Byrkningar – Pteridophyte

^{I’m grateful to be presenting a new quadraphonic composition in Chicago this weekend, thank you to ESS, at the Lincoln Park Conservatory, alongside the talented artists Jenn Grossman and the project Paradise is a Frequency.

My piece, Byrkningar – Pteridophyte, draws inspiration from processes that occur on timescales that I think ferns might perceive, often overlooked by human perception: slow growth, respiration, decay, and renewal. I consider the living ferns as both a special audience and a collaborator, as they bring their texture and humidity to the space. The piece is an exploration of listening, attention, and the possibility of experiencing plant life on a new frequency, as a consciousness next to you.

Using primarily a Buchla 200 system, saxophone, singing bowls, and field recordings, I created an orbiting, slowly evolving texture and sustained harmonies for the ferns living in the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Saxophone played by Óskar Guðjónsson.

I will be attending the opening on August 23 1-4pm. The works will be playing in the space through October 11.}

Fjöður

<a href="https://otal.bandcamp.com/album/fj-ur">Fjöður by Ótal</a>

^{Releasing September 3, 2026

Built from field recordings made throughout Akron, this album brings together water, wildlife, wind, plants, trains, and industrial machinery. Layered and transformed into slowly shifting compositions, these sounds trace the hidden character of the city and the tension between its natural and industrial landscapes. During the recording process, I became increasingly aware of a deeper presence within the environment—something ancient that seemed to remain beneath the roads, factories, railways, rivers, and vegetation. The album explores this sensation through sound, memory, and transformation, searching for the unseen qualities that can be felt within a place.

Instruments: Buchla 200, Oberheim OB-6, Make Noise Modular System, and field recordings.

Composed, mixed and produced by Óskar Þór Arngrímsson.

Artwork: Ella Medicus

Thanks to:

Jesper Pedersen for the insight, and mentorship.

Skuggi for mental clarity.

This album was supported by the Akron Soul Train Artist Program.}

^{© all rights reserved}

^{︎ See more and pre-order the album on Bandcamp.}

Gjóta

Video created for Gjóta

^{This album is like an audio diary; a fraction of scribbles I have been putting down during the last year. Some was written for Ella's exhibition in New York, some was written for my garden using found sounds recorded in the garden. All of it is about challenging inner and outer space.

1 - Tjörn
2 - Hringrás
3 - Nötrugras
4 - Skafl

5 - Innhverf

Composed, mixed and produced by Óskar Þór Arngrímsson.

Artwork: Ella Medicus

Instruments: Buchla 200, Oberheim OB-6, Make Noise modular system, Juno 106, double bass, singing bowls, glockenspiel, typewriter, field recordings.}

^credits

^{released March 3, 2026

Thanks to:

Jesper Pedersen for playing the Juno 106 in Nötrugras, the insight, and mentorship.

Óttar Sæmundsen for playing the double bass in Tjörn, the conversations, and inspiration.

© all rights reserved

︎ See more and buy the album on Bandcamp.}^{Review of Gjóta written by Chuck van Zyl for Star´s End}

Heyr

<a href="https://otal.bandcamp.com/album/heyr">Heyr by Ótal</a>

^{This meditative album consists of four tracks that grasp at the wildness and the rawness of his home land of Iceland, and the fierce spirit that can be felt in its presence. The title Heyr, meaning 'hear me,’ was chosen to describe the album’s message, as if to ask nature to ‘hear my cry.’ Composed primarily on modular synthesizer, Ótal incorporates field recordings of Iceland taken by Magnús Bergsson. Sounds that can be heard include wind, water, and even the aurora borealis, picked up by an electromagnetic microphone. He uses the recordings to modulate the timing and structure of voices in the synthesizer. The artwork for the album is a photograph taken by Ella Medicus of a contrail blown by the wind, creating a shape that resembles chromosomes or the curling arms of a lyre.

1 - Vættir
2 - Lækjarspræna
3 - Heyr
4 - Gígbarmur}

^credits

^{released March 3, 2025

Composition, recording, and mixing: Ótal
Field Recordings: Magnús Bergsson
Artwork: Ella Medicus

© all rights reserved.

︎ See more and buy the album on Bandcamp.

Review of Heyr written by Chuck van Zyl for Star´s End}