflecting the music and songwriting process itself, as Loreen says: “After working on this, I realised—this is what creating should feel like. No walls, no compromises, just pure expression.”
SAGES, a 3-track EP out March 21st - is a bold exploration of artistic kinship that bridges the worlds of euphoric, minimalist electronic composition and emotive pop. Ólafur and Loreen had long admired each other’s work from afar and instantly connected on social media shortly after her “Tattoo” performance in 2023. Speaking about the release, Loreen says: “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.”
Ólafur echoes Loreen’s sentiments; “"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.”