Ragnar Ólafsson is releasing a new album titled Mexico and embarking on a concert tour across Poland! He will be joined on stage by guest vocalist Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir! On this occasion, thanks to the kindness of Borówka Music, I had the chance to speak with the artist. You can read the full interview below.

Krystian Błazikowski (KB): Your new album is titled Mexico. What inspired this name, and what does it symbolize in the context of the songs on the album? Ragnar Ólafsson

Ragnar Ólafsson (RO): I wrote the entire album during a 5 week road trip across Mexico. Me and my friend was driving a 1984 Chevy Silverado pickup truck, and drove coast to coast, through the jungles of the south, to the high planes and deserts of the Sierra Madre mountains. I wrote one song every day, and the best ones ended up on the album. So the entire album is like a diary from our adventure, or akin to a sonic road movie!

KB: You’ve mentioned that each of your solo albums is created during a journey to a different part of the world. What experiences from Mexico had the biggest impact on the sound and atmosphere of this album?

RO: It was exploring the ancient culture of the Aztec and Mayan peoples. Experiencing the ruins and the pyramids was one thing, but even more powerful was to visit places where these old cultures still persist, and people observe their old way, beliefs and rituals. It was truly powerful, and even spiritual!

KB: There are noticeable influences of classic 70s rock on Mexico, with echoes of artists like Neil Young and Carlos Santana. Was that a conscious homage, or a natural result of your musical exploration?

RO: It was a natural result of just immersing myself in the culture. And this is exactly why I always write my albums while travelling, so that every album has it’s own unique sound and feel, because it is inspired by a unique and different place and time.

Rzuć okiem: Chcieliśmy dać ludziom coś osobistego. Wywiad z EKHTO

KB: Is there a particular song on the album that holds a special meaning for you or is connected to a memorable story from your travels?

RO: The song Time stands out. When I wrote this one, our pickup had broken down and we were stuck in the desert for a while before we were able to get help and get the truck towed to the next city and car mechanic. In the meantime I took out my guitar and pondered my life, and it turned into a very personal exploration of my inner workings, love life, dreams and fears.

KB: Your current tour includes many cities across Poland. What keeps bringing you back to the Polish audience?

RO: Love and friendship. I started touring here regularly in 2017 when I met Bartek from the Borówka Music agency. With each tour I made more friends here, and eventually I found love. Today my girlfriend and I have an apartment in Łódź and we spend a big part of the year there.

KB: You’re joined on stage by Icelandic vocalist Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir. How did this collaboration come about, and how does it influence the dynamic of your live shows?

RO: Sólveig was competing in the Icelandic Eurovision competition in 2017, and I was the one who produced and arranged her song. That’s how we met. After that she became my favourite voice, and I ask her to sing with me on all my albums. I also make soundtracks for TV and Film, and I always ask Sólveig to sing with me. Her voice is my favourite instrument.

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KB: What emotions do you experience while performing your new material live? Do audience reactions ever shape how you interpret your songs?

RO: Yes, every time! And that is precisely what makes playing live so special, because every night I have a different audience, and their experience of my music, and their reaction to it, totally totally shapes how I experience my music. It’s a new experience every day, and that’s what keeps the songs alive!

KB: You’re a multi-instrumentalist and have co-created bands ranging from jazz to metal. How does this variety of experiences influence your solo music?

RO: It means I have a lot of musical expressions at my disposal, and I can express what I have to say in many ways. So ultimately this offers me freedom to serve the song and the story that I am telling in each song.

KB: Your solo albums are often compared to road movies. Is that kind of narrative structure something you deliberately aim for when writing and composing?

RO: It’s because THEY ARE road movies, chronicles of my adventure when traveling the world by car, boat or motorcycle. I even let the songs on the album appear chronologically, in the same order as I wrote them.

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KB: You’ve also worked on music for films and TV series. What differences do you notice between composing for visual media and creating a concept album like Mexico?

RO: Writing for the visual medium is a completely different process. When I write for my solo project, or my band Árstíðir, I am only serving the song. But when I am writing for a TV series, or a film, then I am only serving the story that is being told, and I and serving the vision of the director. I’ve been very lucky to work with directors who have a lot of trust in my musical abilities, so in the end I always manage to compose music that serves the story while simultaneously sounding uniquely like Ragnar Ólafsson.

Źródło grafik: Borówka Music Ragnar Ólafsson