Ólafur Arnalds, JFDR - Back To The Sky

What this video is

Released on 7 August 2020 via Mercury KX (Decca Music Group), 'Back To The Sky' arrived during a period of global lockdown and widespread introspective cultural production. It served as the lead single previewing Arnalds' 2020 album 'some kind of peace', positioning the track as a bridge between his celebrated 2018 technological breakthrough 're:member' and a new, more intimate chapter. The collaboration with JFDR…

Why it matters

The video is a benchmark artefact of the 2020s neo-classical ambient crossover moment, in which Icelandic artists such as Ólafur Arnalds achieved mainstream critical prestige while retaining experimental credibility. It represents the visual grammar of Mercury KX's prestige aesthetic: landscape…

The director

Árni & Kinski is the long-standing Icelandic directing duo of Stefán Árni and Siggi Kjartansson, based in Reykjavík. The pair are credited as co-founders of the visual identity of the Icelandic electronic collective GusGus, which originated from their short…