Biography
Icelandic vocalist and composer Emilíana Torrini first attracted attention in the final years of the 1990s through an alluring fusion of folk, electronica, pop/rock, and trip-hop that invited comparisons with the era’s enigmatic singers Kirsty Hawkshaw and Björk. The 1999 album Love in the Time of Science secured her earliest international recognition, while a featured appearance on the 2002 Lord of the Rings film The Two Towers further raised her profile. In the years that followed, her releases revealed a reflective and exploratory artist who resisted easy classification. Moving from the understated, largely acoustic Fisherman's Woman (2005) to the inventive, synthesizer-driven Tookah (2013), Torrini pursued distinctive creative directions. She subsequently joined forces with Belgium’s the Colorist Orchestra for two captivating chamber-pop projects, among them the 2023 album Racing the Storm.
Born to an Italian father and an Icelandic mother, Torrini grew up in Kópavogur and helped out at her father’s Italian restaurant. She began singing early and studied opera as a teenager. Her professional path opened in the mid-’90s when she joined the electronic-pop collective GusGus and contributed to their 1997 debut album Polydistortion. At the same time she started a solo career with the 1995 covers collection Crouçie D'où Là. The follow-up, 1996’s Merman, achieved notable success in Iceland and mixed newly written songs with interpretations of material by Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground.
Torrini reached a wider audience with the trip-hop-oriented third album Love in the Time of Science, issued in 1999 on the U.K. label One Little Indian. The project united her with Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal, who recorded, produced, and co-wrote several tracks. In 2002 director Peter Jackson invited her to perform the closing song “Gollum’s Song” for The Two Towers after Björk withdrew because of pregnancy.
Instead of rushing to exploit this exposure, Torrini focused on songwriting and supplied two tracks—“Someday” and the chart-topper “Slow”—for Kylie Minogue’s 2003 album Body Language. When she next issued her own material, the music had shifted markedly. Her Rough Trade debut, the beguiling 2005 album Fisherman's Woman, adopted a stripped-down approach that favored acoustic guitar, piano, and hushed vocals over electronics. The record also solidified her ongoing collaboration with producer Dan Carey, who stayed on board for the 2008 album Me and Armini. That set yielded the European hit single “Jungle Drum,” which reached number one in Iceland, Germany, and Belgium. Torrini supported the album with a two-year world tour before becoming a parent in 2010 and stepping away from music for a time.
Reuniting with Carey, she explored distinctive synthesizers such as Oberheim and Swarmathon to shape a nimble and occasionally hypnotic texture. The resulting album Tookah appeared in 2013. Afterward she partnered with the Belgian ensemble the Colorist Orchestra, which reimagined selections from her catalog. The collaboration toured extensively and produced the live album The Colorist & Emiliana Torrini, released in late 2016 and containing two new compositions, “When We Dance” and “Nightfall.” The following year Torrini appeared on Canadian turntablist Kid Koala’s album Music to Draw To: Satellite.
Renewing her work with the Colorist Orchestra, she began developing fresh material that merged her own style with the group’s classical and chamber-pop palette. After signing with Bella Union, they issued the joint studio album Racing the Storm in March 2023.
Born to an Italian father and an Icelandic mother, Torrini grew up in Kópavogur and helped out at her father’s Italian restaurant. She began singing early and studied opera as a teenager. Her professional path opened in the mid-’90s when she joined the electronic-pop collective GusGus and contributed to their 1997 debut album Polydistortion. At the same time she started a solo career with the 1995 covers collection Crouçie D'où Là. The follow-up, 1996’s Merman, achieved notable success in Iceland and mixed newly written songs with interpretations of material by Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground.
Torrini reached a wider audience with the trip-hop-oriented third album Love in the Time of Science, issued in 1999 on the U.K. label One Little Indian. The project united her with Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal, who recorded, produced, and co-wrote several tracks. In 2002 director Peter Jackson invited her to perform the closing song “Gollum’s Song” for The Two Towers after Björk withdrew because of pregnancy.
Instead of rushing to exploit this exposure, Torrini focused on songwriting and supplied two tracks—“Someday” and the chart-topper “Slow”—for Kylie Minogue’s 2003 album Body Language. When she next issued her own material, the music had shifted markedly. Her Rough Trade debut, the beguiling 2005 album Fisherman's Woman, adopted a stripped-down approach that favored acoustic guitar, piano, and hushed vocals over electronics. The record also solidified her ongoing collaboration with producer Dan Carey, who stayed on board for the 2008 album Me and Armini. That set yielded the European hit single “Jungle Drum,” which reached number one in Iceland, Germany, and Belgium. Torrini supported the album with a two-year world tour before becoming a parent in 2010 and stepping away from music for a time.
Reuniting with Carey, she explored distinctive synthesizers such as Oberheim and Swarmathon to shape a nimble and occasionally hypnotic texture. The resulting album Tookah appeared in 2013. Afterward she partnered with the Belgian ensemble the Colorist Orchestra, which reimagined selections from her catalog. The collaboration toured extensively and produced the live album The Colorist & Emiliana Torrini, released in late 2016 and containing two new compositions, “When We Dance” and “Nightfall.” The following year Torrini appeared on Canadian turntablist Kid Koala’s album Music to Draw To: Satellite.
Renewing her work with the Colorist Orchestra, she began developing fresh material that merged her own style with the group’s classical and chamber-pop palette. After signing with Bella Union, they issued the joint studio album Racing the Storm in March 2023.
Albums
Singles
