The Importance of Birds Snorri Hallgrímsson

• 1 I’ve Been Here Before 06:02
• 2 And There Was Nowhere 04:35
• 3 Nowhere Again, Kinder 03:01
• 4 The Wick That Slits the Shadow 01:46
• 5 From a Convenient Grass 03:39
• 6 Row Softer Home 04:50
• 7 Burning Little, Long, and Slow 02:50
• 8 I’ve Been Here Before (Piano Version) 02:13
• Total Runtime 28:56

Info for The Importance of Birds

The Importance of Birds is the new inspiring project from Icelandic composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Snorri Hallgrímsson. Hallgrímsson has written and produced seven original tracks for an EP that is an observation and reflection on the fragility and finiteness of life and the relationships with those closest to us and how they are ever changing and growing as time marches on. With his new EP the Icelandic composer creates a soundworld of subtle beauty, consisting of poignant but uplifting solo piano lines, at times underpinned by warm, gently shifting string arrangements and/or layers of electronica that ebb and flow, bearing us ever further along a winding musical path.

"Hallgrímsson has an innate understanding of using space and quiet to make a point." (Higher Plain Music)

Snorri Hallgrimsson
Budapest Art Orchestra
Péter Pejtsik, conductor

Snorri Hallgrímsson
One of music’s best-kept secrets, whilst his music is streamed more than 3m times a month, solo artist, film composer and producer Snorri Hallgrímsson grew up in a strong Icelandic choral tradition, beginning his career as a classical guitarist before falling in love with film music in his teens and going on to study composition at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and at Berklee College of Music. In his music, Snorri is able to find ways to balance emotion without invoking overdramatic exuberance. His string arrangements, informed by his early and continued involvement in choral singing, are deeply atmospheric.

His debut solo album, Orbit, was released in 2018, two years after he returned to Iceland having lived away in Spain and Mexico and traces the journey of living in different environments, whilst characterized by Icelandic melancholy and electronic undercurrents. The double EP Landbrot I and Landbrot II: an introspective and personal collection of instrumental pieces for piano and strings, was released in 2020–2021. Snorri’s 2nd full length album, I Am Weary, Don’t Let Me Rest was released in June 2023 and went on to receive 3 nominations at the Icelandic Music Awards – winning 1 award for Production of the Year.

In 2024, Snorri signed with Deutsche Grammophon. His debut release with the renowned label being the EP Longer shadows, softer stones. His 2nd EP via the yellow label The Importance of Birds followed 2025.

Snorri collaborated with Ólafur Arnalds on the BAFTA award winning score for Broadchurch. His impressive growing list of individual film credits include; Jaula/The Chalk Line (released in 2022, the #2 most watched film globally (non-English language) on Netflix, for 4 weeks running) and the documentary feature Innocence (launched at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and for which Snorri won Best OST at the 2025 Icelandic Music Awards). Released in cinema’s worldwide in May 2025, his most recent score was for Words of War, directed by James Strong (Broadchurch) and produced and distributed by Sean Penn’s production company.

This album contains no booklet.