Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir (born 6 May 1989) is an Icelandic musician. Nanna originally performed solo, performing by the name Songbird. She is the lead vocalist and guitarist, along with Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, of the Icelandic indie folk band

Of Monsters and Men Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/rock band formed in Reykjavík in 2010. The members are lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson ...

Biography

Nanna was raised in

Garður Garður () is a former municipality and town located in southwestern Iceland, bordered by the Faxaflói, Faxaflói Bay on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula. In 2018 it merged with Sandgerði to create the new municipality of Su ...

, a town in southwestern Iceland. She has two sisters, one is a make up artist and the other a teacher. As a child, Nanna attended

music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. Before Of Monsters and Men had become established, Nanna had a solo musical project called ''Songbird.'' She wrote and performed music on open mic nights around Reykjavik and was a video store clerk.

Of Monsters and Men

Since expanding her Songbird phase, Nanna recruited five musicians, that eventually became

in 2010 – Brynjar Leifsson, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Árni Guðjónsson (now, ex-member), and Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. After a week of working together, they won the annual music competition

Músíktilraunir Músíktilraunir ( en, Music Experiments) is an annual music competition held in Reykjavík, Iceland. Winners * 1982 – Dron * 1983 – Dúkkulísurnar * 1984 – ''not held due to Strike action, teachers' strike'' * 1985 – Gipsy * 1986 – ...

. They soon released their debut studio album ''

My Head Is an Animal ''My Head Is an Animal'' is the debut studio album by the Icelandic indie folk band Of Monsters and Men, released through Record Records in Iceland on 20 September 2011. After their success, topping the Icelandic charts with their debut single, ...

'' in late 2011. The album charted in multiple regions and the band gained popularity worldwide. After the Seattle radio station

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

broadcast a performance from Ragnar's living room, the band went viral. The album reached No.1 in Australia, Iceland and Ireland and No.1 on the U.S. Rock and Alternative charts. The band was tapped to write a song for the film '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' and then a single

Dirty Paws "Dirty Paws" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men for their debut studio album, ''My Head Is an Animal''. It is the opening track and the title of the album comes from a line in the song, and was released as its se ...

that was used in ''

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in ''The New Yorker'' on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book '' My World and Welcome to It'' ( Ha ...

'' 18 months after its release. The song "I of the Storm" was included in the USA television series "Falling Water". They released three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

called "

Little Talks "Little Talks" is the debut single by Icelandic indie folk/indie pop rock band Of Monsters and Men. The song was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, '' My Head Is an Animal'' (2011). It was also released on the band's EP ...

", "

Mountain Sound "Mountain Sound" is a single by the Icelandic indie folk/indie pop band Of Monsters and Men. The song was released as the second single from the international version of their debut studio album, '' My Head Is an Animal''. It was written by Arna ...

", and " King and Lionheart" and music videos for each. The videos received several million views on YouTube, the one for "Little Talks" having the most views (316 Million views as of September 2021). The band went on to release the album '' Beneath the Skin'' in 2015, along with three music videos and thirteen lyric videos. Their latest album, ''

Fever Dream Fever Dream(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Fever Dream'', a 1979 film by Chick Strand * ''Fever Dream'' (film), an adaptation of Samanta Schweblin's novel (see below) * Fever Dreams (company), a film-development division of the Americ ...

'', was released in May 2019. They performed the songs “Alligator”, “Wild Roses”, and “Wars" on

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

and

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

and released music videos for each.

Solo Career

On 13 January 2023, she released the single "Godzilla" under the name Nanna, followed by a second single "Crybaby" on 22 February, and the announcement of a solo album entitled "How To Start A Garden" to be released on 5 May of the same year. On 5 April, she released a third single, "Disaster Master".

Artistry

Nanna cites some of her favorite musicians/influences as Gayngs,

Lianne La Havas Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas ( ), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for wh ...

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...

, Feist, and

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

, of the alt-folk band

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilmarsdottir, Nanna Bryndis Living people Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir Alternative rock singers Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir Indie rock musicians Folk rock musicians Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir 21st-century Icelandic singers Lead guitarists Icelandic women singer-songwriters 1989 births 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Icelandic women singers Of Monsters and Men members 21st-century women guitarists