pop*eye...Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers(2010)

It's upbeat & lovely!
It's about finding another person who seems to be in perfect synch with you. It's kind of like swimming through life with someone and getting it right.

Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (2010)

*I Proud To Recommended!!!*

Ok, I am gonna tell you a little bit about me. My name is Hafdis Huld and I grew up in a town called Kópavogur in Iceland. I formed a circus at the age of 10 and had a summer of sold out performances in a neighbours garage. When I was 15 me and lots of boys formed a group called Gusgus and with them I released two albums and travelled around the world. Yes, I think that covers the early years.

Then I moved to London and started writing music with lots of interesting people like Boo Hewerdine, Ewan Pearson, Pascal Gabriel and Jim Abiss. I also wrote some songs with FC Kahuna and travelled around with them promoting the album Machine says yes…..at that point I still didn’t really get the english humour so watching ‘I am Alan Partridge’ on a tour bus night after night with some rock’n roll english boys was a bit + - for a glittery fairy princess.

Then I decided to go be all serious and go to music college. That was a great time and I learned a lot. So now I can proudly put the job title” Musician” behind my name in the Icelandic phone book. But I won’t be doing that anytime soon because ” Glittery Fairy Princess” sounds much more professional to me.

My first solo album Dirty paper cup was released in October 2006 by Redgrape records. Some serious people have said very nice things about it and given it lots of stars and flyes and stuff. And I made it with very talented people like Boo and Neill so I think you should listen to it.

Since last summer I have been playing live with my lovely little band. The live show includes a pink flying V ukulele, some fairy lights and a lot of glitter. So far we have supported people like Mika and Paolo Nutini and if dreams come true it’s only a matter of time until we will be asked to support Dolly Parton the queen of Dollywood.

INTERVIEW

with

HAFDIS HULD

An internationally focussed artist, Hafdis Huld has started 2010 on a high, having been chosen to play the 2010 Midem Talent Showcase in Cannes in January, By:larm Festival showcases in Oslo in February and the influential Ja Ja Ja night in London in March. 

These are just the latest events in a busy music career so far.

Hafdis toured the world at the age of 15 with the Icelandic band Gus Gus and later went on to be a featured vocalist with F C Kahuna, co-writing the hits 'Hayling' and 'Machine say yes'.

Her debut solo album, 'Dirty Paper Cup' came out on UK independent label Red Grape (and Ocean in France & Spain) late 2006. It received gushing reviews across Europe and was voted 'Best Pop Album of the Year' at the Icelandic Music Awards.



Since 2007, she has regularly toured the UK and Europe and played at key festivals, including Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Secret Garden, In The City, Camden Crawl (all UK) SXSW (USA), Hultsfred (Sweden), Airwaves (Iceland), Spot (Denmark) Europavox (France) and Midnight Sun (Czech Republic).

She has made a series of delightful video blogs which showcase her effortlessly quirky personality and great sense of fun. They can all be seen on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hafdishuld

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She has also recorded songs for TV ads in Europe, appeared in the Mercedes 2008 advert, was a key player in a viral ad campaign for Reyka Vodka and appeared in several Icelandic films.

She was a featured vocalist on Tricky's latest album, 'Knowle West Boy'.

Her second solo album, 'Sychronised Swimmers' went straight to number 2 in the charts in Iceland at the end of 2009 and is being released in the rest of the world in Spring '10.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?

Well if they have never seen me play before they must be a little bit curious, so that can be reason number one. I have a very pretty keyboard player that might wink at you during the set, so that can be reason two, and I have some very good songs, and that is reason three.

Tell us a little about where you're from. Do your surroundings affect the music that you create?

I just moved into my new house, it is a little wooden house surrounded by mountains. Very peaceful and right now everything is covered in snow. I am very happy here so I am sure that will affect my music.

If you could have played on or written any song, what would it be?

This one is easy, it would be Jolene by Dolly Parton. Great song, great lyrics and probably great royalties too.

How did the band come in to being? And where did the name come from?

I met my band while I was studying in London, we were all studying there around the time my first album came out. Today only one band member is still living in London and three of us are in Iceland.
The name came from my parents, they named me Hafdis Huld, after my grandmothers. I have been asked a few times at gigs abroad why I chose such a weird band name, but I just started making music, and this is my name.

What is the most memorable gig you have played, and what can we expect of your live set at Ja Ja Ja?

I have played a lot of nice gigs in the last few years but one of the most memorable ones I have played recently is going to Iceland’s biggest prison on boxing day last year to try and spread some Christmas spirit. That was a very strange experience. I will have a full band with me for the live set at Ja Ja Ja. My new album Synchronised Swimmers has fuller sound so I have added a drummer and a bass player to my live band for the first time. It´s almost like a grown up band now.

If you were asked to curate your own Ja Ja Ja night, which three acts would you choose and why?

I would start with a Norwegian band called Mhoo, I saw them play at ByLarm festival last month and really enjoyed their set. It is always great to watch bands that look like they are genuinely having a great time playing to people.Then I would like to see Marit Larsen play a set, she has a lovely voice and writes great pop songs.And I would end the evening with a set from Icelandic singer and songwriter KK (Kristján Kristjánsson ) he is one of my favourite musicians, writes brilliant songs and it is great to watch him perform just on his own with his guitar.

We’d like you to make us a Nordic themed mix-tape. Which five tracks would you choose?

When I get questions like this it normally means I get lost in music for a few hours and then end up with a list way too long to use for an answer. There is a lot of good Nordic music out there at the moment.

Official website: http://www.hafdishuld.com


MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hafdishuld


YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hafdishuld


Twitter: http://twitter.com/hafdishuld 


Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Hafdis+Huld



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"A lot of different things!"



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