Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir (born 5 January 1982), also known as Kría Brekkan, is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic vocalist and classically trained multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as a former frontwoman of

múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in ...

, and later on for collaborating with former husband

David Portner David Michael Portner (born April 24, 1979), also known by his moniker Avey Tare, is a musician and songwriter who co-founded the American experimental pop band Animal Collective. He has released four solo albums, as well as four collaborative alb ...

Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan ''Pullhair Rubeye'' is a collaborative studio album released by Animal Collective member Avey Tare (David Portner) and his then-wife Kría Brekkan ( Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, formerly of múm). The album was released April 24, 2007 in CD, ...

Biography

Kristín Anna was a member of the band múm from 1998 until 2006. During that time the band released three full-length albums, '' Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK'', ''

Finally We Are No One ''Finally We Are No One'' is the second studio album by Icelandic band Múm. It was released on 20 May 2002 by FatCat Records. In Iceland, the Smekkleysa label released ''Loksins erum við engin'', a limited edition of ''Finally We Are No One' ...

'', and ''

Summer Make Good ''Summer Make Good'' is the third studio album by Icelandic band Múm. It was released on 12 April 2004 by FatCat Records. The CD edition of ''Summer Make Good'' was released in a cardboard sleeve. 28 June 2004 saw the release of a "limited pre ...

'' She was accordion player in a Balkan folk and

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

band Stórsveit Nix Noltes in 2003–2010. Those years she also appeared on recordings and performed live with the bands

Mice Parade Mice Parade is an American indie rock band from New York City, led by percussionist Adam Pierce. ''Mice Parade'' is an anagram of Pierce's name. Biography Adam Pierce started Mice Parade as a solo project while he also played in groups includi ...

and Slowblow. In 2005 she recorded the album '' Feels'' with

Animal Collective Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore County, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is cha ...

. She is credited as "Doctess" on the album. While in the studio,

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboard instruments, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has w ...

heard her piano playing and asked if she'd perform solo at The Stone in New York City. On April 16, 2006 she performed at The Stone, appearing for the first time as Kría Brekkan, with Avey Tare of Animal Collective, playing grand piano, guitar and singing. The duo performed songs they later released on an LP titled ''Pullhair Rubeye''. She performed her own songwriting for piano and voice for the first time April 21, 2006 at The Stone in New York under the name Kría Brekkan. In late 2006, Kristín acknowledged that she had left múm in the beginning of that year, and published an open letter briefly describing her thoughts on the matter.
"

Everything2 Everything2 (styled Everything2 or E2 for short) is a collaborative online community consisting of a database of interlinked user-submitted written material. E2 is moderated for quality, but has no formal policy on subject matter. Writing on E ...

, November 6, 2006" Kristín Anna appeared on the cover of

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

's 2000 '' Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant'' LP with her twin sister, Gyða. She recorded and mixed the ''Black Habit'' LP by Rings (featuring ex-members of First Nation). She was chosen by

to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

festival that they curated in May 2011. In 2012, Kristín performed in an exhibition by fellow Icelandic artist, Hrafnhildur Arnardottir. In 2014, she performed at ATP Iceland and the

Reykjavík Arts Festival The Reykjavík Arts Festival is an art festival that takes place in Reykjavík every other year. It was founded in 1970 and was biennial from the beginning, but in the years 2005–2016 it was held annually. Since 2016, the festival has again beco ...

Personal life

Kristín was married to David Portner (

Avey Tare David Michael Portner (born April 24, 1979), also known by his moniker Avey Tare, is a musician and songwriter who co-founded the American experimental pop band Animal Collective. He has released four solo albums, as well as four collaborative alb ...

) of Animal Collective from 2006 to 2008. Her twin sister is

Gyða Valtýsdóttir Gyða Valtýsdóttir (born 5 January 1982) is an Icelandic musician and multi-instrumentalist and winner of the 2019 Nordic Council Music Prize. She was an original member of the experimental music group Múm and has released four full-length solo ...

Discography

as Kristín Anna

*''Howl'' double LP (27 November 2015, Bel-Air Glamour Records) *''I Must Be The Devil'' (5 April 2019, Bel-Air Glamour Records)

as Kría Brekkan

*''Wildering'' 7" (14 November 2007, After Hours) *''Apotropaíosong Armor'' Ep (November 2008, self-released) *''Uterus Water'' 7" (10 January 2010,

Paw Tracks Paw Tracks (formerly known as Soccer Stars until 2000, then Animal until 2003) was an independent record label based in Washington, D.C. At first only records by Animal Collective were released on the label, but since 2004 it has also released r ...

)

with múm

*''Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK'' (1999 TMT, reissue 2005

Morr Music Morr Music is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1999 by Thomas Morr. Most artists on the label fall into the categories of intelligent dance music, electronica and dreampop, but all reflect Thomas Morr's personal ta ...

) *''Finally We Are No One'' (2002

Fat Cat Records FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

) *''Summer Make Good'' (2004 Fat Cat Records)

with Animal Collective

*'' Feels'' (credited as "Doctess") (18 October 2005 Fat Cat Records)

with Avey Tare

*'' Pullhair Rubeye'' (24 April 2007, Paw Tracks)

with Rings

*''Black Habit'' (January 2008)

with Stórsveit Nix Noltes

* ''Orkideur Hawai'' (21 March 2006, Bubblecore) * ''Royal Family - Divorce'' (5 May 2009, Fat Cat Records/ Rough Trade)

Appearances

*''Be Good To Earth This Season'' with

Antony Hegarty Anohni Hegarty (formerly Antony Hegarty), styled as ANOHNI, is an American singer, songwriter, and visual artist. She has presented solo work and as the lead singer of the band Anohni and the Johnsons, formerly known as Antony and the Johnsons. ...

featured by Reverend Green on ''Be Good To Earth This Season/Wolfie's Christmas'' 7" (December 2008, Paw Tracks)

References

External links

Kría Brekkan's MySpace PageKría Brekkan as #27 in "La Blogothèque: les concerts à emporter!" (The Take-Away Shows)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristin Anna Valtysdottir 1982 births Living people Icelandic electronic musicians 20th-century Icelandic singers 21st-century Icelandic singers Icelandic twins Twin musicians Icelandic women in electronic music 20th-century Icelandic women singers 21st-century Icelandic women singers