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Grandma Lo-Fi

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Sigríður Níelsdóttir
Sigríður
Background information
Birth nameSigrid Maria Elisabeth Nielsen
Also known asGrandma Lo-Fi
Born1930
Copenhagen, Denmark
Died2011 (aged 81)
Reyðarfjörður, Iceland
GenresLo-fi
InstrumentKeyboard
Years active2001–2009

Sigríður Níelsdóttir (1930 – 2011, known as Grandma Lo-Fi (Icelandic: Amma Lo-Fi)) was an Icelandic musician.[1][2]

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.[1]

In 2001, at the age of 70, Sigríður began to record lo-fi music 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. Her output was prolific; within seven years she had recorded 59 albums.[1][3]

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.[1]

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. She became a cult figure in the Icelandic music scene.

Sigríður stopped making music in 2009, and died in Reyðarfjörður in 2011, aged eighty-one.[1]

Documentary

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Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir
Poster
IcelandicAmma Lo-fi: Kjallaraspólur Sigríðar Níelsdóttur
Directed by
  • Orri Jónsson
  • Kira Kira
  • Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir
Release dates
  • 5 November 2011 (2011-11-05) (Copenhagen)
  • 30 March 2012 (2012-03-30) (Iceland)
Running time
62 minutes

A documentary film about Sigríður was released in 2011, entitled Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir (Icelandic: 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 in 2011, and was nominated for the Edda Awards in 2013.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Helgi J (25 August 2021). "Sigríður Níelsdóttir (1930-2011)". glatkistan (in Icelandic).
  2. ^ Vilhjálmur A. Kjartansson (30 March 2012). "Samdi tónlist á áttræðisaldri". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 40. Retrieved 14 December 2022 – via Tímarit.is.Open access icon
  3. ^ Helgi J (7 August 2021). "Sigríður Níelsdóttir – Efni á plötum". glatkistan (in Icelandic).
  4. ^ "Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir". Icelandic Film Centre.
  5. ^ "Amma Lo-Fi". kvikmyndir.is (in Icelandic).
  6. ^ "Grandma Lo-Fi (2011) aka Amma Lo-Fi". 1991 (Podcast). 25 October 2021.
  7. ^ Ard Vijn (14 February 2012). "IFFR 2012 Review: Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir". Screen Anarchy.
  8. ^ David Sugarman (March 2012). "Flatpack Festival 2012: 'Grandma Lo-Fi'". CineVue.
  9. ^ Jennie Kermode (15 February 2013). "Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigríður Níelsdóttir". Eye For Film.
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