Variations in Void began in a room on Oranienstraße in Berlin­—a studio once shaped by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, where the two of us first met. Years later, in the final days before the space was dismantled, we returned to record these improvisations: thirteen microphones, two stringed instruments tuned in scordatura, and a room listening as closely as we were. What was captured there became the seed of Variations in Void.

In Reykjavík, at Harpa Concert Hall, those intimate recordings opened into new forms through the voices of Reykjavík Orkestra. What remains is a document of two spaces, two cities, and a place that no longer exists—its resonance carried forward in sound.

—Árnason & Glotman, 2026

Viktor Orri Árnason — Violin & Viola
Yair Elazar Glotman — Double bass
Reykjavík Orkestra — String Ensemble

Members of Reykjavík Orkestra:
Violin — Elfa Rún, Rannveig Marta, Sólveig Steinþórsdóttir, Karl James Pestka
Viola — Karl James Pestka, Ásta Pjetusdóttir, Fídel Atli
Cello — Bryndís Halla, Steiney Sigurðar, Unnur Jónsdóttir

All music composed, produced and performed by Árnason & Glotman
Reykjavík Orkestra conducted by Viktor Orri Árnason

Recorded 2020-2022 at Oranienstraße Studios, Berlin & Harpa Hall, Reykjavík
Mixed by Yair Elazar Glotman, Berlin
Mastered & Lacquer Cut by Frederic Stader at Music Matters Mastering, Köln & Mont Analogue, Brussels

Picture by Camille Blake.