Anyone who has been following the Icelandic music scene knows how Ólöf Arnalds can captivate a room with nothing more than a guitar and his distinctive soprano voice.

Across five albums over almost twenty years, her gentle fingerplay on guitar, koto and charango, as well as empathetic tones from her violin, have formed the foundation for the delicate and crystal-clear stories that move in the field of tension between the everyday and the mythological.

In her music, she paints emotionally rich landscapes – often revolving around love in all its forms: the familial, the platonic and the romantic. And the soulful tracks contain references from Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan and Nico's early work. But the Icelandic artist's simple arrangements and tightly woven melodies stand crystal clear and unmistakably as her own.

Although Ólöf is a classically trained singer and violinist, she has been an active performer of popular music for three decades. First as part of the group múm, where she became a household name on the international scene with her Stroh violin on stage. Later, her solo breakthrough came with her debut Við og við in 2007 – produced by Sigur Rós' Kjartan Sveinsson.

The album became an instant local classic, earning her awards such as “Best Alternative Album” at the Iceland Music Awards, being named “Album of the Year” by Iceland’s largest newspaper, and named one of the 100 best albums of the decade by eMusic.

After a long break from music, Ólöf has returned to songwriting, and with her latest album Spíra she draws threads back to her debut. The lyrics are entirely in Icelandic, the arrangements are significantly more bare than on the two previous releases, and most of it was recorded in single takes in the company of close collaborators and friends – just like back then.

When Ólöf Arnalds visits Ideal Bar on April 25, the intimate space will be filled with captivating melodies spun from the singer's bright vocals and delicate string playing.