Kim Hiorthøy (born 17 March 1973) is a Norwegian electronic musician,

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, illustrator, filmmaker and writer.

Biography

Hiorthøy was born and raised in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He studied at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art from 1991 to 1996 and at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

in Copenhagen in 1999 and 2000. During his tenure at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, Hiorthøy spent a year abroad in 1994 to attend the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in New York. There he worked extensively with Cinematographer Mott Hupfel. Currently, he lives and works in Berlin, Germany. A fictionalized version of Hiorthøy is a character in

Erlend Loe Erlend Loe (24 May 1969, Trondheim) is a Norwegian novelist, screenwriter and film critic. Loe writes both children's and adult literature. He has gained popularity in Scandinavia with his humorous and sometimes naïve novels, although his storie ...

's novel '' L''.

Career

Music

Hiorthøy began making music while attending the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art; he worked in the academy's sound studio until he left school and purchased his own equipment. After various "collaborations and accidents", his music was eventually introduced to Joakim Haugland of the

Smalltown Supersound Smalltown Supersound is an independent record label, founded in Flekkefjord in 1993 and now based in Oslo, Norway. It is dedicated to new forms of jazz, rock and electronic music. Their catalog features albums by Kelly Lee Owens, Deathprod, Nen ...

record label. Haugland asked Hiorthøy to work with the label, and in 2001 Hiorthøy released his debut album, "Hei". He has subsequently released several albums, EPs, and 7-inch records with Smalltown Supersound. Hiorthøy's musical style is difficult to classify; the Smalltown Supersound website offers the following description: "On his records Kim Hiorthøy combines weird beats, lo-fi/leftfield electronics, field recordings, electro-acoustic sounds and samples, resulting in a sound all his own." His live sets, however, differ from his recordings, with louder, faster beats and a techno undertone.

Graphic design and film

While exploring music at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, Hiorthøy simultaneously began his work in graphic design. He started to publish fanzines and design record sleeves for local bands, and as time passed he began to work more seriously in a variety of creative mediums. To date, Hiorthøy has released several collections of photography, drawing and design, and has provided cover artworks for such record labels as

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its a ...

Smalltown Superjazzz Smalltown Superjazzz is an independent record label based in Oslo, Norway, that concentrates on new forms of jazz. It is a subsidiary of the label Smalltown Supersound. The catalog includes albums by Free Fall (band), Free Fall, Mats Gustafsson, ...

and the rock group

Motorpsycho Motorpsycho may refer to: * Motorpsycho (band) Motorpsycho is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. Their music can generally be defined as progressive or psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from alternative, jazz, post-rock, po ...

. He is currently represented by STANDARD, an Oslo-based gallery aimed at promoting contemporary Norwegian artists. Some of his other creative achievements include film directing, film photography, and illustration for children's books. In a 2004 interview with KultureFlash.com, Hiorthøy described the relationship between graphic design and music: "I regard them as very different things, even though the place in my head that decides if something works or not is the same for both".

Bibliography

*"Tree Weekend", 2000, Die Gestalten Verlag *"Du kan ikke svikte din beste venn og bli god til å synge samtidig", 2002, Oktober *"Katalog", 2003, Smalltown Superbooks *"Tago Mago", 2007, Bergen Kunsthall on the occasion of the exhibition

Illustrations

– "Fisken", 1994 *

- " Timothy's Monster", 1994 *

Sissel Lie Sissel Lie (born 12 November 1942) is a Norwegian novelist, translator, playwright and professor in Romance languages and literature at the University of Trondheim since 1992. Biography Sissel Lie was born in Kristiansand, in Vest-Agder county, ...

– "Pusegutten en en drittsekk!", 1995 *Erlend Loe – "Kurt blir grusom", 1995 *Sissel Lie – "Pusegutten og den lille gule", 1996 *Erlend Loe – "Den store røde hunden", 1996 *

- " Blissard", 1996 *Sissel Lie – "Pusegutten er eldst og tykkest", 1997 *

Bjørn Sortland Bjørn Sortland (born 1 May 1968) is a Norwegian writer for children and young adults. Biography Sortland made his literary debut in 1992 with ''Det er ikkje natta'', a book for young adults. His next book, ''Raudt, blått og litt gult'' (1993), ...

– "Den solbrente mammaen som blei bytta mot ti kamelar", 1997 *

- "Angel And Daemons at Play", 1997 *Erlend Loe – "Kurt for alle", 1998 *Erlend Loe – "Kurt quo vadis?", 1998 * Lunde, Stein Erik – "Eggg", 1998 *

- " Trust Us", 1998 *Sissel Lie – "Pusegutter tåler nesten alt", 1999 * Tore Renberg – "Hando Kjendo : søndag", 1999 *Bjørn Sortland – "Den solbrente mammaen som kledde seg naken for å bli kunst", 1999 *

Kim Fupz Aakeson Kim Fupz Aakeson (born 1958) is a Danish writer, illustrator, and screenwriter. Early life Kim Fupz Aakeson was born in 1958. Career Aakeson is a Danish writer, illustrator, and screenwriter. He is the co-author of a series of children's book ...

– "Da gud fikk en hobby", 1999 *Tore Renberg – "Hando Kjendo : torsdag", 2000 *

- "Let Them Eat Cake", 2000 *Erlend Loe – "Kurt 3", 2001 *

- " Phanerothyme", 2001 *

- " It's a Love Cult", 2002 *Erlend Loe – "Kurt koker hodet", 2003 *

Jaga Jazzist Jaga Jazzist (also known as Jaga) is a Norwegian experimental jazz band, that rose to prominence when the BBC named their second album, ''A Livingroom Hush'' (Smalltown Supersound/Ninja Tune), the best jazz album of 2002. (in Norwegian) Biograph ...

– " What We Must", 2005 *

- " Black Hole/Blank Canvas", 2006 *

- " Little Lucid Moments", 2008 *

- " Child of the Future", 2009 *

- " Heavy Metal Fruit", 2010 *

- " The Death Defying Unicorn", 2012 *

- "Still Life With Eggplant", 2013 *

- "Behind The Sun", 2014 *

- "Here Be Monsters", 2016

Photography

* Lindstrøm – '' Where You Go I Go Too'', 2008

Discography

*"Hei", 2000 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"Melke", 2001 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"Hopeness EP", 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"For the Ladies", 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"Live Shet", 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"This Record Can Not Set Me on Fire", 2006 (12"), Smalltown Supersound *"I'm This, I'm That", 2006 (7"), Smalltown Supersound *"My Last Day", 2007 (CD), Smalltown Supersound *"Dogs", 2014 (CD, 12"), Smalltown Supersound *"Ghost Note", 2025 (12"), Blickwinkel

References

External links

Gallery of most of his work for Rune Grammofon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiorthoey, Kim Norwegian graphic designers 1973 births Living people Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian illustrators 21st-century Norwegian illustrators Norwegian children's book illustrators Norwegian electronic musicians Intelligent dance musicians Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Smalltown Supersound artists