Representative Albums: "Fisherman's Woman," "Me and Armini," "Love in the Time of Science"
Biography
An Icelandic singer/songwriter whose music embraces elements of folk, electronica, pop/rock, and trip-hop, Emiliana Torrini has earned favorable comparisons to such vocally gifted artists as Beth Hirsch, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and Björk. Torrini was raised in Kópavogur, where she worked at her father's Italian restaurant and attended opera school as a teenager. After releasing three albums in her native Iceland (Spoon, Crouçie D'où Là, and Merman), she joined forces with Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabal to produce her first widely released album, 1999's Love in the Time of Science. The famed Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson heard her cool, otherworldly croon and approved Torrini to voice the finale music for 2002's The Two Towers, a job that Björk had previously accepted before backing out due to pregnancy. Torrini followed up this cinematic achievement by co-writing a pair of songs for Kylie Minogue (including the number one hit single "Slow") and releasing the soft-spoken but beautiful Fisherman's Woman, her first album for the London-based label Rough Trade Records. Fisherman's Woman was a back-to-basics effort that deemphasized Torrini's use of electronics in favor of acoustic guitar, piano, and the singer's cherubic vocals. It also cemented her fruitful partnership with producer Dan Carey, who remained with Torrini during the recording of her next solo effort, 2008's Me and Armini. ~ Andrew Leahey & MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of 7, she joined a choir as a soprano, until she went to opera school at the age of 15. In 1994, she became well-known in Iceland after winning the song competition of junior colleges in Iceland (Icelandic: Söngkeppni framhaldsskólanna), at the age of 17, singing "I Will Survive".
Her father is Italian and her mother Icelandic. Because of name regulations in Iceland, her father Salvatore Torrini was forced by the Icelandic Name Committee to change his name to "Davíð Eiríksson", which also implied that Emilíana Torrini had to use the surname after her father in the traditional way; "Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir". A few years later, the name regulations were changed [1], and she was again allowed to use her original surname[2][3].
She grew up with her parents in Iceland. Her father owns and operates a well-known Italian restaurant in Iceland (Italia, located at Laugavegur 11 in Reykjavik) where she once worked as a waitress. After playing a session of gigs in London, Torrini decided to stay and live there.
Collaborations
She has been a member of Icelandic artist group GusGus, and contributed vocals to several songs on their debut Polydistortion (1997), most notably "Why", which she sometimes still performs live. She co-wrote Kylie Minogue’s "Slow" and "Someday" from her Body Language album in 2003. She also produced "Slow" along with Dan Carey; the two were nominated for a Best Dance Recording Grammy Award in 2005 for their work on the track. Prior to these, she contributed vocals to songs on Thievery Corporation's 2002 record The Richest Man in Babylon. Also in 2002, Torrini sang vocals on Paul Oakenfold's song "Hold Your Hand" taken from his Bunkka album[4]. Torrini has toured with Moby, Sting, Dido, Travis, Tricky, and Adem.
Discography
Torrini at the Orange Music Experience Festival, Fisherman's Woman tour, Haifa, Israel, 2005-06-28
