sunneversetsonmusic | monthly music blog

ALBUM OF THE DAY

27 APRIL 2026

SAGES (Echoes Edition)

OLAFUR ARNALDS, LOREEN

Released 24 April 2026

Mercury KX

****-

A fluid, two-part release of ambient songcraft, giving way to electronic reinterpretation - a set of remixes that expand the music’s emotional core in rhythm, space and motion.

The collaboration between Ólafur Arnalds and Loreen brings together two artists shaped by very different musical paths. Arnalds, a BAFTA-winning composer, has built his reputation by dissolving boundaries between classical minimalism, ambient music and electronics. His post-pandemic work has drawn on themes of solitude, nature and process.
Loreen, born Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, rose from early Swedish TV appearances to global recognition through her breakthrough with “Euphoria” and victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 (and again in 2023). Her artistry blends pop, electronic and deeply personal expression shaped by her Moroccan-Swedish heritage.

Comprising two discs, the album first establishes the core material of four pieces "In The Sound Of Breathing", "Unknowing", Opening" and "Echoes": spacious, contemplative compositions in which Arnalds’ piano figures and ambient textures create an open field for Loreen’s voice. Tracks like “In The Sound Of Breathing” and “Unknowing” emphasise restraint, her vocals often dissolving into the arrangement rather than sitting above it. The result is less song-driven than atmospheric, prioritising tone and presence over structure.
Disc 2 reframes the project. Comprising four four remixes (and surprisingly not "Echoes") its reinterpretations reveal the music’s latent rhythmic and emotional possibilities. George FitzGerald’s take on “In The Sound Of Breathing” introduces a steady pulse, grounding the piece in a subtle club-adjacent framework without losing its introspective quality.

The remix of "Unknowing" by Lara Somogyi & Cyrus Reynolds retains the track’s delicacy, but refracts it through layered textures and a more cinematic sense of space.
Most striking is Sofía Kourtesis’ reworking of “Opening,” which draws the composition toward a warmer, more expansive electronic language, suggesting connection and uplift where the original leans inward.

Finally, Jessie Marcella’s version circles back to intimacy, using rhythm sparingly to preserve the track’s emotional core.
Together, these remixes complete the album’s arc: from stillness to motion, from interior reflection to shared experience.
SAGES (Echoes Edition) ultimately succeeds not just as a collaboration, but as a study in transformation, where the same material, refracted through different hands, reveals new emotional truths.