Sigríður Níelsdóttir (1930 – 2011, known as Grandma Lo-Fi ( is, Amma Lo-Fi)) was an Icelandic musician. Sigríður was born Sigrid Maria Elisabeth Nielsen in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1930 to Danish/German parents. She moved to Iceland in 1949, where she adopted her Icelandic name. In 1990, she moved to Brazil, but returned to Iceland eight years later. In 2001, at the age of 70, Sigríður began to record

lo-fi music Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

in her Reykjavík kitchen, played on a Casio keyboard and recorded on a cassette deck. The albums were digitised, then duplicated to create fifty copies. Sigríður drew the covers herself, then sold them in the record shop

12 Tónar 12 Tónar (, 'twelve tones') is a record shop in Reykjavík, Iceland, and also a record label for Icelandic artists. It is located on Skólavörðustígur 15, in downtown Reykjavík. Founded in 1998 in Reykjavík, 12 Tónar has been well recei ...

. Her output was prolific; within seven years she had recorded 59 albums. Each album had 12 songs, but their content was hugely varied. Her catchy music incorporated everything from children's songs to kitchen percussion, and her lyrics covered from life at sea to elephants. Sigríður was too shy to perform live herself, but other Icelandic musicians formed a group ''Stórsveit Sigríðar Níelsdóttur'', that performed her music at

The Icelandic Opera The Icelandic Opera (''Íslenska óperan'') is an opera company based in Reykjavík that produces operas and concerts. Its productions emphasize Icelandic artists, but regularly involve foreign artists as well. The company performs between October a ...

. She became a cult figure in the

Icelandic music The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk music, folk and pop music, pop traditions, as well as an active classical and contemporary music scene. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The ...

scene. Sigríður stopped making music in 2009, and died in Reyðarfjörður in 2011, aged eighty-one.

Documentary

A documentary film about Sigríður was released in 2011, entitled ''Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir'' ( is, Amma Lo-fi: Kjallaraspólur Sigríðar Níelsdóttur), and directed by Orri Jónsson, Kira Kira, and Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir. The film won the Sound & Vision Award at the

Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX is the official name for the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, an international documentary film festival established in 2003 and held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. CPH:DOX has since grown to become one of the largest ...

in 2011, and was nominated for the

Edda Awards The Edda Award is an accolade bestowed annually by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy, and is the most prominent film and television award in Iceland, awarded annually in February. The ''Edda'' has awarded for outstanding work in various ca ...

in 2013.

References

External links

* * 1930 births 2011 deaths Icelandic documentary films Icelandic women musicians Icelandic people of Danish descent Icelandic people of German descent Danish people of German descent Danish emigrants to Iceland {{Iceland-film-stub