Spitfire Audio have teamed up with celebrated Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds to release Ólafur Arnalds Cells, combining live strings and analogue synths. Recorded in Iceland with local musicians, the samples reflect the organic and atmospheric quality of Arnalds' work, complete with his distinct blend of subtle harmonies and unexpected tonal shifts.
Cells centres around Scale Mode, a feature that allows composers to move freely within a chosen key. The mode introduces unexpected harmonic layers by adding in notes that fit within the user’s tonality, making each playthrough unique. A Played mode also takes note of which keys and intervals are being played and uses a degree of randomness to introduce unexpected yet complementary harmonies.
Ólafur Arnalds: After brainstorming this idea in a London pub back in 2018, we created a prototype, which not only got used on most of my recordings since then but also inspired my sound.
The instrument features 115 articulations and 10 signal paths, each created and selected by Arnalds himself and recorded at Akureyri’s HOF studio, a venue specialised in orchestral recordings for films, TV and the music industry.
Beyond its string samples, Cels also includes an eDNA Mode that allows users to add layers of Arnalds' own synth performances. These samples were recorded and processed with vintage analogue synthesizers from Arnalds' personal studio, adding more variety of tonality and harmonic content to the orchestral layers. This is a 20.7 GB download and is compatible with AAX, AU, VST2 and VST3.
Price & Availability
Cells is on sale for a limited time until 3 December for £159/€199$199, after which it will return to its normal price of £199/€249$249.
