Hafdís Huld
Encyclopedia
Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir is an Iceland
ic singer
and actress, formerly of GusGus
.
. After leaving the band she started writing her own songs, and collaborated with FC Kahuna
, co-writing their singles "Hayling" and "Machine Says Yes". Elsewhere she sang with dance producers Ewan Pearson
and Tom Middleton
. During the same period, she made two feature films and modelled clothing for Extreme Sports. She later studied at the London Centre of Contemporary Music, graduating with a Distinction in 2006.
Hafdís was featured on the track "The News (A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Microsoft Inc.)" on the conceptual rap album Deltron 3030
in 2000. Her official debut album Dirty Paper Cup
was released in 2006 on MVine/Red Grape Records
and won the award of best pop album at the Icelandic music awards. She was also nominated for best video with "Tomoko". The result of productive collaborations with a number of highly respected co-writers including Jim Abbiss
, Boo Hewerdine
, Pascal Gabriel
and Chris Corner
. The album was universally acclaimed by the press in the UK and Europe and received national radio play on BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music and also won the Icelandic Music Award in early 2007 for Best Pop Album. The album features a cover of The Velvet Underground's
"Who Loves the Sun" with a ukulele
accompaniment. This was one of four singles released from the album. The b-sides of all the singles were tracks from the album.
Shortly after releasing the album in October 2006, Hafdís and her band were asked to go on tour with Paolo Nutini
on an 8-date sold-out tour of the UK. On these dates and her headline shows Hafdís performs with a three-piece band of Sarah Croft, Alisdair Wright and Steve Ling. The band use guitars, keyboards, ukulele, xylophone and banjo. Hafdís also toured venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, taking in The Glastonbury Festival
, The Secret Garden Party
, The Big Chill
and Camden Crawl in the UK, Hultsfred Festival
in Sweden, Airwaves
in Iceland, Spot Festival
in Denmark, Les Femmes S'en Melent and Europavox in France and the Midnight Sun Festival in the Czech Republic. In 2007 she supported Mika
in London and performed at In the City
in Manchester and South by Southwest
in Texas, United States.
In February 2007, a headline UK tour was cancelled due to a serious lung infection, from which she took 6 weeks to recover. The dates were re-scheduled to May 2007. On the re-scheduled dates she performed "Boys and Perfume", a song from her (then unreleased) second album.
During a radio interview with Phill Jupitus
on BBC 6 Music
(8 August 2006), she revealed she was obsessed by chocolate and the colour pink
, claiming that they came from God. Jupitus later claimed she was the 'most mental guest' he'd ever had in the studio.
Hafdís was one of the guest vocalists on Tricky
's 2008 album Knowle West Boy
, performing on the track "Cross to Bear".
Hafdís recorded an a cappella version of the Sam Brown classic "Stop!
", which was used on a pan-European TV ad campaign for Mercedes-Benz
. A fully instrumented version of the track charted in Iceland in 8 October 2008 and had a worldwide release on 24 November 2008.
During 2009 Hafdís recorded a second solo album, Synchronised Swimmers. Two singles from the album went to number 1 in the Icelandic singles chart: "Kongolo" (which means "spider" in Icelandic and was written about the urban climber Alain Robert
) reached number 1 in July 2009 and the title track from the album reached the top spot in October 2009. The album was released in Iceland in October 2009 and went straight into the chart at number 2. The album is available outside of Iceland, since July 2010.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and actress, formerly of GusGus
GusGus
GusGus are a band from Reykjavík, Iceland. They were founded in 1995. Their discography consists of eight studio albums and one live record.- History :...
.
Biography
Hafdís toured the world as a 15-year-old with Icelandic band GusGusGusGus
GusGus are a band from Reykjavík, Iceland. They were founded in 1995. Their discography consists of eight studio albums and one live record.- History :...
. After leaving the band she started writing her own songs, and collaborated with FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna are a British DJ and electronic music production duo, consisting of Jon Nowell and Daniel Ormondroyd. FC Kahuna released Machine Says Yes in the spring of 2002, which had a number of singles released from it, most notably "Machine Says Yes" and "Hayling", which both featured Icelandic...
, co-writing their singles "Hayling" and "Machine Says Yes". Elsewhere she sang with dance producers Ewan Pearson
Ewan Pearson
Ewan Pearson is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed for artists such as Cortney Tidwell, Seelenluft, Ladytron, Depeche Mode,...
and Tom Middleton
Tom Middleton
Tom Middleton is a prolific British recording artist, music producer, remixer and DJ.A classically trained pianist and cellist, Middleton worked in the early 1990s with Richard D. James , co-producing "En-Trance To Exit" on the Analogue Bubblebath EP for Exeter's influential Mighty Force Records...
. During the same period, she made two feature films and modelled clothing for Extreme Sports. She later studied at the London Centre of Contemporary Music, graduating with a Distinction in 2006.
Hafdís was featured on the track "The News (A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Microsoft Inc.)" on the conceptual rap album Deltron 3030
Deltron 3030 (album)
Deltron 3030 is the 2000 debut album by hip hop supergroup Deltron 3030. It is a rap opera concept album set in a dystopian year 3030.-Album information:...
in 2000. Her official debut album Dirty Paper Cup
Dirty Paper Cup
Dirty Paper Cup, Hafdís Huld's debut album, was released in 2006 and won the award of best pop album at the Icelandic music awards. She was also nominated for best video with "Tomoko". The album was produced by Neill MacColl and Boo Hewerdine, who co-wrote 5 of the songs. The album features a cover...
was released in 2006 on MVine/Red Grape Records
Red Grape Records
Red Grape is a London-based independent record label and management company. It was set up in 2006 by musician and producer Calum MacColl and his partner Kerry Harvey-Piper. Artist currently on the roster include Icelandic singer Hafdís Huld, singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine, dance producer...
and won the award of best pop album at the Icelandic music awards. She was also nominated for best video with "Tomoko". The result of productive collaborations with a number of highly respected co-writers including Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ladytron's Witching Hour, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, Editors' debut The Back Room, Kasabian's...
, Boo Hewerdine
Boo Hewerdine
Boo Hewerdine is an English singer-songwriter. His work includes lead singer and creative force behind The Bible, formed in the 1980s, and reformed in 1994, as well as solo recordings and work for film. He lives in Ely....
, Pascal Gabriel
Pascal Gabriel
Pascal Richard Marcel Gabriel is a Belgian-born musician based in London. His musical career began in 1977 in the punk rock band The Razors...
and Chris Corner
Chris Corner
Chris Corner is an English musician and songwriter. He was a founding member of the band Sneaker Pimps and is now active with the IAMX solo project.He has been living in Berlin since 2006, where he has set up his new IAMX studio for music and visual work....
. The album was universally acclaimed by the press in the UK and Europe and received national radio play on BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music and also won the Icelandic Music Award in early 2007 for Best Pop Album. The album features a cover of The Velvet Underground's
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
"Who Loves the Sun" with a ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
accompaniment. This was one of four singles released from the album. The b-sides of all the singles were tracks from the album.
Shortly after releasing the album in October 2006, Hafdís and her band were asked to go on tour with Paolo Nutini
Paolo Nutini
Paolo Giovanni Nutini is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. His father is of Italian descent, from Barga, Tuscany, although both his parents are Scottish, his family having been in Scotland for three generations....
on an 8-date sold-out tour of the UK. On these dates and her headline shows Hafdís performs with a three-piece band of Sarah Croft, Alisdair Wright and Steve Ling. The band use guitars, keyboards, ukulele, xylophone and banjo. Hafdís also toured venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, taking in The Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, The Secret Garden Party
Secret Garden Party
The Secret Garden Party is an annual independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Part of the grounds of a Georgian farm house, the location has its own lake, river and landscaped gardens...
, The Big Chill
The Big Chill (music festival)
The Big Chill is an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August...
and Camden Crawl in the UK, Hultsfred Festival
Hultsfred Festival
The Hultsfred Festival is an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It takes place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance has increased from 7,500 visitors to approximately 32,000 people in...
in Sweden, Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves is an annual music festival held in Reykjavík, Iceland on the third weekend of October. The festival spans five days and its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international.-Festival:...
in Iceland, Spot Festival
Spot (music festival)
SPOT is an annual music festival in the city of Århus, Denmark, showcasing up-and-coming Danish and Scandinavian talent. Around one hundred artists and bands from most genres of contemporary popular music - such as rock, hip hop, electronic music - play various stages in and around the Århus...
in Denmark, Les Femmes S'en Melent and Europavox in France and the Midnight Sun Festival in the Czech Republic. In 2007 she supported Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
in London and performed at In the City
In The City (festival)
In The City is an annual music industry conference and festival founded by the late Tony Wilson, formerly of Factory Records and Granada Television, and his partner Yvette Livesey....
in Manchester and South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in Texas, United States.
In February 2007, a headline UK tour was cancelled due to a serious lung infection, from which she took 6 weeks to recover. The dates were re-scheduled to May 2007. On the re-scheduled dates she performed "Boys and Perfume", a song from her (then unreleased) second album.
During a radio interview with Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
(8 August 2006), she revealed she was obsessed by chocolate and the colour pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
, claiming that they came from God. Jupitus later claimed she was the 'most mental guest' he'd ever had in the studio.
Hafdís was one of the guest vocalists on Tricky
Tricky
Tricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
's 2008 album Knowle West Boy
Knowle West Boy
Knowle West Boy is the eighth studio album by rapper and producer Tricky, released by Domino Records on 7 July 2008 in Europe, and 9 September 2008 in North America.-Track listing:# "Puppy Toy" – 3:34...
, performing on the track "Cross to Bear".
Hafdís recorded an a cappella version of the Sam Brown classic "Stop!
Stop! (Sam Brown song)
"Stop!" is a song by English singer Sam Brown.The single was originally released in 1988, missing the UK top forty and peaking at number fifty-two. It was not until 1989, however, that the single became a hit, when it peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. "Stop!" became her biggest hit to...
", which was used on a pan-European TV ad campaign for Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
. A fully instrumented version of the track charted in Iceland in 8 October 2008 and had a worldwide release on 24 November 2008.
During 2009 Hafdís recorded a second solo album, Synchronised Swimmers. Two singles from the album went to number 1 in the Icelandic singles chart: "Kongolo" (which means "spider" in Icelandic and was written about the urban climber Alain Robert
Alain Robert
Alain Robert , is a French rock and urban climber, from Digoin, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France...
) reached number 1 in July 2009 and the title track from the album reached the top spot in October 2009. The album was released in Iceland in October 2009 and went straight into the chart at number 2. The album is available outside of Iceland, since July 2010.
Singles
- Synchronised Swimmers
- Kónguló
- Stop!
- Tomoko
- Ski Jumper
- Diamonds On My Belly
- Who Loves the Sun
Film
- Íslenski draumurinn (aka The Icelandic Dream) (2000)
- Villiljós (aka Dramarama) (2001)