OUT NOW: Hearth and Hollow - Folk Voices

Ólafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit

Ólafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit is an intimate set of tools centred around a felted grand piano with inspiring sonic manipulations and progressive synth sounds.

  • Overview
  • Listen
  • Walkthrough
  • What's included
  • Tech specs
  • Intimate piano based writing tools

    Designed for composers, songwriters and producers, this is an intimate and deeply personal set of tools, curated by BAFTA-winning composer Ólafur Arnalds, recorded at his studio in Reykjavik, Iceland.

    It centres around a characterful 'felted' grand piano, as well as a comprehensive set of inspiring sonic manipulations and progressive synth sounds, designed with the writer in mind.

    • Hard drive delivery available at checkout
    • You can buy now and download any time

    Includes Kontakt Player (free download)

    Compatible with NKS

    Felted grand piano

    2 mics / 2 mixes

    Kontakt Player

    Listen to Ólafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit

    Olafur Arnalds' studio

    Ólafur Composer Toolkit is centred around a 'felted' antique 1904 Bechstein grand which was customised by Ólafur after several tests using various strips of felt. This was sampled in meticulous detail over several days to capture the subtle nuances of the softest layers. Fed through Ólafur's vintage outboard, it was recorded ultra quiet — the levels of recording were so hyped that everyone in the room had to hold their breaths for the duration of every sound. The felt piano is presented with 4 unique signals; KM84, Coles, Processed and Spaced. The KM84 signal is the pure sound of the small condensers, giving you a tight crisp sound. The Coles is a mono signal below the soundboard, processed through a Roland Space Echo as a LoFi tape simulation for a gritty low end. The processed signal is a mix of the KM84s with a pair of C12s, mixed by Ólafur into a pair of Pultec EQs, then slammed through a 1178 stereo compressor to give you the distinctive Arnalds sound. This processed sound has been paired with a ‘Spaced’ sound in a ‘Mixed’ patch that Ólafur has further processed creating a unique take on his signature piano.

    Olafur Arnalds Playing Piano

    The Ólafur Collection

    Buy the full collection and save

    GUI screenshot of the overview panel

    Overview panel

    This is the main interface for melodic instruments. Its default view displays all available playing techniques, has a simple microphone mixer and includes the main feature controllers.

    GUI screenshot of the general controls panel

    General controls panel

    This view allows further in-depth control of the instrument, showing all available signals and feature controllers, as well as the ability to purge techniques from memory to reduce system usage.

    Oact Mercury Full

    Mercury synth

    This ingenious user interface features a range of organic sounds and specially curated warped sounds. All of the controls are assignable to your control surface, giving you the ability to instantly make our sounds your own.

    What's included

    Felt grand piano

    Individual mics and mix

    • Felt Grand Piano - Coles
    • Felt Grand Piano - KM84
    • Felt Grand Piano - Mix
    • Felt Grand Piano - Mics
    • Felt Grand Piano - Mixed


    Composer Toolkit

    Organics warps

    • Evo Ambience
    • Olafurs Kalimba
    • Plate Space Piano
    • Prime Crusher

    Synth embellishments

    • Basic 60
    • Big 60
    • Big Open 60
    • Big Pad
    • Dark Angel
    • Detuned 60
    • Detuned Tape
    • Hi Jen
    • High Thrills
    • Init 60
    • Jen Distortion
    • Low Thrills
    • MonoLead
    • Noise Stab
    • P6LFO
    • SoftEntrance
    • Sonar Rhodes
    • Sub 60
    • Wild Resonance

    Tempo locked

    • Less Resonant Synth TM
    • Resonant Synth TM
    • Rhythm 1 TM
    • Slow Attack Perc Rhythm TM
    • Timed Delay Stab TM

    Sonic warps

    • A Flickering Start
    • A Soft Entrance
    • Arrival Pad
    • Becomes Granular
    • Bevelled Ice
    • Bowed Waves
    • Celestial Pad
    • Chorus Pad
    • Closing
    • Cool EP
    • Dark Hold
    • Deep Broodings
    • Detuned Glass
    • Dirty Pipe Piano
    • Distant Voices
    • Dream Sequence
    • Dreams
    • Dreamscape
    • Dusk Pad
    • Dusk To Dawn
    • Encapsulated Pad
    • End Credits Pad
    • Enter Noises
    • Excited String
    • Filtered Noise
    • Flatland Pad
    • Ghost Bowls
    • Head In The Clouds
    • High Noise Mellow
    • Hill Organ Fuzz
    • Hill Organ
    • Holar Falls
    • Holding On
    • Hollow Wind
    • Hope Pad
    • Hopes And Dreams Pad
    • Horizon Pad
    • Innnes Piano
    • Is it Simple
    • Jarring Music Box
    • Kopasker Wind High
    • Light Noise
    • Longing Pad
    • Lost In Thought Pad
    • Meditate Pad
    • Moving Filters
    • Opportunistic Moment
    • Past Ride Piano
    • Pure Contact
    • Realisation Pad
    • Resonant Glass
    • Reversed Fun
    • Reversed Pad
    • Soft Bowls
    • Soft Chords
    • Sombre Waves
    • State Of Mind
    • Sub Organ
    • Submerged Hopes
    • Sunken Heaven
    • Sunrise Pad
    • Taking Time
    • Tasty Round Bottom
    • Underorgan
    • Underwater Panic
    • Vertical Lead
    • Voices in the Machine
    • Was It Right
    • Wave Swept Pad
    • Whale Song


    Mics & mixes

    Felt grand piano

    • KM84
    • Coles
    • Processed
    • Spaced

    Composer toolkit/sonic warps

    • Single signal



    Tech specs

    Mac system requirements

    Mac OS 11, 12 or 13 

    Both Intel and Apple Silicon/ARM are supported

    Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 minimum (quad-core), 8GB RAM

    Recommended: 2.8GHz I7 (six-core), 16GB RAM

    32-bit systems are not supported.

    PC system requirements

    Windows 10 or Windows 11 - (Latest Service Pack, 64-bit)

    Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM

    Recommended: Intel Core i7 6th gen and later or AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM

    32-bit systems are not supported.

    File size

    ~4691 samples

    15.2 GB download size

    16.00 GB disk space required during install

    Too large to download? Choose hard drive delivery at checkout


    Kontakt player

    Kontakt Full or Kontakt Player 5.6.8 or higher required

    Ólafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit sounds great with…