I ♥ Icelandic Music

sunnudagur, apríl 06, 2008

Diddú: A singer for all seasons

Diddú: A Singer for all seasons
Diddú’s performances move audiences and critics alike.
Most Icelanders, artists included, are known by their given names in Iceland. But if you asked an Icelander about Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir, they might not be sure whom you were talking about. If you say Diddú, however, a smile will appear and they will already be recounting their fond memories of a singer who has been one of Iceland’s favorites for decades.
Diddú started singing while in her teens. She first appeared on the Icelandic cultural scene when she was a member of pop and folk group Spilverk thjódanna in the 1970s and immediately became known for her distinct voice and lively performances. Spilverk thjódanna was one of the most prominent musical groups at the time and most people probably expected Diddú to continue as a pop singer. However, she surprised many of her fans by switching over to opera.
Diddú studied classical singing in Reykjavík, at the Guildhall School of Music in London, and in Italy. On completion of her studies she started appearing in operas, both within Iceland and abroad. With the Icelandic Opera she has performed the roles of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Gilda in Rigoletto, Papagena and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Violetta in La traviata, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She has also sung the role of Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann at the National Theatre of Iceland. Many of her performances have strongly moved audiences and critics alike.
Diddú has also acted in several Icelandic films, most notably Movie Days (Bíódagar) by Fridrik Fridriksson and Brekkukotsannáll, based on the novel The Fish can Sing by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness. Had she not chosen singing as her profession she would surely have become an actor.
Her recent albums include Hvert örstutt spor (‘Each Tiny Step’) and Fuglar tímans (‘Birds of Time’). In the fall of 2007 she performed with singer Gardar Thór Cortes in London and starred in a special production at the Icelandic
Opera called Opera Pearls.
Diddú often performs at concerts and official gatherings. When she arrives the venue is inevitably filled with joy. Her presence is strong and she radiates positive feelings. Her skills at finding the right songs to fit the moment are uncanny. Even foreign audiences who have never seen her before are immediately charmed. Her smile and good humorpenetrate even the strongest defenses.
Source:
I & I Iceland 2007 (Number 3)
Diddú & Icelandic rapper Sesar A

I & I Interview with Lay Low: Icelandic Music’s Brightest Hope

Last January, Lay Low & a friend were watching the same movie as me, I'm Not There about Bob Dylan, in Reykjavik's Rainbow Cinema.
Lay Low: Icelandic Music’s Brightest Hope
In school she sang in a choir but didn’t dare sing solo until she was in her twenties.
Last year a young Icelandic singer who calls herself Lay Low was chosen the most popular artist in Icelandic music. She is popular, very personal and a great musician. She plays enjoyable songs, many of which are her own.
In 2006 her CD Please don’t hate me was released.
Lay Low’s real name is the very Icelandic sounding Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir – not exactly a catchy stage name. Her father is from Sri Lanka and his family name is Ganeshalingam, so that did not really help either. After some deliberation she and her friend came up with this slick and descriptive stage name, as she plays the acoustic guitar and sings quiet songs.
Lay Low is 25 years old and you could say that music is her life in more ways than one. She plays music at night, and sells it during the day in Skífan, a music store in downtown Reykjavík, where she works as a sales clerk.
Sometimes she is asked for her own CD. “Some people are embarrassed, but many ask me for my autograph. I don’t mind, I like it. It comes with being successful.”
Lay Low first learned to play the recorder, then the piano, next the bass and finally the acoustic guitar. In school she sang in a choir but didn’t dare sing solo until she was in her twenties. “I was sure I could not sing!”
Her most recent project is creating and performing the music in the play Driving Lessons by Paul Vogel. Some are her own compositions, and
she also plays some songs by Dolly Parton. She mentions that she experienced stage fright at the beginning, which gradually wore off. The music from the play, staged by the Akureyri Theatre Company, has received considerable radio play.
So does she have a particular role model? “No, not really. The musicians I really like are so good that there is no chance that I could be like them.
Shouldn’t you just try to be yourself? Of course I resemble many people and that’s OK. At the moment I am listening to Jolie Holland a bit. My record player was just fixed so I am also listeningto many old albums and really enjoying it.”
Does she mind being famous? “Everybody is famous in Iceland. It is enough to be on television once and then somebody knows you.
Nobody ever bothers me, but strangers often want to talk to me and I am happy with that.”
Lay Low is both a solo artist and a member of the band Benny Crespo’s Gang. “It is a totally different type of music, which I enjoy.”
So what does the future hold? “I want to be happy and content, in whichever way I can and wherever I end up.”
Source:
I & I Issues and Images of Iceland 2008 (Number 1)
Lay Low "Please don't hate me" Live