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Ólafur Hólm

Freelance

Ólafur Hólm

About

Paiste Artist Since
January 2004

Nationality
Iceland

Main Affiliations
Freelance
Educator
Nýdonsk
Todmobile
Dundurfrettir
Karl Orgeltrio

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Setup

Cymbals listed from left to right

14" Signature Dark Energy Hats Mark I
18" Masters Dark Crash
21" Signature Dark Energy Ride Mark I
20" Signature Traditionals Medium Light Swish (discontinued)
12" Dimensions Thin China (Custom)

Biography

Ólafur Hólm has enjoyed a successful career that spans over two decades in the Icelandic pop and rock genre. At the age of 10, Ólafur began studying the drums and at 16 his professional career took off when he became one of the founding members of Nýdönsk, one of Iceland’s most popular bands since 1987. Five Nýdönsk albums have reached gold record sales in Iceland. Nýdönsk won in four categories at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2018. Awards included pop song of the year and pop album of the year. From early on Ólafur has been a sought after session drummer. Ólafur’s popularity becomes evident in his recordings for many of Iceland’s most renowned artists within the music industry and his drumming can now be heard on over 100 LP albums as well as multiple DVD’s. Ólafur has been active within the Icelandic theatres alongside his career in the pop industry, playing in productions such as The Rocky Horror Show, Evita, Rent, Grease, Hair, Les Miserable, We will rock you, Mamma Mia! and Matilda. Furthermore Ólafur has undertaken various projects within the classical percussion scene, mainly playing with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. Ólafur graduated from the Icelandic Musician’s Union school of music in 1992 and has taught drumming and percussion there since 1996. In 2005 he released an instructional book specifically aimed at students at the beginners level. Ólafur has also performed with international artists Jon Anderson, Steve Hackett, Nik Kershaw, Midge Ure, Ken Hensley, Eivör, John Grant and Lindy Vopnfjörð.

Setup Cymbals

Signature Dark Energy Ride Mark I
  • Details

    Sizes: 20", 21", 22"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: A fusion of darkness, energy, projection and brilliance. Very wide range, complex, musical mix. Responsive feel, extremely controllable. Woody, silvery, spanky ping over crunchy, thriving wash. Extremely versatile, flexible ride for wide ranging application in modern blended music styles. Mark I: Tends to be a bit quieter, darker and drier. This manifests itself in the overall sound character and in particular in the bell and ping sound.

  • Sounds

Formula 602 Modern Essentials Ride

Formula 602 Modern Essentials Crash

PST X Swiss Thin Crash
  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 16", 18"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Exotic, warm, trashy. Medium range, complex mix. Fast, responsive feel, fairly quick decay. An explosive Crash cymbal with a strong, low wash for unique effects in many styles of music.

  • Sounds

Signature Dark Energy Hats Mark I
  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 15"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Full, rich, energetic with a definite dark side. Crunchy, with a meaty bite. Very wide range, very complex mix. Extremely balanced, very responsive feel. Full dark, rich, shimmering, biting open/closed sound. Beautiful, fat, meaty, crisp, cutting chick sound. Fast, responsive, articulate with excellent feel and playability. An immensely versatile hi-hat that combines finesse and articulation with raw energy and cutting power.

  • Sounds

Signature Mellow Crash

Signature Full Crash

Masters Dark Crash
  • Details

    Sizes: 16", 17", 18", 19", 20"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Dark, warm, smoky. Medium wide range, complex mix. Buttery, soft feel with quick response. Rich, dark, mystical crash sound with tender clarity. Extremely lively cymbal for broad accents and crashes in intimate to semi-loud settings. Well suited for delicate ride patterns or mallet swells. «For those guys who really appreciate just having a cymbal that can do everything, the larger Dark Crashes can do anything. Very crash-able, and if you want to ride on them, they will give you all the ride patterns in the world.» - Gregory Hutchinson

  • Sounds

2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hat